Watch List notes:

RUSSIAN MEDALS. IMPERIAL RUSSIA. Award Medal for the Storming of Akhulgo (in the Caucasus), 1839. Silver. 26 mm. Bit 841.A (R3), Diakov 549.1 (R2), Sm 503, Peters 108, Werlich 81. Crowned Nicholas I cipher / Four-line legend. Awarded to military personnel, doctors and clergy who participated in the siege of the Avar village of Akhulgo from 12 June to 23 August 1839. Very rare. Loop removed.. Condition:. Slate gray. out very fine. In June of 1839, The Imperial Russian army with about 7,000 troops under the command of Generals Yevgeny Golovin and Pavel Grabbe surrounded Imam Shamil – leader of the Caucasian resistance -- and his followers, some 5,000 men, in their mountain fastness of Akhulgo, about 10 miles east of Gimry in Dagestan. They attacked four times with no success for the aul ("fortified village") was set on very steep slopes. The siege lasted 80 days, and finally, using heavy artillery, the Russians stormed Akhulgo. The Russian losses numbered some 2,500 men, while the rebels were almost completely slaughtered. Shamil, though, and a small party of followers with some family members, miraculously escaped.

Estimate: $2000