The traditions of the Russian army, undeservedly forgotten after 1917, were in demand during the Great Patriotic War. The “fire and smoke” of the St. George Ribbon evoked associations of the then battles with the glorious victories of past centuries and inspired the idea of the inevitability of defeating the enemy. The appearance of the revived order was affected by new symbols (a five-pointed star took the place of the cross), but the essence of the award did not change - it was given to those who performed an unprecedented feat on the battlefield. The insignia had three degrees, and over time, desperate brave men, full gentlemen, appeared. The Order of Glory was not given just like that, and the whole set was even more so.
George traditions
The introduction of the Order of Glory became part of the general heraldic and aesthetic line adopted with the approval of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief I. V. Stalin in the second half of 1943. Shoulder straps, stripes, cockades and other attributes of the Russian army replaced the surreal symbols of the Red Army. Patriotism began to dominate, pushing the idea of an international world revolution. Thinking through the concept of a new symbol,at first they remembered Bagration (he was also a Georgian), but later this idea was abandoned. The sketch was entrusted to N. I. Moskalev, who had rich experience. He proposed to create an almost complete analogue of the Order of St. George, introducing four degrees, but the final decision was made in favor of full cavaliers of the Order of Glory wearing three stars on their chests. St. George's Ribbon reinforced historical associations.
First awarded
In 1943, few soldiers of the Red Army received high awards. Which of them was the first, today it is impossible to say for sure. Sergeants Malyshev and Israelyan were presented to the order in the late autumn of 1943 almost simultaneously. Actually, the priority does not matter much, since the time from the presentation to the issuance of the order was sometimes measured in months, and the actual awarding took place in front-line conditions even later. In total, despite the very strict criteria for selecting the most worthy, the order in question was received by two and a half million front-line soldiers who fought on the front lines. The list of full cavaliers of the Order of Glory is much shorter - there were a little more than three thousand seven hundred of them.
Pitenin and Shevchenko
The award was conceived as a reward for outstanding deeds that could become an example to follow. To be the first to break into the enemy’s location, blow up a warehouse, capture an officer, save a battle flag, personally destroy at least a dozen enemies, establish the weaknesses of the Nazi defense, save comrades - that’s what was required in order to beworthy of this award. It was not easy, but the mass character of heroism during the war years reached such heights that soon after the establishment of the insignia, two and three times awarded appeared. The first full cavalier of the Order of Glory is Corporal Pitenin, who shared this honor with Senior Sergeant Shevchenko, who went through the entire war. Unlike his comrade, the latter died, and therefore did not manage to receive the third highest soldier's star.
Promotion
Besides the general honor and respect, full cavaliers of the Order of Glory had one more advantage compared to ordinary soldiers - they rose in military rank. Sergeants, corporals and privates became foremen, and so on up to the junior lieutenant, who received the second "asterisk" on shoulder straps. Further, other rewards awaited the hero for his exploits. The statute of the Order of Glory provided for the possibility of honoring them only with junior officers.
Form of Orders of Glory
In their form, the orders, regardless of the degree, are almost identical and have a moire ribbon of the same St. George colors. They have common dimensions (46 mm between the beams), weight (approximately 30 g with an accuracy of 5%), method of fastening (on the ear to a pentagonal block) and the image of the Spasskaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin, inscribed in a circle with a diameter of 23 mm. There are also other attributes of the Soviet state, such as the inscription USSR (on the reverse) and a ruby star, and the word "Glory" is located on a scarlet strip depicting a ribbon. The difference between earlier and later awards is thatthe endings of the rays became sharper. In general, the order is very beautiful, it is large and clearly visible, as befits such a distinction. Full cavaliers of the Order of Glory wore three stars on their chests, differing in color. The difference was in what metal the awards were made from.
Materials of production
The order of awarding clearly indicated that it was done in order of increasing degree, therefore, how many full holders of the Order of Glory were awarded their high rank can be judged by the largest number on the upper beam of the reverse of the star of the 1st degree. It is known that this number is 3776.
The Soviet government did not save on awards for real heroes. The Order of Glory of the first degree was made of high-grade (950 °) gold, decorated with ruby red enamel. It is this background that gives the translucent coating a shade of blood spilled in battles. There is no doubt that this sign is a real work of art in terms of composition and color.
The order of the second degree was made of almost pure silver (925°) with gilding of the central part of the composition (which depicts the Spasskaya Tower) and enamel of the same color, but the shade seems less saturated due to the fact that the background of the metal is light. More than 50,000 of these awards have been produced.
The third degree of the Order of Glory is almost a complete replica of the second, but without gilding, and the same 925 silver is tinted with a reddish copper additive.
Women and their glory
War is a man's business, dangerous, difficult and requiring the exertion of all spiritual and physical strength. But it just so happened that the Motherland was in trouble, and an unbearable burden fell on the fragile shoulders of wives, mothers and brides. And they survived it. The list of full cavaliers of the Order of Glory also includes female names. There are not many of them, only four, but this is quite enough to forget the concept of the “weaker sex” forever, at least in our country. Here they are: medical instructor Nozdracheva, who carried out seriously wounded soldiers from under lead hail, sniper Petrova (Mama Nina), whose well-aimed shots forever left 122 invaders in our land, and machine-gunner Markauskienė, who trained half a thousand high-class shooters, distinguished by her courage and composure, and reconnaissance pilot Zhurkina (comments are superfluous). These women, full holders of the Order of Glory, have become living symbols of the unbending spirit of the Soviet people.
From one metal…
There was such a good tradition in the USSR - to honor not only military exploits, but also labor ones. Three decades after the Victory, the Supreme Council decided to establish a new award, in addition to the orders of the Red Banner of Labor and Glory that already existed. This peaceful sign was to crown special efforts and achievements in peaceful work for the benefit of society. Like the combat counterpart, he had three degrees, the highest of which was the first. The full cavalier of the Order of Labor Glory, according to his statute, enjoyed the same respect and the same social benefits ashero of three highest soldier awards. The difference was that they could be awarded to groups and collectives. In total, more than 650 thousand people were awarded these orders of various degrees, of which the third - more than 611 thousand, the second - 41 thousand, and the first (full cavaliers) 952 workers. Despite the more modest funds allocated for the manufacture of each insignia (only gilding was used from precious metals), these figures are significantly inferior to similar military statistics. Well, other times…
