The Military Order of the Red Star was once the most coveted and honorable award, which could only be obtained by performing a military feat for the good of the country. The appearance of the order is extremely simple and concise. It was made of silver and weighed thirty-four grams. The red star has always been a symbol of Soviet power, a symbol of the Red Army, as well as the struggle for freedom. And when the question arose of a new combat award, there were no questions about how it should look - it was a scarlet star with five ends. In the center on a round field is a relief depicting a valiant Red Army soldier with a combat rifle in his hands. The warrior's legs are supported by a battle banner with the inscription: "USSR", under the banner you can see the image of a hammer and sickle. And instead of a border around the edge of the central part, there is a patriotic slogan: "Proletarians of all countries, unite!" The order had small dimensions, the distance from the tip of the beam to the middle of the award was twenty-six and a half millimeters. It is also interesting to figure out when and for what they were awarded the Order of the Red Star.
History of Creation
This order was established and entered the system of awards of the Soviet Unionin April, one thousand nine hundred and thirty. The first to be awarded this order was the outstanding commander Vasily Konstantinovich Blucher.
The Order of the Red Star was awarded to soldiers, officers and senior officers of the Soviet Army and Navy, as well as to persons serving in state security agencies. This award was also awarded to enterprises, individual military units and other similar organizations. The star was awarded for contribution to strengthening the defense of the USSR both in peacetime and in wartime. In total, more than three million eight hundred thousand assignments of this most honorable award took place. The last award took place on the fifteenth of December, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-one. It is worth noting the fact that the Order of the Red Star was awarded to all Afghan soldiers who received wounds and contusions of moderate severity and above. The Order of the Red Star was abolished due to the collapse of the USSR.
For what they were awarded the Order of the Red Star
This order was awarded to ordinary military personnel, the commanding staff of the Red Army and entire teams that provided significant services to the defense of the Soviet Union. Why was he awarded the Order of the Red Star? For outstanding activity that contributed to the victories of the Soviet troops.
New Order of the Red Star of the USSR
Over time, the appearance of the award has changed. In 1980, following the results of the Presidium of the Military Forces of the Soviet Union, the name of the order began to be written without quotes, and it itself changed noticeably.
Now it was silverconvex star with five rays, covered with scarlet enamel. The first, oldest version of the order had a hammer and a plow in the center on a white background. The second version was approved with the already familiar Red Army soldier.
The order began to resemble the distinctive badge that the first soldiers of the Red Army wore on their chests. The central part was bordered by one of the slogans of the Soviet state, and the name of the country was written in the very bottom part in the center. The project of the external appearance of the award was developed by the tandem of the artist V. Kupriyanov and the sculptor V. Golenitsky.
It is noteworthy that initially, according to tradition, it was customary to wear the order on the left side of the uniform, and after the war the tradition changed, the soldiers hung it on the right side.
Chevaliers awards
After only one month after the establishment, the order was already awarded to the first worthy citizens. The first Order of the Red Star was received by the commander of the ODVA, V. Blucher, for leading the operation in resolving the conflict on the Chinese Eastern Railway. In the autumn, in a slushy and cold season, the Red Army troops defeated the Chinese groups that systematically plundered the Soviet border territories. For valiant battles, the soldiers of Blucher's army were awarded this order, his troops were henceforth called the "Red Banner", more than five hundred ordinary soldiers, as well as officers, wore the Red Star in their buttonholes.
Courage and bravery
One of the first inAmong the awardees were six pilots of three Soviet aircraft, who were able to fly more than ten thousand kilometers over the sea, desert lands and mountain ranges with absolutely no breakdowns or delays. The flight was of the highest difficulty, but the Soviet pilots coped truly heroically. In 1930, Voroshilov personally signed an order to award those participating in the flight for the courage and work done, the orders were awarded:
- Ingaunis F. A.
- Shirokov F. S.
- Shestel Y. A.
- Spirin I. T.
- Mezinov A. I.
- Koltsov M. E.
Perhaps it will seem that, in comparison with battles with opponents on the battlefield, this feat is not so significant and great. But this is not at all the case, the mission of these six people was extremely important, and how they were able to return to Moscow on time without the slightest delay still remains a mystery.
Awarded Teams
The order was also awarded to worthy teams that showed themselves in the best possible way and served for the good of the country. The very first such team was the publication of the newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda, which is symbolic. The Order was awarded to the team for the tenth anniversary of the publishing house. Later, the order was often awarded to various Soviet newspapers and magazines.
Mass awards
Most of all the Knights of the Order appeared at once in connection with what happened on Lake Khasan. More than two thousand people were awarded for courage with this order. In total, at the beginning of the Second World War, there were a little more than twenty cavaliersthousand people.
During the war, the order, like many orders and awards of the USSR, became one of the most popular awards. Approximately three million soldiers were awarded them for their bravery in battles against the Nazis, and about two thousand more military and rear teams.
Real Heroes
This award comes up when the awards of the Second World War 1941-1945 are listed. Often, veterans of the Great Patriotic War can see this order, and sometimes even two. In history, even a participant in the Second World War, awarded three orders of the Red Star, is known, this is I. Mokhov. The third award was received by him for participation in the battles in Austria. A small unit, which was under his command, was able to withstand the attack of more than five hundred fascists. Mokhov himself was wounded, but did not leave the battlefield, but continued to command. It was real courage and bravery.
Three times a woman - I. N. Levchenko. Four times - General, Commander of the Engineering Troops, N. Alekseev. And not only them, such heroes, surprisingly, there were many. Those who were awarded the Order of the Red Star of the Second World War are the most courageous and selfless citizens of the country.
There was a case when Soviet Aviation Colonel A. Yakimov received as many as five Orders of the Red Star. WWII awards 1941-1945 are the most honorable awards in the history of our country.
Rear award
There was a Guards variant, the Orders of the Red Star were awarded to representativesguards. But the rear also often received awards. And why were they awarded the Order of the Red Star?
The Order was also awarded for rear deeds during the war years. In October 1943, he was awarded vocational schools number one in the city of Gorky and number three in the Moscow region.
In the post-war years, the order was awarded to more than eight hundred people who occupied completely prosaic positions: workers, policemen, party workers. Their contribution to the development of the state was also great, and this was taken into account. Only now, over time, the award will be awarded only for military merit.
In those days, for obvious reasons, the Afghan activities of the military, albeit heroic, were not particularly advertised. But the orders on the uniform of the soldiers who arrived from Afghanistan were present, and among them there was often the Order of the Red Star. Often in buttonholes one could see the Order of the Red Star of the 2nd degree. Although, perhaps, there is nothing strange here. After all, that's what the award was called: the Order of the Red Star for Afghanistan.
The last, if we talk about time, by the decree of the Soviet Union, the Order of the Red Star was awarded to citizen V. L. Razumovich, who was in the rank of midshipman. The decree was signed in December 1994.
According to statistics, almost thirty-nine thousand people have been awarded the Red Star in the entire history of the order.
The Order of the Red Star occupied a worthy place in the system of Soviet and Russian military awards and was the second most important. Thanks to the chronographsit was fixed for what and to whom this or that award was given, we can now judge the valor, courage and courage of Soviet and Russian citizens.
