I was surprised to find the topic “Soviet Swastika” being discussed on different pages on the Internet. Some used the visual evidence as illuminating proof for the sinister identity between Communism and Nazism. As other observers have already noted, the puzzling use of the swastika symbol by Soviet military is however not that difficult to explain.
The explanation is not shared fondness for totalitarianism, but the fact that the insignia was designed for Kalmyks fighting in the Red army. The Kalmyks are Buddhists and the swastika a well-known emblem for that creed. Thus, the explanation is some kind of Bolshevik tolerance, rather than totalitarianism.
* Images taken from the linked pages.
Heart in a Heartless World 
Thanks for the info. It is also interesting that Russian swastikas had decorated Soviet socialism’s first money (new paper rubles) after the revolution in 1917. That predated and would have been well-known by whoever designed the arm band and medal. The ruble currency displayed many Soviet swastikas in the same “S” letter style for “socialism” that was emulated later by German socialists (that is one of the discoveries in the work of the historian Dr. Rex Curry, in the book “2 girls 1 cup” by the author Lin Xun). In the case of the USSR swastika the crossed “S” letters could have been interpreted as the USSR’s “Soviet Socialism.” Later, Soviet socialism & German socialism joined to launch WWII, invading Poland together, and going onward from there.
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