Established by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of November 8, 1943. By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated August 18, 1944, the sample and description of the ribbon of the Order "Victory", as well as the procedure for wearing the strap with the ribbon of the order, were approved.
Order status.
Order "Victory" is the highest military order. It is awarded to senior officers of the Red Army for the successful conduct of such military operations on the scale of one or several fronts, as a result of which the situation radically changes in favor of the Red Army.
For those awarded with the Order of Victory, a memorial plaque is established, as a sign of special distinction, to include the names of the holders of the Order of Victory in it. The memorial plaque is installed in the Grand Kremlin Palace. This order is awarded only by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.
The Order "Victory" is worn on the left side of the chest 12-14 cm above the waist.
Description of the order.
The badge of the Order "Victory" is a convex five-pointed ruby star bordered with diamonds. In the intervals between the ends of the star, diverging rays, studded with diamonds. The middle of the star is a circle covered with blue enamel, bordered by a laurel-oak wreath. In the center of the circle there is a golden image of the Kremlin wall with Lenin's mausoleum and the Spasskaya tower in the center. Above the image there is an inscription in white enamel letters "USSR". In the lower part of the circle on a red enamel ribbon there is an inscription in white enamel letters "VICTORY".
The badge of the order is made of platinum. Platinum, gold, silver, enamel, five artificial rubies in the rays of a star and 174 small diamonds are used in the decoration of the order.
The size of the star between the opposite peaks is 72 mm. The diameter of the circle with the image of the Spasskaya Tower is 31 mm. The total weight of the order is 78 g. The content of platinum in the order is 47 g, gold - 2 g, silver - 19 g. The weight of each of the five rubies is 5 carats. The total weight of the diamonds on the badge is 16 carats.
On the reverse side, the badge has a threaded pin with a nut for attaching the order to clothing.
Silk moire ribbon for the Victory Order. In the middle of the tape there is a red stripe 15 mm wide. On the sides, closer to the edges, there are stripes of green, blue, burgundy and light blue colors. The ribbon is bordered with orange and black stripes. The total width of the belt is 46 mm. Height - 8 mm. The ribbon of the Order "Victory" is worn on the left side of the chest, on a separate bar, 1 cm higher than other ribbons.
History of the Order.
The Victory Order is the highest military order of the USSR. This military leader's order was established simultaneously with the soldier's order of Glory.
One of the first, in July 1943, the draft of the order entitled "For Loyalty to the Motherland" was submitted for consideration by the officer of the headquarters of the rear services of the Soviet Army, Colonel N.S. Neyelov. However, Stalin did not approve of this project and work on the creation of a sketch for this award was continued. Among the many variants of the Order of Victory presented for the competition, preference was given to a sketch by the artist A.I. Kuznetsov, who was also the author of the Order of the Patriotic War. Initially, in the center of the sign, Kuznetsov planned to mark the bust profile bas-reliefs of Lenin and Stalin (as was the case in Neelov's previous project), then the option of placing the Order of the State Emblem of the USSR in the center was considered. In the final version, it was decided to replace the image of the coat of arms in the center of the badge with the image of the Kremlin's Spasskaya Tower.
Order No. 1 was awarded to the commander of the 1st Ukrainian Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov. April 10, 1944 for the liberation of the right-bank Ukraine. The second order "Victory" Zhukov received, being the commander of the 1st Belorussian Front, on March 30, 1945 (for the capture of Berlin).
In addition to him, this award was awarded (in the order of awarding) marshals:
- Chief of the General Staff (later Commander of the 3rd Belorussian Front) Vasilevsky A.M. (April 10, 1944 and April 19, 1945) - for the liberation of the right-bank Ukraine and for the capture of Konigsberg and the liberation of East Prussia.
- Supreme Commander-in-Chief Stalin I.V. (July 29, 1944 and June 26, 1945) - for the liberation of the right-bank Ukraine and victory over Germany.
- Commander of the 2nd Belorussian Front K.K. Rokossovsky (March 30, 1945) - for the liberation of Poland.
- Commander of the 1st Ukrainian Front I.S.Konev (March 30, 1945) - for the liberation of Poland and the crossing of the Oder.
- Commander of the 2nd Ukrainian Front Malinovsky R.Ya. (April 26, 1945) - for the liberation of the territories of Hungary and Austria.
- Commander of the 3rd Ukrainian Front F.I. Tolbukhin (April 26, 1945) - for the liberation of the territories of Hungary and Austria.
- Commander of the Leningrad Front L.A. Govorov (May 31, 1945) - for the liberation of the Baltic States.
- Representative of the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief S.K. Tymoshenko (June 4, 1945) - for planning combat operations and coordinating front operations throughout the war.
- Chief of the General Staff A.I. Antonov (Army General) (June 4, 1945) - for planning combat operations and coordinating front operations throughout the war.
- Commander of the Far Eastern Front K.A. Meretskov (September 8, 1945) - following the war with Japan.
Among foreign citizens, this order was awarded to:
- General of the Army D. Eisenhower (June 5, 1945).
- Field Marshal B.L. Montgomery, Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Armed Forces in Western Europe (June 5, 1945).
- King Mihai I of Romania (6 July 1945).
- Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Polish Army (on the territory of the USSR) General M. Rolya-Zhimersky (August 9, 1945).
- Marshal Joseph Broz Tito, Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Yugoslav People's Liberation Army (September 9, 1945).
On February 20, 1978, the Order of Victory was awarded to the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, Marshal of the Soviet Union - Brezhnev L.I. After Brezhnev's death, the award was canceled.
Thus, it is clear that only 12 Soviet military leaders (Zhukov, Vasilevsky and Stalin - twice) and 5 foreign citizens became holders of the Order of Victory.
All the insignia of the order awarded to the Soviet commanders, as well as the insignia of the order awarded to Marshal Role-Zhimersky, are in the Diamond Fund of Russia. The Eisenhower Award is housed in his Memorial Museum in Abilene, Kansas. Marshal Tito's award is on display at the 25 May Museum in Belgrade. Field Marshal Montgomery's award is on display at the Imperial War Museum in London. Only one Order "Victory", which previously belonged to King Mihai I, is in a private collection. According to some reports, it was auctioned off by one of the relatives of the dictator Ceausescu.
In total, the Order of Victory has been awarded 20 awards (one of which was subsequently canceled).
You can find out about the features and types of medals on the website Medals of the USSR
Estimated value of the medal.
How much does the Order of Victory cost? Below we give an approximate price for some number:The estimated value of the order in 1945 was 3,750 pounds, at the moment it could be more than $ 100,000.
According to the current legislation of the Russian Federation, the purchase and / or sale of medals, orders, documents of the USSR and Russia is prohibited, this is all described in Article 324. Acquisition or sale of official documents and state awards. You can read in more detail about this in, which discloses the law in more detail, as well as describes those medals, orders and documents that do not apply to this prohibition.
Of the 17 holders of the highest military award of the USSR - the Order of Victory, two are directly related to the Vologda region. Marshal of the Soviet Union Ivan Konev was not only born on our land, but in 1918 he was a district military commissar in Nikolsk. Marshal of the Soviet Union Konstantin Rokossovsky fought in Vologda in 1918 against deserters and anarchists.
How "For Faithfulness to the Motherland" became "Victory"
A year and a half before the end of the war, on November 8, 1943, an award appeared in the Soviet Union's award system, which at that time had a very bold name - the Order of Victory. Nazi Germany was still too strong, the USSR had just seized the strategic initiative.
During the celebration of the 26th anniversary of the October Revolution, the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR was issued on the establishment of a soldier's Order of Glory of three degrees and the highest military award of the Motherland for the Supreme General of the Red Army. Almost a year later, in August 1944, the sample and description of the Victory Order ribbon were approved, as well as the procedure for wearing the ribbon with the Order ribbon.
A total of 20 Victory Orders were awarded. 17 people became his cavaliers, three of whom were awarded the highest military award twice. One person was posthumously deprived of the Victory Order.
In mid-1943, the country's leadership came up with the idea to establish an award for the most distinguished commanders. Several artists were assigned to work on the sketch. Initially, the award was supposed to be given the title "For Loyalty to the Motherland."
Preference was given to the sketch of the chief artist of the technical committee of the Main Quartermaster Directorate of the Logistics A.I. Kuznetsov, author of the Order of the Patriotic War. The first sample of the order, which was a five-pointed star with profile bas-reliefs of Lenin and Stalin in the central circle, was presented by I.V. Stalin on October 25, 1943. The Supreme Commander-in-Chief expressed a desire to place an image of the Kremlin's Spasskaya Tower in the center of the medallion.
On October 29, Kuznetsov presented several new sketches, of which Stalin chose one - with the inscription "Victory". The artist was instructed to enlarge the dimensions of the Spasskaya Tower and a fragment of the Kremlin wall, to make the background blue, and also to change the dimensions of the diverging rays between the tops of the red star. On November 5, a trial copy of the order was ready, made of platinum, diamonds and rubies, which was finally approved.
Not a reward - a work of art!
Since platinum and gold, diamonds and rubies were needed for the production of the order, the execution of the order for the production of signs of the order was entrusted to the masters of the Moscow Jewelry and Watch Factory. "Pobeda" was the only one of all Russian orders not made at the Mint. It was supposed to make 30 badges of the order. By order of the Council of People's Commissars, the Glavyuvelirtorg received 5,400 diamonds, 1,500 roses and 9 kilograms of pure platinum.
The total weight of the Victory Order is 78 grams. The platinum content of the order -
47 grams, gold - 2 grams, silver -
19 grams. The weight of each of the five rubies is 5 carats. The total weight of the diamonds on the badge is 16 carats.
The order ribbon combines the colors of six other Soviet orders, separated by white gaps half a millimeter wide: orange with black in the middle - the Order of Glory, blue - the order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky, burgundy - the order of Alexander Nevsky, dark blue - the order of Kutuzov, green - the order of Suvorov, red - the Order of Lenin.
All Cavaliers of the Order of "Victory"
The first awarding took place on April 10, 1944. The commander of the 1st Ukrainian Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov. Order No. 2 was received by the Chief of the General Staff Marshal of the Soviet Union A.M. Vasilevsky. Order "Victory"
No. 3 was awarded to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief Marshal of the Soviet Union I.V. Stalin. All of them were awarded this award for the liberation of the Right-Bank Ukraine.
The following awards took place only a year later: on March 30, 1945, the commander of the 1st Belorussian Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov - for the skillful performance of the assignments of the Supreme High Command (second order), commander of the 2nd Belorussian Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union K.K. Rokossovsky - for the liberation of Poland and the commander of the 1st Ukrainian Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union I.S. Konev - for the liberation of Poland and the crossing of the Oder.
By a decree of April 19, 1945, the commander of the 3rd Belorussian Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union A.M. Vasilevsky - for the capture of Konigsberg and the liberation of East Prussia.
On April 26 of the same year, the commander of the 2nd Ukrainian Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union R. Ya. Malinovsky and the commander of the 3rd Ukrainian Front Marshal of the Soviet Union F.I. Tolbukhin. Both were noted for their liberation in the heavy, bloody battles of Hungary and Austria.
On May 31, 1945, for the defeat of German troops near Leningrad and in the Baltic States, the commander of the Leningrad Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union L.A. Govorov.
On June 4, 1945, Marshal of the Soviet Union S.K. Timoshenko and Chief of the General Staff, General of the Army A.I. Antonov. Alexey Innokentyevich, by the way, is the only knight of the order in the USSR who did not have the rank of marshal.
As a result of the war with Japan on September 8, 1945, the commander of the Far Eastern Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union K.A. Meretskov.
After the end of the war, it was decided to award the Allied military commanders with the Order of Victory. US Army General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Field Marshal Sir Bernard Lowe Montgomery were awarded by the decree of June 5, 1945 "for outstanding success in conducting large-scale military operations, as a result of which the victory of the United Nations over Hitlerite Germany was achieved".
On July 6, 1945, with the wording “for the courageous act of a decisive turn of Romania’s policy towards a break with Hitler’s Germany and an alliance with the United Nations at a time when the defeat of Germany has not yet been clearly defined”, King of Romania Mihai I of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen was awarded the Order of Victory ... On August 23, 1944, he arrested members of the Romanian government who collaborated with Nazi Germany.
Marshal of Poland Michal Rola-ymerski was awarded the order on August 9, 1945 "for outstanding services in organizing the armed forces of Poland and for the successful conduct of military operations of the Polish Army in decisive battles against the common enemy - Nazi Germany."
The last foreign holder of the Order of Victory was on September 9, 1945, Marshal of Yugoslavia Josip Broz Tito.
Ilyich was left without "Victory"
In 1966, the Order of Victory was supposed to be awarded to French President Charles de Gaulle during his visit to the USSR, but the award never took place.
But 12 years later - on February 20, 1978 - the award was presented to the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Chairman of the USSR Defense Council, Marshal of the Soviet Union L.I. Brezhnev. The wording from the Decree of the Supreme Council of the USSR - "for the great contribution to the victory of the Soviet people and its Armed Forces in the Great Patriotic War, outstanding services in strengthening the country's defense capability, for the development and consistent implementation of the foreign policy of peace of the Soviet state, which reliably ensures the development of the country in peaceful conditions" ...
September 21, 1989 M.S. Gorbachev signed the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR abolishing the awarding of the Order of Victory to Brezhnev with the wording “as contrary to the statute of the order”. Leonid Ilyich, indeed, did not take part in the development of operations that influenced the outcome of the war. He met Victory Day with the rank of Major General.
The fate of the awards
Today, all the orders awarded to the Soviet commanders, as well as to Marshal of Poland M. Role-Zhimersky, are in Russia. The Central Museum of the Armed Forces contains five orders of "Victory": two - Zhukov, two - Vasilevsky and one - Malinovsky. In the Victory Hall of this museum, copies of orders are exhibited, the orders themselves are in storerooms. The rest of the copies of the Order "Victory" are in Gokhran. Order of K.K. Rokossovsky and M. Role-Zhimersky - in the Diamond Fund.
The Eisenhower Award is kept in the Memorial Library of the 34th President of the United States in his hometown of Abilene, Kansas.
Field Marshal Montgomery's award is on display at the Imperial War Museum in London.
The fate of the Victory Order, which belongs to King Mihai I, is unclear (he arrived without an order to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Victory). According to one version, he sold it over 30 years ago for $ 4 million. According to the official version, the Order of Victory is located in the estate of King Mihai I in the town of Versoix, Switzerland.
Prepared by Evgeny Starikov
The Order "Victory" was established by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated November 8, 1943. By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated August 18, 1944, the sample and description of the ribbon of the Order "Victory", as well as the procedure for wearing the strap with the ribbon of the order, were approved.
Statute of the Order.
The Victory Order is the highest military order. It is awarded to senior officers of the Red Army for the successful conduct of such military operations on the scale of one or several fronts, as a result of which the situation radically changes in favor of the Red Army.
For those who have been awarded the Order of Victory, a memorial plaque is established as a sign of special distinction to include the names of the holders of the Order of Victory in it. The memorial plaque is installed in the Grand Kremlin Palace. This order is awarded only by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.
The Order "Victory" is worn on the left side of the chest 12-14 cm above the waist.
On April 10, 1944, the names of the first three holders of the Victory Order became known. The commander of the 1st Ukrainian Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov became the owner of the badge number 1. Badge No. 2 was received by the Chief of the General Staff, Marshal of the Soviet Union A.M. Vasilevsky. The Supreme Commander-in-Chief Marshal of the Soviet Union I.V. Stalin. All these awards were presented for the liberation of the Right-Bank Ukraine.
During the entire existence of the order, 20 copies of it were presented to 17 military leaders. On March 30, 1945, the commander of the 2nd Belorussian Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union K.K. Rokossovsky for the liberation of Poland, the commander of the 1st Ukrainian Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union Konev for the liberation of Poland and the crossing of the Oder. On April 26, the list of awardees was replenished with two more names - the commander of the 2nd Ukrainian Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union R. Ya. Malinovsky and the commander of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union F.I.Tolbukhin. Both were awarded for the liberation of Hungary and Austria. On May 31, Marshal of the Soviet Union LA Govorov, commander of the Leningrad Front, became a Knight Commander of the Order for the liberation of the atony. By the same decree, the commander of the 1st Belorussian Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov and the commander of the 3rd Belorussian Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union AM. Vasilevsky were awarded the Order of Victory for the second time: the first - for the capture of Berlin, the second - for the capture of Konigsberg and the liberation of Inaccurate Prussia. On June 4, the Order of "Victory" was awarded to two "Moscow" commanders of the representative of the Supreme Command of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief Marshal of the Soviet Union 1R Timoshenko, who was the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR on the eve of the war, and the Chief of the General Staff, General of the Army A.I. Antonov is the only knight of the Order of "Victory" who did not have the rank of marshal. Both of them were awarded the highest military order for planning combat operations and coordinating front operations during the war.
By a decree of June 26, 1945, JV Stalin was awarded the Order of Victory for the second time (that day he became a Hero of the Soviet Union, and the next - Generalissimo of the Soviet Union). Following the results of the war with Japan, the commander of the Far Eastern Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union KA Meretskov, became a Chevalier of the Order of Victory. Thus, 10 marshals of the Soviet Union (three of them twice) and an army general were awarded the Order of Victory in the USSR.
In 1945, 5 foreign citizens became holders of the order: Marshal Josip Broz Tito, Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia; Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Polish Army (on the territory of the USSR) Marshal Wormwood Michal Role-ymersky; Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces in Western Europe, General of the Army Dwight David Eisenhower (USA): Commander of the Allied Army Group in Western Europe, Field Marshal Bernard Low Montgomery (Great Britain); King of Romania Mihai 1 (after the overthrow of the fascist regime of Antonescu in Romania, the troops of Mihai 1 fought on the side of the allies).
At this, the awards stopped, and the Victory Order became part of history. But more than thirty years after the war, another, the seventeenth knight of the order appeared: on February 20, 1978 in the 60th anniversary of the Soviet Army and Navy, this order was received by the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU L.I. Brezhnev. Although he bore the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union and held the post of Chairman of the USSR Defense Council, his "deeds" did not in any way correspond to the Statute of the Order of "Victory".
Among the Soviet military leadership orders a special place is occupied by the Order of "Victory", which was awarded only for the leadership of operations of strategic importance.
The idea of creating a supreme military leader's order appeared in July 1943. Its initial sketch was developed by one of the officers of the rear headquarters - N. S. Neelov. At first, the order was supposed to be called "For loyalty to the Motherland." The head of the Rear Services of the Red Army, General of the Army A. V. Khrulev, commissioned the development of another sketch to the artist A. I. Kuznetsov, who took part in the creation of the sketch for the Order of Lenin and other state awards. On July 20, the sketches were submitted to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. The artists were invited to continue working on them, bearing in mind that the new award will already be called the Order of Victory.
On October 18, only the fifteenth sketch was recognized as the most successful, and yet JV Stalin approved it only on October 29 during a second discussion.
On November 8, 1943, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR established the highest military order - "Victory".
The badge of the Order of Victory is a convex five-pointed ruby star bordered with diamonds. In the intervals between the ends of the star, diverging rays, studded with diamonds. The middle of the star is a circle covered with blue enamel, bordered by a laurel-oak wreath. In the center of the circle there is a golden image of the Kremlin wall with Lenin's mausoleum and the Spasskaya tower in the center. Above the image there is an inscription in white enamel letters "USSR". In the lower part of the circle on a red enamel ribbon there is an inscription in white enamel letters "VICTORY".
The badge of the order is made of platinum. Platinum, gold, silver, enamel, five artificial rubies in the rays of a star and 174 small diamonds are used in the decoration of the order. The weight of each of the five rubies is 5 carats. The total weight of the diamonds on the badge is 16 carats. The size of the star between the opposite peaks is 72 mm. On the reverse side, the badge has a threaded pin with a nut for attaching the order to clothing.
Silk moire ribbon to the Order of Victory. In the middle of the tape there is a red stripe 15 mm wide. On the sides, closer to the edges, there are stripes of green, blue, burgundy and light blue colors. The ribbon is bordered with orange and black stripes. The total width of the belt is 46 mm. Height - 8 mm. The ribbon of the Order of "Victory" is worn on the left side of the chest, on a separate bar, 1 cm higher than other ribbons.
The Order of Victory was awarded to senior officers of the Red Army for the successful conduct of military operations on the scale of several fronts or one front, as a result of which the situation radically changed in favor of the Red Army.
The establishment of the new order took place in the year of a radical turning point in the Great Patriotic War. In the summer of 1943, an attempt by the Nazis to organize the last strategic offensive on the Kursk Bulge was thwarted. The enemy suffered a crushing defeat here and began to retreat to the west.
In the summer of 1943, the first victorious salute broke out in honor of the liberation of Orel, and two days before the establishment of the highest military order, Kiev was liberated.
The Order of Victory was twice awarded to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the USSR IV Stalin, Marshals of the Soviet Union GK Zhukov and AM Vasilevsky. Ten more outstanding Soviet military leaders, who led operations of strategic importance during the war and achieved decisive successes in the fight against the enemy, became holders of this order.
On April 10, 1944, the first awarding of the new order took place. The first holder of the Order of Victory was Deputy Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Marshal of the Soviet Union GK Zhukov. The second was the Chief of the General Staff, Marshal of the Soviet Union A.M. Vasilevsky.
The name of Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov, an outstanding Soviet commander, has already been encountered several times in this book. In the story about the Heroes of the Soviet Union, he was mentioned in connection with the battles on Khalkhin Gol, where he commanded an army group and played a large role in the defeat of the Japanese militarists. In the narrative about the orders of command - due to the fact that he became the owner of the Order of Suvorov 1st degree No. 1. By the time he was awarded the highest military order, G.K. Zhukov had won a number of brilliant victories: under his leadership, Soviet troops in 1941 were defeated to the Germans near Moscow; in 1942, he coordinated the actions of the fronts to defeat the Nazi troops at Stalingrad; in 1943 he coordinated the actions of the Volkhov and Leningrad fronts to break the blockade of Leningrad and the actions of four fronts in the battle of Kursk. On the day of awarding the Order of Victory, GK Zhukov commanded the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front, conducting a large-scale operation in the Right-Bank Ukraine. The Order "Victory" No. 1 was justly awarded to the best commander of the Great Patriotic War, whose name was associated with the outstanding victories of Soviet weapons.
The name of Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky met next to the name of G.K. Zhukov when it came to presenting him with the Order of Suvorov, 1st degree. Since 1940, together with G.K. Zhukov, he served in the General Staff, and since June 1942 he headed it. Together with G.K. Zhukov, Vasilevsky coordinated the actions of the fronts at Stalingrad and Kursk. In the summer of 1943, AM Vasilevsky coordinated the actions of the 4th Ukrainian, Southern and Southwestern Fronts during the liberation of Donbass, and on the day of awarding the Order of Victory, he directed the actions of the 4th Ukrainian Front and the Black Sea Fleet. A.M. Vasilevsky rightfully shared with G.K. Zhukov the glory of an outstanding commander.
On March 30, 1945, the commanders of the fronts, Marshals of the Soviet Union I. S. Konev and K. K. Rokossovsky became holders of the Order of Victory.
Ivan Stepanovich Konev, a participant in the Civil War, joined the Red Army from the first days of its existence. He was the commissar of an armored train, brigade, division and headquarters of the People's Revolutionary Army of the Far Eastern Republic.
By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, I.S.Konev had acquired extensive experience in leading large military formations. In June 1941, he was the commander of the 19th Army, and in September he became the commander of the Western Front. Then I.S.Konev commanded the Kalinin, North-Western, Steppe, 2nd and 1st Ukrainian fronts. His troops took part in the Battle of Moscow, in the Battle of the Kursk Bulge, in the liberation of Ukraine and Poland. On the day of awarding the Order of Victory, the 1st Ukrainian Front of Marshal I. Konev aimed at Berlin, preparing to crush the enemy's lair.
Konstantin Konstantinovich Rokossovsky, like I. S. Konev, served in the Red Army since 1918. He began the Great Patriotic War as commander of a mechanized corps. Then he commanded an army that was part of the Western Front for a year. From the summer of 1942 until the end of the war, he led a number of fronts, participated in the battles near Moscow and Stalingrad, near Kursk and in Belarus, in the East Prussian and East Pomeranian operations. On March 30, 1945, the troops of K. K. Rokossovsky liberated the land of Poland from the Nazis.
On April 26, 1945, the family of holders of the highest military order of the USSR was replenished with two more generals - the commanders of the fronts, Marshals of the Soviet Union R. Ya. Malinovsky and F. I. Tolbukhin.
Rodion Yakovlevich Malinovsky began serving in the Red Army during the Civil War. In 1937–1938 he fought in Spain, began the Great Patriotic War as a corps commander, and in August 1941 began to command the 6th Army. Until the end of the war, he held the posts of army commander, deputy commander and commander of various fronts. Since the beginning of 1943, he led the hostilities of a number of fronts and by the time he was awarded the Order of Victory, he had gone from Stalingrad to Czechoslovakia. The troops under his leadership took part in the liberation of Romania, Austria, Hungary and Czechoslovakia.
Fyodor Ivanovich Tolbukhin is one of the largest Soviet military leaders, who successfully combined the experience of staff and team work. He served in the Red Army since 1918. From March 1943 he commanded the troops of the Southern Front, and from October - the 4th Ukrainian. On the day of awarding the Order of Victory, F. I. Tolbukhin was the commander of the 3rd Ukrainian Front. The troops under his command took part in the battles at Stalingrad, in the Caucasus, in the Crimea, in the liberation of Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Hungary and Austria. A Bulgarian city was named after him, he was elected an honorary citizen of Sofia and Belgrade.
By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on May 31, 1945, the order of "Victory" was received by the front commander, Marshal of the Soviet Union Leonid Aleksandrovich Govorov. GK Zhukov and AM Vasilevsky were awarded the second Orders of Victory.
GK Zhukov at that time was already the Commander-in-Chief of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany. After being awarded the first Order of Victory, he brilliantly carried out Operation Bagration to liberate Belarus, led the Vistula-Oder operation, which led to the liberation of Poland and an exit to the center of Germany. Finally, he was responsible for the historic mission of defeating the Berlin group and signing the act of Germany's surrender.
AM Vasilevsky, after being awarded the first Order of Victory, also headed a number of strategic operations that led to the liberation of Belarus, Latvia and Lithuania. In April 1945, commanding the 3rd Belorussian Front, he successfully completed the East Prussian operation, taking the Konigsberg fortress and clearing the Samland Peninsula from the enemy.
L. A. Govorov also served in the army since the Civil War. From April 1942 to May 1945, he commanded the Leningrad Front, and in February-March 1945, he also commanded the 2nd Baltic Front. L. A. Govorov proved to be an outstanding military leader during the defense and liberation of Leningrad, during the liberation of part of the Baltic States and in the defeat of the Nazi group "North".
On June 4, 1945, the Order of Victory was awarded to the Chief of the General Staff, General of the Army A. I. Antonov, who replaced A. M. Vasilevsky, and the representative of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, Marshal of the Soviet Union S. K. Timoshenko.
Alexey Innokentyevich Antonov, who joined the Red Army in the spring of 1919, rose from the brigade chief of staff to the chief of the General Staff of the USSR Armed Forces. With his participation and under his leadership, various large-scale operations of the Second World War were planned and coordinated. A. I. Antonov took part in the work of the Yalta and Potsdam conferences.
Semyon Konstantinovich Timoshenko is one of the oldest military leaders of the Red Army, a comrade-in-arms of K. E. Voroshilov and S. M. Budyonny. At the beginning of World War II, he was the people's commissar of defense, and then commanded a number of fronts and directions. Since March 1943, as a representative of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, S.K. Timoshenko coordinated the actions of the fronts in the Jassy-Kishinev and Budapest operations.
On September 8, 1945, the commander of the First Far Eastern Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union Kirill Afanasyevich Meretskov, was awarded the Cavalier of the highest Soviet military order for defeating the troops of the Japanese militarists in China and Korea.
Like SK Timoshenko, during the Civil War he fought in the ranks of the First Cavalry, in 1939-1940 he commanded an army that broke through the Mannerheim line. Since December 1941, A.K. Meretskov commanded the Volkhov and Karelian fronts, and in August 1945 - the 1st Far Eastern Front. His troops played a decisive role in the defeat of the Kwantung Army, the main Japanese ground group in Manchuria.
In addition to Soviet commanders, the Order of Victory was also awarded to major foreign military and political figures: Commander-in-Chief of the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia Marshal I. Broz Tito, Supreme Commander of the Polish Army Marshal M. Role-imersky, Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Armed Forces, General of the US Army D Eisenhower, commander of the allied forces of the 21st Army Group in Europe, British Field Marshal B.L. Montgomery, King of Romania Mihai I.
After the end of the Great Patriotic War, Marshal of the Soviet Union Leonid I. Brezhnev was also awarded the Order of Victory. However, this award, carried out in complete violation of the order's statute, was perceived from the very beginning as odious, explained only by the fact that Leonid I. Brezhnev was not only a marshal, but also the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, who concentrated all power in his hands.
Established by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of November 8, 1943. By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated August 18, 1944, the sample and description of the ribbon of the Order "Victory", as well as the procedure for wearing the strap with the ribbon of the order, were approved.
The Order of Victory is the highest military order of the USSR, which was awarded to senior officers of the Red Army for the successful conduct of such military operations on the scale of one or several fronts, as a result of which the situation radically changed in favor of the Red Army.
It was created according to the sketches of the artist Alexander Kuznetsov.
Order of Glory
Established by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of November 8, 1943. Subsequently, the Statute of the Order was partially amended by the Decrees of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of February 26 and December 16, 1947 and of August 8, 1957.
The Order of Glory is a military order of the USSR. It was awarded to privates and non-commissioned officers of the Red Army, and in aviation and to persons with the rank of junior lieutenant who displayed glorious feats of bravery, courage and fearlessness in the battles for the Soviet Motherland.
The statute of the Order of Glory indicated the feats for which this insignia could be awarded. It could be received, for example, by the one who first burst into the enemy's location, who in battle saved the banner of his unit or captured the enemy, who, risking his life, saved the commander in battle, who shot down a fascist plane from his personal weapon (rifle or machine gun), or destroyed up to 50 enemy soldiers, etc.
The Order of Glory had three degrees: I, II and III. The highest degree of the order was I degree. The awarding was carried out sequentially: first the third, then the second and, finally, the first degree.
The badge of the order was created according to the sketches of the chief artist of the CDKA Nikolai Moskalev. It is a five-pointed star with a relief image of the Kremlin with the Spasskaya Tower in the center. The Order of Glory is worn on the left side of the chest, in the presence of other orders of the USSR, it is located after the Order of the Badge of Honor in the order of seniority of degrees.
The badge of the order of the 1st degree is made of gold, the badge of the order of the 2nd degree is made of silver, with gilding, the badge of the order of the 3rd degree is completely silver, without gilding.
The order is worn on a pentagonal shoe covered with a St. George ribbon (orange with three black longitudinal stripes).
The right to award the Order of Glory of the III degree was granted to the commanders of divisions and corps, the II degree - to the commanders of armies and fronts, the I degree was awarded only by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.
The first full holders of the Order of Glory by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of July 22, 1944 were the soldiers of the 3rd Belorussian Front - the sapper corporal Mitrofan Pitenin and the scout senior sergeant Konstantin Shevchenko. The Order of Glory of the 1st class for No. 1 and No. 2 was awarded to the soldiers of the Leningrad Front, the infantryman of the guard, senior sergeant Nikolai Zaletov, and the intelligence officer of the guard, foreman Viktor Ivanov.
In January 1945, for the only time in the history of the existence of the award, the Order of Glory was awarded to the entire rank and file of the military unit. The first rifle battalion of the 215th Red Banner regiment of the 77th Guards Chernigov rifle division was awarded this honor for heroism in breaking through the enemy defense on the Vistula River.
In total, about 980 thousand people were awarded the Order of Glory of the III degree, about 46 thousand became holders of the Order of the II degree, 2656 soldiers were awarded the Orders of Glory of three degrees (including those who were rewarded).
Four women became full holders of the Order of Glory: the gunner-radio operator of the guard foreman Nadezhda Zhurkina-Kiek, machine gunner sergeant Danute Stanilienė-Markauskienė, sanitary instructor foreman Matrena Necheporchukova-Nazdracheva and sniper of the 86th Tartu rifle division senior officer.
For subsequent special deeds, four holders of three Orders of Glory were also awarded the highest distinction of the Motherland - the title of Hero of the Soviet Union: Guard pilot junior lieutenant Ivan Drachenko, infantry sergeant major Pavel Dubinda, gunners senior sergeant Nikolai Kuznetsov and guard senior sergeant Andrey Aleshin.
On January 15, 1993, the law "On the status of Heroes of the Soviet Union, Heroes of the Russian Federation and full holders of the Order of Glory" was adopted, according to which the rights of those awarded with these awards were equalized. Individuals awarded these awards, as well as their family members, were entitled to certain benefits in living conditions, in the treatment of wounds and diseases, when using transport, etc.
The material was prepared on the basis of information from open sources
