The decree of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR of April 16, 1934 established the highest degree of distinction - conferring the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for personal or collective services to the state associated with the performance of a heroic deed.
By a decree of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR of July 29, 1936, the Regulation on the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was approved.
By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated August 1, 1939, in order to specialize the citizens awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union and performing new heroic deeds, to establish the Gold Star medal in the shape of a five-pointed star.
By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of May 14, 1973, the Regulations on the title of Hero of the Soviet Union in a new edition were approved
Medal regulations
Title of Hero of the Soviet Union(GSS) is the highest degree of distinction and is awarded for personal or collective services to the Soviet state and society associated with the performance of a heroic deed.
The title of Hero of the Soviet Union is awarded by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.
The Hero of the Soviet Union is awarded:
- the highest award of the USSR - the Order of Lenin;
- a badge of special distinction - the Gold Star medal;
- diploma of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.
A Hero of the Soviet Union who has performed a heroic deed for the second time, no less than the one for which others who have accomplished a similar feat are awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, is awarded the Order of Lenin and the second Gold Star medal, and a bronze bust of the Hero with the corresponding inscription is erected to commemorate his exploits. installed in his homeland, as recorded in the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on the award.
A Hero of the Soviet Union, awarded with two Gold Star medals, for new heroic deeds similar to those previously committed, may again be awarded the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal.
When the Hero of the Soviet Union is awarded the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal, he is simultaneously awarded the diploma of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR along with the order and medal.
If the Hero of the Soviet Union is awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor, a bronze bust of the Hero with the appropriate inscription is erected in commemoration of his heroic and labor exploits, installed in his homeland, which is recorded in the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on conferring the title of Hero of Socialist Labor.
Heroes of the Soviet Union enjoy the benefits established by law.
Medal "Gold Star" Hero of the Soviet Union is worn on the left side of the chest over orders and medals of the USSR.
Deprivation of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union can only be carried out by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR
Medal description
The Gold Star medal is a five-pointed star with smooth dihedral rays on the obverse. The distance from the center of the star to the top of the beam is 15 mm. The distance between the opposite ends of the star is 30 mm.
The reverse side of the medal has a smooth surface and is limited along the contour by a protruding thin rim. On reverse side in the center of the medal there is an inscription in raised letters "Hero of the USSR". The size of the letters is 4 by 2 mm. In the upper beam there is a medal number 1 mm high.
The medal is connected with a lug and a ring to a metal gilded block, which is a rectangular plate 15 mm high and 19.5 mm wide, with frames in the upper and lower parts. There are slots along the base of the shoe, its inner part is covered with a red silk moire ribbon 20 mm wide. The shoe has a threaded pin with a nut on the reverse side for attaching the medal to clothing.
The medal is made of 950 gold. The block of the medal is made of silver. On September 18, 1975, the gold content in the medal was 20.521 ± 0.903 g, the silver content was 12.186 ± 0.927 g. The weight of the medal without the shoe was 21.5 g. Total weight medals - 34.264 ± 1.5 g
Medal history
The title of Hero of the Soviet Union is the highest degree of distinction of the Soviet period, the most honorable title in the Soviet hierarchy of awards. However, it would be wrong to call this title rare: there were much more Heroes of the Soviet Union than holders of any degree of any "military leader" order.
The title of Hero of the Soviet Union is the first such award in the world. Although in some countries there was the concept of "national hero", but it was not an official award. After the end of the Second World War, in a number of socialist-oriented countries, by analogy with the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, national highest degrees of distinction were established: "Hero of the Mongolian People's Republic" (Mongolian People's Republic), "Hero of Czechoslovakia" (Czechoslovak Soviet Socialist Republic), "Hero of the NRB" ( People's Republic of Bulgaria), "Hero of Syria" and others.
The title of Hero of the Soviet Union was established by the Decree of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR of April 16, 1934. The decree established that "Heroes of the Soviet Union are issued a special certificate." No other attributes and insignia were introduced to the Heroes of the Soviet Union at that time.
The regulation on the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was first established on July 29, 1936. It introduced the procedure for presenting to the Heroes of the Soviet Union, in addition to the certificate of the Central Executive Committee, and also the Order of Lenin - the highest award of the USSR. From that moment on, all Heroes of the Soviet Union received the Order of Lenin until the abolition of the USSR in 1991. Those who had been awarded the title of Hero before the publication of this Resolution also received it retroactively - there were only 11 of them.
The need for a special insignia for the SCA appeared three years later, when there were already 122 Heroes of the Soviet Union (two of them - pilots S.A. Levanevsky and V.P. Chkalov had died by that time, and 19 titles were awarded posthumously).
On August 1, 1939, the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR "On additional insignia for the Heroes of the Soviet Union" was issued. Articles 1 and 2 of the Decree read: "For the purpose of special distinction of citizens awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, the" Hero of the Soviet Union "medal is established, which is awarded simultaneously with the conferment of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union and the award of the Order of Lenin." Article 3 of the Decree introduced a serious change to the Regulations on the title of Hero of the Soviet Union in 1936, according to which the title of Hero of the Soviet Union could be awarded only once: “A Hero of the Soviet Union who performed a secondary heroic deed ... was awarded the second medal“ Hero of the Soviet Union ”, and ... a bronze bust is being erected in the Hero's homeland. " The presentation of the second Order of Lenin upon re-awarding was not envisaged.
The issuance of the Gold Star medals was carried out according to the order of conferring the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, including those who were awarded the title before the establishment of the Gold Star medal, while the number of the medal corresponded to the number of the diploma of the CEC or the Presidium of the Supreme Council.
The new edition of the Regulation on the title of Hero of the Soviet Union appeared on May 14, 1973, some changes were made to it by the Decree of July 18, 1980. It stated that the title of Hero of the Soviet Union "is awarded for personal or collective services to the Soviet state and society associated with the accomplishment of a heroic deed." What was new in him was that with the repeated and subsequent awards of the Hero of the Soviet Union with the Gold Star medal, he was awarded the Order of Lenin every time. In addition, the previous limitation on the number of Golden Star awards to one person (three times) was lifted, thanks to which Brezhnev was able to become four times Hero of the Soviet Union (Zhukov became four times Hero in 1956, bypassing the then decree of 1.8.39).
In 1988, this provision was changed, and the procedure for awarding the Order of Lenin to the Hero of the Soviet Union was established only at the first presentation of the Gold Star medal. There is information that after the war, the Heroes of the Soviet Union began to receive a copy of the Gold Star medal made of base metals for everyday wear.
The title of Hero of the Soviet Union was first conferred on April 20, 1934 by the Decree of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR for rescuing the polar expedition and the crew of the Chelyuskin icebreaker to the brave Soviet aviators MV Vodopyanov, IV Doronin, NP Kamanin, SA Levanevsky. , Lyapidevsky A.V., Molokov V.S. and Slepnev M.T. ... All of them received special letters from the CEC. In addition, they were awarded the Order of Lenin, which was not provided for by the Decree establishing the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Diploma No. 1 was awarded to A.V. Lyapidevsky. With the introduction of a special insignia, Lyapidevsky was awarded the Golden Star No. 1 (Order of Lenin No. 515). During the Great Patriotic War, Colonel (since 1946 - Major General) Lyapidevsky headed the aircraft plant. He was also awarded two Orders of Lenin, the Order of the Red Banner, Orders of the Patriotic War of I and II degrees, two Orders of the Red Star and the Order of the Red Banner of Labor. He passed away in 1983.
The eighth rank of the GSS in 1934 was awarded to the outstanding pilot M.M. Gromov, who made a record non-stop flight over a distance of 12,411 km in 75 hours. Members of his crew received only medals.
The next GSS in 1936 were the pilots Chkalov V.P., Baidukov G.F., Belyakov A.V., who made a non-stop flight from Moscow to the Far East.
On December 31, 1936, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was first awarded for military exploits. Eleven commanders of the Red Army became heroes - participants civil war in the Spanish Republic. It is noteworthy that all of them were also pilots, and three of them were foreigners by origin: the Italian Primo Gibelli, the German Ernst Schacht and the Bulgarian Zakhari Zakhariev. Among the eleven "Spanish" Heroes was the lieutenant of the 61st fighter squadron S.A. Chernykh. In Spain, he was the first Soviet pilot to shoot down the latest Messerschmitt Bf 109B fighter. On June 22, 1941, he commanded the 9th Mixed Air Division. On the first day of the war, the division suffered huge losses (347 out of 409 aircraft of the division were destroyed). Chernykh was accused of criminal inaction and was shot on June 27. Hero of the Soviet Union P.V. Rychagov received the title of GSS also for his participation in the Spanish events. His combat path is interesting. In the summer of 1938, during the conflict with the Japanese near Lake Khasan Rychagov, he commanded the Air Force of the Primorsky Group of the Far Eastern Front. In 1939 he was appointed Air Force Commander of the 9th Army. He took part in battles in the Soviet-Finnish war, then was appointed to the Main Directorate of the Air Force. In June 1941, Rychagov was accused of treason and shot together with his wife Maria in the village of Barbysh near Kuibyshev on October 28, 1941.
For the first time in the USSR, the title of GSS was awarded posthumously to three of the eleven "Spanish" Heroes. Among the three Heroes who were awarded the high rank posthumously was Lieutenant of the Red Army Air Force Karp Ivanovich Kovtun. On November 13, 1936, in an air battle over Madrid, Kovtun was shot down. The wounded pilot jumped out with a parachute, however, the wind blew him to the position of the Francoists. On November 15, a box with the hero's body was dropped by parachute at the airfield where Kovtun's unit was based. In the drawer was a note "A Present from General Franco." The hero pilot was buried in a rural cemetery 12 km from Madrid, indicating on the tombstone Kovtun's Spanish pseudonym - "Jan".
In June 1937, the title of Hero was awarded to a group of persons for organizing and carrying out the delivery by aircraft to the North Pole of the crew of the world's first polar drifting weather station. The heroes were the head of the landing, Academician Shmidt O.Yu., the head of the polar aviation of the USSR Shevelev M.M., the head of the station being organized, Papanin I.D. and 5 pilots, including the famous Mazuruk I.P. and Babushkin M.S.
After 2 months, two more Heroes appeared - pilots A.B. Yumashev. and Danilin S.A. - members of the crew of M.M. Gromov, who made a record-breaking long-range flight from Moscow to the United States through the North Pole.
In the summer of 1937, the title of GSS was first awarded to a group of tankmen headed by brigade commander D.G. Pavlov. for participating in battles in Spain. Among them were Lieutenants G.M. Skleznev. and Bilibin K., who were awarded the title posthumously.
During the war in Spain (1936 - 1939), the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to 59 of its participants. Among them were two military advisers: pilot corps commander Ya.V. Smushkevich. and infantryman captain Rodimtsev A.I. (both of them later became twice Heroes of the Soviet Union). One of the "Spanish" Heroes - Pavlov D.G., after 3 years was already an army general, commander of the Western (Belorussian) Military District, and a year later he was shot by order of Stalin, laying on him all the blame for the failures of the Red Army in the summer of 1941 of the year.
In March 1938, the ice drift of the crew of the North Pole station was completed. scientific research... Three crew members (in addition to N.D. Papanin): E.T. Krenkel, P.P. Shirshov, and E.K. Fedorov. also awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. They were the first to receive the Diplomas of Heroes not on behalf of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR, but from the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, elected shortly before.
Soon the famous pilot Kokkinaki V.K. for testing aircraft and setting world records for flight altitude. At the same time, several Heroes appeared who were awarded the title for battles in China against the Japanese invaders. The first of them was also the pilot, the commander of the aviation group Polynin F.P.
By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated October 25, 1938, the first mass award of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union took place: it was awarded to 26 soldiers and commanders - participants in the battles with the Japanese invaders who invaded the territory of the USSR in the area of Lake Khasan near Vladivostok. For the first time, not only members of the command staff of the Red Army, but also ordinary Red Army soldiers (four out of twenty-six) became Heroes.
By a decree of November 2, 1938, for the first time, women were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Pilots Grizodubova V.S., Osipenko P.D. and Raskova M.M. were awarded for the implementation of a non-stop flight from Moscow to the Far East on the plane "Rodina" at a distance of 5908 km. Two of them soon died in plane crashes. Osipenko died a year later, knocking out one of the first Heroes of the Soviet Union, pilot brigade commander A. Serov, and Raskova died in 1942, having managed to form the world's first female aviation regiment before her death.
In 1939, another massive award of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union took place. For military exploits shown in battles with the Japanese invaders on the Khalkhin-Gol River on the territory of the Mongolian republic, friendly to the Soviet Union, 70 people were awarded the title of Hero (20 of them posthumously). Among the Heroes of Khalkhin-Gol there were 14 infantrymen and general military commanders, 27 pilots, 26 tankmen and 3 artillerymen; 14 out of 70 belonged to the junior command staff (i.e. sergeant), and only 1 was a simple Red Army soldier (Lazarev Evgeny Kuzmich), the rest were commanders. Commander Zhukov G.K. became heroes for distinctions in battles at Khalkhin-Gol. and the commander of the second rank Stern G.M. (was shot without trial in the fall of 1941). In addition, for Khalkhin Gol, three more soldiers became twice Heroes of the Soviet Union for the first time. All three of the first two heroes were pilots: Major S. Gritsevets. (Awarded the title of GSS by Decrees of February 22, 1939 and August 29, 1939), Colonel Kravchenko G.P. (Decrees of February 22, 1939 and August 29, 1939), as well as corps commander Smushkevich Ya.V. (Decrees of June 21, 1937 and November 17, 1939). None of these three heroes twice survived until the end of the Great Patriotic War.
Gritsevets shot down 12 enemy aircraft in the sky of Khalkhin-Gol. He died in a plane crash on September 16, 1939 (less than a month after being awarded). Kravchenko, who commanded the 22nd IAP (Fighter Aviation Regiment) on Khalkhin Gol and shot down 7 Japanese aircraft during the conflict, in 1940 became the youngest lieutenant general of the Red Army (at the age of 28). He fought well on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War, commanded an air division, but on February 23, 1943, he died after jumping out of a downed plane and unable to use a parachute (his pull rope was broken by a shrapnel). Smushkevich was arrested in the spring of 1941, stripped of all awards, and in the fall of 1941 he was shot (together with Stern and another former Hero- pilot P.V. Rychagov, awarded the title for the war in Spain).
The heroes of Khalkhin Gol were the first to receive the newly introduced insignia - the Gold Star medals.
At the beginning of 1940, a massive award of the title of Hero, unique in its kind, took place: the Golden Stars were awarded to all 15 crew members of the Georgy Sedov icebreaker, which had been drifting in the ice of the Arctic Ocean for 812 days since 1937! Later, the assignment of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union to the entire crew of the ship or to the entire personnel of the subunit was never repeated, not counting three cases of awarding consolidated units during the Great Patriotic War (see below). In addition, the head of the rescue expedition on the icebreaker I. Stalin "to remove from the ice" G. Sedova ", Hero of the Soviet Union ID Papanin became a Twice Hero, and it is not entirely clear why: his activity as a boss was not at all associated with a risk to his life. Papanin became the only one of the five "pre-war" twice Heroes who was not a pilot.
As a result of the Soviet-Finnish war (winter 1939-1940), 412 people were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Among those awarded for the "Finnish" war were the commander of the troops of the North-Western Front, commander of the 1st rank Timoshenko S.K. and the commander of the 1st rank Kulik G.M., two years later deprived of this rank after the failures of the Red Army in the Crimea. Pilot Major General Denisov S.P. for battles in Finland he received the second "Gold Star", becoming the last of the five "pre-war" Twice Heroes.
By the end of 1940, another Hero of the Soviet Union appeared - the Spaniard Ramon Mercader, who was awarded this title for the murder in Mexico " worst enemy communism "Trotsky LD, the former Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the RSFSR and a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU (b). Mercader was awarded the title by a secret decree under a false name, since after the murder he carried out he was arrested and held in a Mexican prison. Only twenty years later, after leaving prison, he was able to receive his "Gold Star". He became the last Hero Of the Soviet Union in the pre-war period.
In total, before the start of the Great Patriotic War, the title of Hero was awarded to 626 people (including 3 women). By June 22, 1941, five became twice Heroes: military pilots S.I. Gritsevets. (02/22/1939 and 08/29/1939), Denisov S.P. (07/04/1937 and 03/21/1940), Kravchenko G.P. (02/22/1939 and 08/29/1939), Smushkevich Ya.V. (06/21/1937 and 11/17/1939) and polar explorer I.D. Papanin (06/27/1937 and 02/03/1940). Before the war, some of the Heroes died, including Chkalov, Osipenko, Serov and twice the GSS Gritsevets. Another twice Hero - Smushkevich - was under investigation as an "enemy of the people."
The overwhelming number of Heroes of the Soviet Union appeared during the Great Patriotic War: 11,635 people (92% of the total number of people awarded this title).
To the Great World War II The ranks of the GSS were first awarded to fighter pilots junior lieutenants M.P. Zhukov, S.I. Zdorovtsev. and Kharitonov P.T., who distinguished themselves in air battles with enemy bombers rushing to Leningrad. On June 27, these pilots on their I-16 fighters used ram attacks against enemy Ju-88 bombers. The title of the GSS was awarded to them by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of July 8, 1941.
The flight commander of the 46th Fighter Regiment (IAP) of the 14th Mixed Aviation Division (SmAD), Senior Lieutenant Ivanov I.I. performed a ramming of an enemy aircraft in the first minutes of the war. Taking off on alarm, Ivanov entered into battle with enemy aircraft in the Lutsk region. Having used up the ammunition, he damaged the tail of the German He-111 bomber with his I-16 propeller. The enemy plane crashed, but Ivanov also died. The low height did not allow him to use a parachute. The title of GSS was posthumously awarded to the brave pilot by a decree of August 2, 1941. However, the primacy of the ramming strike in the Great Patriotic War belongs to D.V. Kokorev. from the 124th IAP (9th SmAD). On his MiG-3 fighter, he rammed a Ju-88 bomber near the city of Zambrow at 4 hours 15 minutes, while Ivanov rammed at 4 hours 25 minutes. In total, on the first day of the war, the pilots of the Red Army Air Force fired 15 (!) Rams. Of these, only one Ivanov became the Hero of the Soviet Union.
On July 4, 1941, the commander of the 401st Special Fighter Aviation Regiment, GSS, Lieutenant Colonel S.P. Suprun, covering a group of bombers, single-handedly entered into battle with six enemy fighters, was mortally wounded and died, having managed to land the damaged fighter. By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of July 22, 1941 for courage and heroism shown in air battles with superior enemy aircraft, S.P. Suprun. the first in the period of the Great Patriotic War was awarded the second Gold Star medal (posthumously).
By a decree of 13 August 1941, ten bomber pilots who participated in the first raids on Berlin and other German cities were awarded the rank of GSS. Five of them belonged to the naval aviation - Colonel Preobrazhensky E.N., captains Grechishnikov V.A., Efremov A.Ya., Plotkin M.N. and Khokhlov P.I. Five more officers represented long-range aviation - majors Shchelkunov V.I. and Malygin V.I., captains Tikhonov V.G. and Kryukov N.V., Lieutenant Lakhonin V.I.
The first Hero of the Soviet Union in the ground forces was the commander of the 1st Moscow motorized rifle division, Colonel Kreizer Ya.G. (Decree of July 15, 1941) for organizing the defense along the Berezina River.
In the Navy, the title of Hero was first awarded to a seaman of the Northern Fleet, squad commander Senior Sergeant V.P. Kislyakov, who distinguished himself during the landing in Motovsky Bay in the Arctic in July 1941. The title of the GSS was awarded to him by the Decree of the PVS of the USSR dated August 14 (according to other sources 13), 1941.
Among the border guards, the first Heroes were the fighters who entered the battle on the Prut River on June 22, 1941: Lieutenant Konstantinov A.K., Sergeant Buzytskov I.D., Junior Sergeant Mikhalkov V.F. They were awarded the title of GSS by the Decree of August 26, 1941.
The first Hero-partisan was the Belarusian secretary of the district committee of the party T.P. Bumazhkov. - Commander and commissar of the partisan detachment "Red October" (Decree of the PVS of the USSR of August 6, 1941).
In total, in the first military year, only a few dozen people were awarded the title of Hero, and all from July to October 1941. Then the Germans approached Moscow, and the issues of rewarding the soldiers were forgotten for a long time.
The conferring of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was resumed in the winter of 1942 after the expulsion of the Germans from the Moscow region. By a decree of February 16, 1942, the 18-year-old partisan Zoya Anatolyevna Kosmodemyanskaya was awarded the highest degree of distinction of the USSR (posthumously). She became the first of 87 women - Heroes of the Soviet Union during the war years.
By the decree of July 21, 1942, all 28 heroes became Heroes - "Panfilov's men", participants in the defense of Moscow (see below). In total, according to the results of the battle near Moscow, more than 100 people became Heroes.
In June of the same year, the first twice Hero of the Soviet Union appeared, both times awarded a high rank during the war. He was the commander of the 2nd Guards Red Banner Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Northern Fleet, Lieutenant Colonel Safonov B.F. (Decrees of September 16, 1941 and June 14, 1942, posthumously). He was also the first twice Hero of the Navy since the inception of the title of Hero. Safonov died on May 30, 1942 while defending an Allied convoy on its way to Murmansk. During his short combat path, Safonov made about 300 sorties, personally shot down 25 and in a group of 14 enemy aircraft.
The next twice Hero of the Soviet Union during the war was the pilot of bomber aviation, squadron commander Captain A.I. Molodchiy. (Decrees dated October 22, 1941 and December 31, 1942).
In general, in 1942, the assignment of the title of Hero went almost as sparingly as in 1941, not counting the above-mentioned awards to the participants of the Battle of Moscow.
In 1943, participants in the Battle of Stalingrad became the first Heroes.
In 1943, 9 people were awarded the title of Hero twice. Of these, 8 were pilots: 5 from fighter, 2 from assault and 1 from bomber aviation and were awarded one Decree of August 24, 1943. Of these eight pilots, two received the first "Gold Star" in 1942, and six received both "Gold Stars. "For several months in 1943. Among these six was A.I. Pokryshkin, who a year later became the first three times Hero of the Soviet Union in history.
During the offensive operations of the Soviet Army in the second half of 1943, military units had to overcome many water obstacles with battles. In this regard, the directive of the Headquarters of the Supreme Command of September 9, 1943 is curious. In particular, it said:
“For crossing such a river as the Desna in the Bogdanovo region (Smolensk region) and below, and equal to the Desna rivers in terms of the difficulty of crossing, submit to awards:
- Commanders of armies - to the Order of Suvorov I degree.
- Commanders of corps, divisions, brigades - to the Order of Suvorov II degree.
- Commanders of regiments, commanders of engineering, sapper and pontoon battalions - to the Order of Suvorov, III degree.
For crossing such a river as the Dnieper River in the Smolensk region and below, and equal to the Dnieper rivers in terms of the difficulty of crossing the above-named commanders of formations and units, submit them for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. "
In October, the Red Army crossed the Dnieper - an offensive operation in 1943. For the crossing of the Dnieper and the courage and heroism shown at the same time, 2,438 people (47 generals and marshals, 1123 officers, 1268 sergeants and privates) received the title of Hero. This accounted for almost a quarter of all the Heroes of the Soviet Union during the war. One of the 2438 was awarded the second "Golden Star" - the commander of the rifle division Fesin II, who became the first in history twice Hero not from the Air Force.
In the same year, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was first awarded to a person who was neither a soldier of the Red Army nor a citizen of the USSR. Second lieutenant Otakar Yarosh, who fought in the 1st Czechoslovak Infantry Battalion (see below), became him.
In 1944, the number of Heroes of the Soviet Union increased by more than 3 thousand people, mainly infantrymen.
The first three times Hero of the Soviet Union was the commander of the fighter aviation division, Colonel Pokryshkin A.I. (Decree of August 19, 1944). The commander of the fighter squadron V.D. Lavrinenkov attached his second Hero Star to his tunic in the summer of 1944. (Awarded by Decrees dated May 1, 1943 and July 1, 1944).
By a decree of April 2, 1944, the awarding of the youngest Hero of the Soviet Union during the Patriotic War was announced (posthumously). It was the 17-year-old partisan Lenya Golikov, who died in battle several months before the decree.
Back in 1941, during the defense of Kiev heroically died, personally leading a counterattack, the commissar of the 206th rifle division regimental commissar Oktyabrsky I.F. Upon learning of the death of her husband, Maria Vasilievna Oktyabrskaya vowed to take revenge on the Nazis. She entered a tank school, became a tank driver and fought heroically against the enemy. In 1944, Oktyabrskaya M.V. posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
In 1945, the assignment of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union continued during the hostilities and then for several months after the Victory Day following the results of the war. So, before May 9, 1945, 28 Heroes appeared, and after May 9 - 38 twice Heroes. At the same time, two of the twice Heroes were awarded the third "Golden Star": the commander of the 1st Belorussian Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union Zhukov G.K. (Decree of June 1, 1945) for the capture of Berlin and the deputy commander of the air regiment, Major Kozhedub I.N. (Decree of August 18, 1945), as the most effective fighter pilot of the Soviet Air Force, who shot down 62 enemy aircraft.
In the history of the Great Patriotic War, there were unique cases when the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to all personnel of the unit. Personally, I know of only three such awards.
By decree of July 21, 1942, all soldiers of the tank destroyer unit from the 1075th regiment of the 316th rifle division of Major General Panfilov became Heroes. 27 soldiers, led by political instructor Klochkov, at the cost of their lives stopped the advanced tank units of the Germans, rushing to the Volokolamskoe highway, at the Dubosekovo junction. All of them were awarded the title posthumously, but later five of them were alive and received the "Golden Stars".
By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of May 18, 1943, all the soldiers of the platoon of Lieutenant P.N. Shironin were awarded the title of the GSS. from the 78th Guards Rifle Regiment of the 25th Guards Rifle Division of General Shafarenko P.M. For five days, starting on March 2, 1943, a platoon, reinforced with a 45-mm gun, defended railroad crossing near the village of Taranovka south of Kharkov and repeated the feat of the legendary "Panfilovites". The enemy lost 11 units of armored vehicles and up to a hundred soldiers. When other divisions approached the "Shironins" for help, only six heroes survived, including the seriously wounded commander. All 25 platoon soldiers, including Lieutenant Shironin, were awarded the rank of GSS.
By the decree of April 2, 1945, the last in the history of the Great Patriotic War was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union to the entire personnel of one unit. During the liberation of the city of Nikolaev on March 28, 1944, 67 soldiers of the airborne detachment (55 sailors and 12 army men), headed by Senior Lieutenant Olshansky K.F. and his deputy for political affairs, captain Golovlev A.F. The landing party was landed in the Nikolaev port to facilitate the capture of the city by the advancing troops. Against the paratroopers, the Germans threw three battalions of infantry, supported by 4 tanks and artillery. Before the main forces approached, 55 out of 67 people were killed in the battle, but the paratroopers were able to destroy about 700 fascists, 2 tanks and 4 guns. All the dead and surviving paratroopers were awarded the title of GSS,. In addition to the paratroopers, the conductor also fought as part of the detachment, however, the title of Hero was awarded to him only 20 years later.
For the liberation of the Czech Republic, the title of GSS was awarded 88 times, for the liberation of Poland - 1667 times, for the Berlin operation - more than 600 times.
For the exploits in the capture of Konigsberg, about 200 people were awarded the rank of GSS, and the commander of the 43rd Army, Lieutenant General A.P. Beloborodov. and pilot of the guard, senior lieutenant Golovachev P.Ya. became Twice Heroes.
For their exploits during the war with Japan, 93 people were awarded the title of GSS. Of these, 6 people became Twice Heroes:
- commander-in-chief of the Soviet troops on Far East Marshal of the Soviet Union A.M. Vasilevsky;
- General Kravchenko A.G., commander of the 6th Guards Tank Army;
- the commander of the 5th army, General N. Krylov;
- Air Chief Marshal Novikov A.A .;
- the commander of the cavalry-mechanized group, General Pliev I.A .;
- Senior Lieutenant of the Marine Corps Leonov V.N. ...
In total, 11,626 soldiers were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for military exploits during the Great Patriotic War. 101 people were awarded two Gold Star medals. Three became three times Heroes: Zhukov G.K., Kozhedub I.N., Pokryshkin A.I.
It must be said that in 1944, the Decrees on awarding the navigator of the fighter aviation regiment Major N.D. Gulaev were promulgated. the third "Golden Star", as well as a number of pilots of the second "Golden Star", but none of them received awards because of the brawl they organized in a Moscow restaurant on the eve of receiving the awards. These decrees have been canceled.
The former chief of the operational department of the General Staff of the Soviet Army, Marshal Shtemenko, cites the following data: for exploits during the Great Patriotic War, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (as of September 1, 1948) was awarded to 11603 people, 98 people were awarded this honor twice, and three times - three.
Among the twice Heroes were three Marshals of the Soviet Union (Vasilevsky A.M., Konev I.S., Rokossovsky K.K.), one Chief Marshal of Aviation A.I. Novikov, (a year later he was demoted and spent 7 years in prison until Stalin's death), 21 generals and 76 officers. There was not a single soldier or sergeant among the twice Heroes. Seven out of 101 twice Heroes received the second Star posthumously.
Of all those awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union during the Great Patriotic War and the war with Japan the largest number made up the soldiers of the ground forces - over 8 thousand (1800 artillerymen, 1142 tankmen, 650 sappers, more than 290 signalmen and 52 soldiers of the rear).
The number of Heroes - soldiers of the Air Force was significantly smaller - about 2400 people.
In the Navy, the GSS became 513 people (including naval pilots and marines who fought on the shore).
Among the border guards, soldiers of the internal troops and security forces - over 150 Heroes of the Soviet Union.
The rank of the GSS was awarded to 234 partisans, including S. A. Kovpak and A. F. Fedorov, who were awarded two Gold Star medals.
More than 90 women are among the Heroes of the Soviet Union. Among the Heroes - women are representatives of almost all branches of the military, except for the border and internal ones. Most of them were female pilots - 29 people. During the war, the 46th Taman Guards Orders of the Red Banner and Suvorov III degree air regiment, equipped with Po-2 light night bombers, became famous. The air regiment was manned by female crews, and many pilots were awarded Gold Stars. For example, I will name the regiment commander Lieutenant Colonel E.D.Bershanskaya, squadron commander Major M.V. Smirnov, navigator E. Pasko, pilot of senior lieutenant N.F. Meklin. Many female heroes were partisans-underground fighters - 24 people. More than half of the women were awarded the title of GSS posthumously.
Among all the Heroes of the Soviet Union, 35% were privates and sergeants (soldiers, sailors, sergeants and foremen), 61% were officers and 3.3% (380 people) were generals, admirals and marshals.
According to the ethnic composition, the majority of the Heroes were Russians - 7998 people; there were 2,021 Ukrainians, Belarusians - 299, Tatars - 161, Jews - 107, Kazakhs - 96, Georgians - 90, Armenians - 89, Uzbeks - 67, Mordvin - 63, Chuvashes - 45, Azerbaijanis - 43, Bashkirs - 38, Ossetians - 31, Mari - 18, Turkmen - 16, Lithuanians - 15, Tajiks - 15, Latvians - 12, Kyrgyz - 12, Komi - 10, Udmurts - 10, Estonians - 9, Karelians - 8, Kalmyks - 8, Kabardins - 6 , Adygeis - 6, Abkhazians - 4, Yakuts - 2, Moldovans - 2, Tuvinians - 1 and others.
One of the Heroes of the Soviet Union, a participant in the Great Patriotic War, the Don Cossack K. Nedorubov, is also a full Knight of St. George: four soldiers george cross he received during the first world war.
The titles of Hero of the Soviet Union and Hero of Socialist Labor were awarded to 11 people: Stalin I.V., Brezhnev L.I., Khrushchev N.S., Ustinov D.F., Voroshilov K.E., the famous pilot Grizodubova V.S. , General of the Army Tretyak I.M., 1st Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Belarus P.M. Masherov, chairman of the collective farm K.P. Orlovsky, director of the state farm V.I.Golovchenko, mechanic P.A.
The title of Hero of the Soviet Union is borne by four full knights of the Order of Glory: artilleryman of the guard senior sergeant A.V. Aleshin, attack pilot junior lieutenant of aviation Drachenko I.G., marine of the guard petty officer Dubinda P.Kh., artilleryman senior sergeant Kuznetsov N.I. ... ... The title of Hero of the Soviet Union is also held by 80 holders of the Order of Glory II degree and 647 holders of the Order of Glory III degree.
Five Heroes were subsequently awarded the Order of Labor Glory III degree: captains Dementyev Yu.A. and Zheltoplyasov I.F., foreman Gusev V.V. and Tatarchenkov P.I., senior sergeant Chernoshein V.A. ...
During the Great Patriotic War, the title of GSS was awarded to more than 20 foreign citizens... The first of them was a serviceman of the 1st Czechoslovak separate battalion, commander of the 1st company, second lieutenant (posthumously awarded the rank of captain) Otakar Yarosh. He was awarded the title of Hero on April 17, 1943, posthumously for a feat near the village of Sokolovo on the left bank of the Mzha River near Kharkov in early March 1943.
Six more Czechoslovak citizens became Heroes of the Soviet Union. In the battles for the city of Ovruch in November 1943, the commander of the Czechoslovak partisan detachment, Jan Nalepka, distinguished himself. On the outskirts of the station, he was mortally wounded, but continued to command the detachment. By a decree of May 2, 1945, Nalepka was posthumously awarded the title of GSS. Gold Stars were also awarded to the commander of the Czechoslovak submachine gun battalion, Lieutenant Sokhor A.A., the commanders of the tank battalions of the tank brigade of the 1st Czechoslovak corps, Tessarzhik R.Ya. and Burshik I., 23-year-old tank officer Vaida S.N. (posthumously),. In November 1965, the title of Hero was awarded to the legendary commander of the 1st Czechoslovak Separate Battalion (and later the 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps), Army General Ludwig Svoboda.
Three soldiers of the Polish Army who fought against the Nazis as part of the 1st Polish Infantry Division im. Tadeusz Kosciuszko (this division was formed in the summer of 1943 and was part of the 33rd Army). The names of Polish heroes are Vladislav Vysotsky, Juliusz Hubner and Anela Kzhivon.
Four pilots of the French Normandie-Niemen Regiment, which fought against German troops on the Soviet-German front, awarded the Gold Star medals. Their names are: the Marquis Rolland de la Poippe, his wingman Marcel Albert, Jacques André and Marcel Lefebvre.
The commander of the machine-gun company of the 35th Guards Division of the Guards Captain Ruben Ruiz Ibarruri (son of the chairman of the Central Committee of the Spanish Communist Party Dolores Ibarruri) distinguished himself in a battle with German tanks at the Kotluban station near the village of Samofalovka near Stalingrad. He was posthumously awarded the title of GSS.
The hero of the Soviet Union was the Bulgarian general Vladimir Stoyanov-Zaimov, an anti-fascist who had republican views and was executed in 1942. The title of Hero was awarded to him posthumously in 1972.
German anti-fascist patriot Fritz Schmenkel, who fought with the Nazis in a Soviet partisan detachment and died in battle, also became a Hero of the Soviet Union. The high title was awarded to him posthumously on October 6, 1964.
It is extremely rare that the title of the GSS was awarded from 1945 to 1953. In 1948, the second "Golden Star" was awarded to the fighter pilot Lieutenant Colonel (later Air Marshal) Koldunov A.I. for 46 Nazi aircraft shot down during the war.
Among the few post-war Heroes of the Soviet Union, it is worth mentioning the pilots of the 64th Fighter Aviation Corps, who fought in the skies of North Korea in 1950-1953 against American and South Korean aces, test pilots of jet aircraft Stefanovsky P.M. and Fedotova I.E. (1948) and the head of the polar meteorological station "North Pole - 2" M.M. Samov. (expedition 1950-1951). Such a high award to the scientist is explained by the extreme importance of the polar expedition: it explored the possibilities of reaching the shores of America under the ice of the Arctic and, unlike the "Papanin" expedition of 1937, was deeply classified.
The second, post-war wave of repressions, also affected many Heroes of the Soviet Union. Three times Hero Zhukov G.K. in 1946 he was removed from the post of deputy commander-in-chief of the USSR Armed Forces and sent to command the secondary Odessa military district. Hero of the Soviet Union, Admiral of the Fleet Kuznetsov N.G., who served as the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy throughout the war, was also removed from office and demoted in 1947. Heroes of the Soviet Union Colonel-General V.N. Gordov and Major General (until 1942 - Marshal of the Soviet Union) Kulik G.I. in the early 50s were shot.
After Stalin's death, the first Heroes appeared in 1956, at the beginning of the Khrushchev Thaw. One of the first acts was the awarding in 1956 to the Minister of Defense of the USSR Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov. the fourth "Gold Star". Several points should be noted here. First, formally, he was awarded on the occasion of his 60th birthday, which the Regulation on the title of Hero of the Soviet Union did not provide. Secondly, this Regulation determined the awarding of one person with only three "Gold Stars". Thirdly, he was awarded a month after the "rebellion" in Hungary, the suppression of which by the forces of the Soviet Army he personally organized, i.e. merits in Hungarian events were the real reason for the award.
For the suppression of the rebellion in Hungary in 1956, the title of GSS was also awarded posthumously. So, for example, as part of the 7th Guards Airborne Division, out of four awarded, three received a high award posthumously.
In the same 1956, Marshal Voroshilov K.E. became the Hero of the Soviet Union. (Decree of February 3, 1956). In 1968, under Brezhnev, he received the second "Star" (Decree of February 22, 1968).
Marshal Budenny S.M. Khrushchev made him twice a Hero (Decrees of February 1, 1958 and April 24, 1963), and Brezhnev continued this tradition by awarding the 85-year-old Marshal with the third "Golden Star" in 1968 (Decree of February 22, 1968).
Khrushchev awarded the titles of GSS to Cuban leader Fidel Castro and Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, and a little later to the head of the Algerian government Ahmed Ben Bell (a year later overthrown by his own people) and the leader of the GDR communists Walter Ulbricht.
During the Khrushchev's "thaw" for the feats accomplished during the war, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to people who, under Stalin, were branded as "traitors to the Motherland" and "accomplices of the fascists" just because they were in captivity. Justice was restored in relation to the defender of the Brest Fortress Major PM Gavrilov, the hero of the French resistance Lieutenant Vasily Porik (posthumously), the Yugoslav partisan Lieutenant Huseyn-Zade M.G. (posthumously), holder of the Italian Resistance medal, Poletaeva F.A. (posthumously) and others. Former pilot Lieutenant Devyatayev M.P. in 1945, he escaped from a Nazi concentration camp, hijacking a bomber from an enemy airfield. For this feat, Stalin's investigators "awarded" him a prison term as a "traitor", and in 1957 he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
In 1964, scout Richard Sorge became the Hero (posthumously).
On the day of the twentieth anniversary of the victory, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of May 9, 1965, the rank of GSS was posthumously awarded to Major General Rakhimov. He was the first general to emerge from the Uzbek people. Chevalier of four Orders of the Red Banner, Rakhimov S.U. commanded the 37th Guards Division and died on March 26, 1945 from a direct hit by a German shell at a divisional observation post.
Under Khrushchev, there were many cases of awarding the title of Hero for exploits in peacetime. So, in 1957 the second "Gold Star" was received by the test pilot Kokkinaki V.K. (Decree of September 17, 1957), awarded the first Star of the Hero back in 1938 (Decree of July 17, 1938). In 1953 and 1960, his colleagues, test pilots S.N. Anokhin became Heroes. and Mosolov G.K.
In 1962, three sailors from the nuclear submarine "Leninsky Komsomol", which made a cruise to the North Pole under the eternal ice, became Heroes at once: Rear Admiral A.I. Petemin, Captain 2nd Rank Zhiltsov L.M. and Lieutenant-Commander Timofeev R.A.
The tradition of conferring the title of Hero began in 1961 Soviet cosmonauts... The first of them was cosmonaut No. 1 Gagarin Yu.A.
In 1964, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to N.S. Khrushchev, First Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee. to his 70th birthday. To his three gold medals "Hammer and Sickle" of the Hero of Socialist Labor was also added the "Gold Star" medal.
Brezhnev L.I., who took his post. continued awarding. In 1965, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Victory, there was a provision on the Hero Cities, according to which these cities (at that time only five) and the hero fortress Brest were awarded the Gold Star medal and the Order of Lenin.
In 1968, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Soviet Army, Voroshilov K.E. received the second "Gold Star", and SM Budyonny - the third.
Under Brezhnev, Marshals Timoshenko S.K., Baghramyan I.Kh. became Heroes twice. and Grechko A.A., and Grechko received the first "Gold Star" also in peacetime - in 1958.
In 1978, the title of Hero was awarded to the Minister of Defense Ustinov D.F. - a person who during the war years stood at the head of the People's Commissariat of Armaments, but never visited the front. For his labor activity during the war and peacetime, Ustinov, by the way, has already been twice awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor (in 1942 and 1961).
In 1969, the first cosmonauts appeared - twice Heroes, who received both "Stars" for space flights: Colonel VA Shatalov. and candidate of technical sciences Eliseev A.S. Both "Golden Stars" were received by them within one year (Decrees of January 22, 1969 and October 22, 1969).
Two years later, they were both the first in the world to make a space flight for the third time, but the third Golden Stars were not given to them: perhaps because this flight was unsuccessful and was interrupted on the second day. In the future, the cosmonauts who completed the third and even the fourth space flight did not receive the third "Star", but were awarded the Order of Lenin.
Astronauts are citizens socialist countries they also became Heroes of the Soviet Union, and citizens of capitalist states who flew on Soviet aircraft were awarded only the Order of Friendship of Peoples.
In 1966, Leonid I. Brezhnev, who already had the Hammer and Sickle gold medal, received the first Gold Star for his 60th birthday, and in 1976, 1978 and 1981, also for his birthdays - three more, becoming the first and only in history four times Hero of the Soviet Union and Hero of Socialist Labor.
Brezhnev's successors continued to confer the title of Hero of the Soviet Union on cosmonauts, as well as participants in the war in Afghanistan, which began under Brezhnev. At the same time, the future first ever vice president became the Heroes from among the "Afghans" Russian Federation Rutskoy A.V. and the future Minister of Defense of Russia Grachev P.I.
One of the last titles of the GSS in the history of the USSR was awarded by the Decree of the President of the USSR dated May 5, 1990. By his decree, Mikhail Gorbachev posthumously conferred the title of Hero of the Soviet Union on Ekaterina Ivanovna Zelenko (Gold Star medal No. 11611, Order of Lenin No. 460051). Senior Lieutenant Zelenko on September 12, 1941 on his Su-2 bomber rammed a German Me-109 fighter. Zelenko died, destroying an enemy plane. It was the only female ram in aviation history.
By the same Decree of May 5, 1990, the title of the GSS was awarded (posthumously) to the legendary seaman-submariner Marinesko A.I. ), the most productive female fighter Lydia Vladimirovna Litvyak (in total she destroyed 11 enemy aircraft and died in an air battle on August 1, 1943), a member of the Young Guard underground organization Ivan Turkenich (officer of the political department of the 99th Infantry Division, Captain Turkenich was mortally wounded in Poland on the outskirts of the Vistula River on August 13, 1944) and others - only about 30 people.
After the 1991 "coup", there was an obscure posthumous assignment of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union to three participants in the events who attacked an armored personnel carrier leaving the White House. By a decree of August 24, 1991, Dmitry Komar, Ilya Krichevsky and Vladimir Usov posthumously received the Hero's Golden Stars with numbers 11658, 11659 and 11660. The incident is that they were awarded the highest degree of state distinction for attacking the troops of this very state government order. In addition, an attack on departing units can in no way be qualified as a "heroic deed," for which, according to the Regulations, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union should be awarded.
Artsebarsky A.P. was the last cosmonaut to be awarded the title of GSS. - Commander of the Soyuz TM-13 spacecraft. Starting on May 18, 1991, Artsebarsky together with S.K. Krikalev. and the British cosmonaut H. Sharman docked with the Mir orbital station, spent more than 144 days in orbit, performed 6 exits in open space... He returned to Earth on October 10, 1991 together with T.O. Aubakirov. and Austrian F. Fiebeck. The title of Hero of Artsbarsky was awarded by the Decree of October 10, 1991.
One of the last awards of a high rank took place by the Decree of the President of the USSR No. UP-2719 dated October 17, 1991. The title of GSS was awarded to Lieutenant Colonel Burkov Valery Anatolyevich "for the heroism and courage shown in the performance of assignments to provide international assistance to the Republic of Afghanistan and selfless actions to protect the constitutional order of the USSR."
The last in the history of the Soviet Union was awarded the title of GSS in accordance with the Decree of December 24, 1991. The last Hero of the Soviet Union was a diving specialist 3rd rank captain Leonid Mikhailovich Solodkov, who showed courage and heroism in performing a special command assignment to test new diving equipment.
154 people became Heroes twice. Of these, five were awarded the high rank before the war, 103 people were awarded the second Star for deeds during the Great Patriotic War, 1 person (the commander of a tank brigade, Major General A.A. Aslanov) was awarded the second Star posthumously by the Decree of June 21, 1991 , 1 person (Kokkinaki V.K.) was awarded for testing aviation technology, 9 people became twice Heroes after the war in connection with various anniversaries and 35 people received the high title twice GSS for space exploration.
In general, in the entire history of the USSR, 12,745 people were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
154 people became Heroes twice.
Three medals "Gold Star" were awarded to three people: Marshal of the Soviet Union Budyonny S.M. (02/01/1958, 04/24/1963, 02/22/1968), Colonel-General of Aviation Kozhedub I.N. (02/04/1944, 08/19/1944, 08/18/1945) and Air Marshal Pokryshkin A.I. (24.05.1943, 24.08.1943, 19.08.1944).
Four Gold Star medals were awarded to two people: Marshal of the Soviet Union LI Brezhnev. (12/18/1966, 12/18/1976, 12/19/1978, 12/18/1981) and Marshal of the Soviet Union Zhukov G.K. (08/29/1939, 07/29/1944, 06/01/1945, 12/01/1956).
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 is the Gold Star medal? Below we give an approximate price for some of the rooms.
August 1 marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the Gold Star medal. This award is still used to this day. Previously, it was awarded to persons awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, now - to persons who have been awarded the title of Hero of Russia.
The title of Hero of the Soviet Union was established on April 16, 1934, but until 1939 the Heroes of the Soviet Union did not have any insignia - a special certificate was evidence of their awarding the honorary title.
On August 1, 1939, an insignia was instituted for the Heroes of the Soviet Union - the Gold Star medal, which was a five-pointed star with smooth dihedral rays on the obverse. The distance from the center of the star to the top of the beam is 15 mm. The distance between the opposite ends of the star is 30 mm.
The reverse side of the medal had a smooth surface and was limited along the contour by a protruding thin rim. On the reverse side, in the center of the medal, there was an inscription in raised letters "Hero of the USSR". The size of the letters is 4x2 mm. In the upper beam there was a medal number 1 mm high.
The medal was connected with a gilded metal block by means of an eyelet and a ring, which was a rectangular plate 15 mm high and 19.5 mm wide, with frames in the upper and lower parts. There were slots along the base of the shoe, its inner part was covered with a red silk moire ribbon 20 mm wide. The shoe had a threaded pin with a nut on the reverse side for attaching the medal to clothing.
The medal was made of 950 gold. The block of the medal was made of silver. On September 18, 1975, the content of gold in the medal was 20.521 ± 0.903 g, silver - 12.186 ± 0.927 g. The weight of the medal without a shoe was 21.5 g. The total weight of the medal was 34.264 ± 1.5 g.
The medal was supposed to be worn on the left side of the chest above all other awards.
In the USSR, awards with the title "Hero of the Soviet Union" could be made several times: the recipient of this award was twice called "Twice Hero of the Soviet Union", three times - "Three times Hero of the Soviet Union", four times - "Four times Hero of the Soviet Union". The title of Hero of the Soviet Union could also be awarded posthumously.
The first Heroes of the Soviet Union were pilots Mikhail Vodopyanov, Ivan Doronin, Nikolai Kamanin, Sigismund Levanevsky, Anatoly Lyapidevsky, Vasily Molotkov and Mauritius Slepnev, who were awarded this title on April 20, 1934 for rescuing a crew killed in arctic ice icebreaker "Chelyuskin".
In total, from 1934 to 1991, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to 12,745 people. Of this number, 153 people became twice Heroes, 3 people (pilots Ivan Kozhedub, Alexander Pokryshkin and Marshal Semyon Budyonny) - three times Heroes, 2 people (Marshal Georgy Zhukov and general secretary Central Committee of the CPSU Leonid Brezhnev) - four times Hero.
The last in the history of the USSR was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union in accordance with the decree of December 24, 1991. The title was awarded to the diving specialist Captain 3rd Rank Leonid Solodkov, who showed courage and heroism in performing a special command assignment to test new diving equipment.
The title of Hero of the Russian Federation became the first established state award after the collapse of the USSR and took place on March 20, 1992.
The title Hero of Russia is not the highest state award. The subject of the award is exceptional feat, but not merit. Secondary awards with the title of Hero of Russia are not made.
The title of Hero of the Russian Federation is awarded by the President of the Russian Federation.
Awarded with the title "Hero of the Russian Federation" is awarded a certificate and a badge of special distinction - the medal "Gold Star" 1992 No. 2553).
The Gold Star medal of the Hero of Russia resembles a similar medal of the Hero of the Soviet Union and is a five-pointed star with smooth dihedral rays on the obverse. The beam length is 15 mm.
The reverse side of the medal has a smooth surface and is limited along the contour by a protruding thin rim.
On the reverse side, in the center of the medal, there is an inscription in raised letters: “Hero of Russia”. The size of the letters is 4x2 mm. In the upper ray there is a medal number, 1 mm high.
The medal is connected by means of an eyelet and a ring to a metal gilded block, which is a rectangular plate 15 mm high and 19.5 mm wide with frames in the upper and lower parts.
There are slots along the base of the shoe, its inner part is covered with a three-color moire ribbon in accordance with the color State flag Russian Federation.
The shoe has a threaded pin with a nut on the reverse side for attaching the medal to clothing. Gold medal, weighing 21.5 grams.
The first awarded the title Hero of the Russian Federation and the Gold Star medal was cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev. He is also the first holder of the highest distinctions of both the USSR and Russia: he became a Hero of the Soviet Union back in April 1989. The second Gold Star medal for the feat in the performance of military duty was posthumously awarded to Major General of Aviation Sulambek Askanov.
Many of those who, being worthy of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for their front-line exploits during the Great Patriotic War, still did not become such in their time, receive the award today as heroes of Russia. Three female front-line soldiers were the first to receive this title in 1994, two of them posthumously: the scout Vera Voloshina, who was shot by the Nazis, and the commander of the aviation link Ekaterina Budanova, who shot down 10 Nazi planes. Another Hero was Lydia Shulaikina, who fought in the assault aviation of the Baltic Fleet.
Four Heroes of Russia are at the same time Heroes of the Soviet Union, and the total number of those awarded exceeded 870 people, of which 408 were awarded posthumously.
The material was prepared on the basis of information from open sources
The emergence of the highest degree of distinction of the USSR is directly related to the rescue of passengers and crew members of the Chelyuskin steamer.
Considering that in order to evacuate the people who were on the lost ship, the Soviet pilots carried out an operation that had no analogues in world history, the Soviet government also thought about the need to especially note this feat.
On April 16, 1934, the Central Executive Committee of the USSR, by a special resolution, established "the highest degree of distinction - conferring the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for personal or collective services to the state associated with the accomplishment."
It should be especially noted that no insignia for the Heroes of the Soviet Union was originally intended. The conferment of the title was marked exclusively by the presentation of a special diploma from the Central Executive Committee of the USSR.
The first assignment of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union took place on April 20, 1934, when it was awarded to the pilots who participated in the rescue of the Chelyuskinites: Anatoly Lyapidevsky, Sigismund Levanevsky, Vasily Molokov, Nikolay Kamanin, Mauritius Slepnev, Mikhail Vodopyanov and Ivan Doronin.
Pilots in the USSR in the 1930s were held in high esteem. It is not surprising that the first 11 Heroes of the Soviet Union represented aviation.
Initially, the Heroes of the Soviet Union received only a diploma. Photo: Public Domain
Order and medal
The tradition, along with conferring the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, to present the Order of Lenin has actually developed by itself. The fact is that the first 11 Heroes, along with the title, received the order, which was the highest award of the USSR.
In July 1936, this practice was legalized by the decision of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR - from now on, the Hero of the Soviet Union, along with the diploma, automatically received the Order of Lenin.
The number of Heroes grew - along with the "Stalin's falcons" were noted the military who fought in Spain, as well as participants in the battles on Lake Hassan.
The more Heroes became, the more the need for the appearance of a certain distinctive sign, by which anyone could recognize an outstanding person, grew.
This is how the Gold Star medal appeared, the sketch of which was architect Miron Merzhanov... The Gold Star medal as a distinction of the Heroes of the Soviet Union was approved on August 1, 1939, and the first Heroes to receive both the Gold Star and the Order of Lenin were participants in the battles near the Khalkhin-Gol River.
Medal "Gold Star". Photo: Public Domain
Zhukov, Brezhnev and Savitskaya
In total, from 1934 to 1991, 12,776 people received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, and the vast majority of awards were awarded to those who distinguished themselves in the battles of the Great Patriotic War: more than 91 percent of those awarded.
The absolute champions in "heroism" are Georgy Zhukov and Leonid Brezhnev... AND outstanding commander, and the secretary general are four times Heroes of the Soviet Union. At the same time, Brezhnev also has the title of Hero of Socialist Labor. However, the awards of Brezhnev at all times were treated with a fair amount of humor. Suffice it to say that three titles of Hero of the Soviet Union were awarded to Brezhnev in the period from 1976 to 1981, when the country's leader was rapidly losing his ability to work and the ability to critically relate to the surrounding reality.
Oddly enough, but, despite the heroism of Soviet women, only one of them was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union twice. However, we are talking about a more than worthy person - a pilot-cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya, the first woman to walk into outer space.
Pilot-Cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya. Photo: www.russianlook.com
Just thank you"
The very last Hero of the Soviet Union became extremely unusual person — diving specialist, captain 3rd rank Leonid Solodkov... The decree on awarding the title for participation in a diving experiment simulating long-term work at a depth of 500 meters under water was signed on December 24, 1991.
The newly-minted Hero was invited to the Kremlin on January 16, 1992 to receive the award. The situation was extremely strange - the state, the Hero of which became Leonid Solodkov, had not existed for more than three weeks by that time. But the most interesting thing is that, according to the military regulations, Solodkov as an officer had to say "I serve the Soviet Union!"
It is impossible to change the Charter quickly, and Solodkov decided to act on his own. After Marshal Shaposhnikov presented the award to the Hero, he answered simply: "Thank you!" This "Thank you" and ended the history of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, three years before his 60th birthday.
Many at that moment believed that there would be no more Heroes in our country. They say that nowhere, except for the USSR and the countries of the socialist bloc, such a system of distinction was not practiced, despite the fact that it exists in almost all countries of the world.
Tradition is stronger than ideology
However, tradition turned out to be stronger than ideological changes in society. Already on March 20, 1992, the Supreme Soviet of Russia approved the establishment of the title of Hero of the Russian Federation.
The fundamental difference between the title of Hero of Russia and its Soviet predecessor is that it is awarded only once.
At the same time, the continuity of the two highest degrees of distinction is confirmed by the fact that at once four Heroes of the Soviet Union became Heroes of the Russian Federation - these are astronauts Sergey Krikalev and Valery Polyakov, polar scientist Arthur Chilingarov and military pilot Nikolay Maidanov.
Among the Heroes of the Soviet Union were representatives of many nationalities of a large country - Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Tatars, Jews, Azerbaijanis, Chechens, Yakuts and many others.
It is not surprising that in many republics the former USSR which have become independent states, a similar title was established. Including Russia, it exists in 11 out of 15 states in the former USSR.
The Gold Star medal is a Soviet state award. This award was established in 1939 as an insignia for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. The award is currently not being awarded.
History of the award, the Gold Star medal of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
The Gold Star medal was established in 1939 by the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated August 1. Decrees introduced a new, additional insignia for persons who were awarded the highest degree of distinction in the USSR - the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Description of the award Medal "Gold Star" of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
The description of the Gold Star medal of the title Hero of the Soviet Union was approved in 1939 by the corresponding decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated October 16. On June 19, 1943, another decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR was issued, which amended the decree of October 16, 1939. In particular, according to this decree, the Gold Star medal is awarded to persons awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, and is a sign of distinction of this title.
The Gold Star medal of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was produced in several versions:
Option 1. The block is rectangular in size 15 by 25 millimeters, there was no intermediate link. The medal was attached to the block using rigid connecting rings. This version of the award was presented until 1943.
Option 2. The block is rectangular in size 15 by 19.5 mm. In this version, there was an intermediate connecting link - a ring - with the help of which the star was connected to the block.
Option 3. On the reverse of the star, the Roman numeral II was applied - this option was intended to award persons who were twice awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Option 4. On the reverse side of the star, the Roman numeral III was applied - this option was intended to award persons who were three times awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union.
Option 5. On the reverse side of the star, the Roman numeral IV was applied - this option was intended to award persons who had been awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union four times.
Option 6. This version was made for persons who, for valid reasons (during the course of hostilities), have lost the original award. A duplicate was made for them, with the previous number of the lost award and the letter "D", which stood for "Duplicate", applied to the reverse part of the star.
It is also worth noting one very curious moment - the decree of August 1, 1939 was supposed to apply the inscription "Hero of the SS" on the star, in which "SS" was the abbreviation for the Soviet Union. But by a decree of October 16 of the same year, the inscription was changed in accordance with the political situation at that time, since for many the combination of the letters "SS" evoked an association with Nazi SS units. In this regard, it was decided to apply on back side stars the inscription "Hero of the USSR".
Statistics of awarding the Gold Star medal with the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
As of the beginning of June 1941, 626 people were awarded the Gold Star medal of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
How often do Yandex users from Ukraine search for information on the Gold Star medal of the title Hero of the Soviet Union in a search engine?
As you can see from the screen of the wordstat system, users of the Yandex search engine in December 2015 were interested in the query "gold star medal" 834 times.
And according to this graph, you can see how the interest of Yandex users to the query "gold star medal" has changed over the past two years:
Hero of the Soviet Union - how proudly these words sound. This honorary title could only be received by a select few who distinguished themselves by certain merits or performed a feat. On April 16, 1934, the Central Executive Committee established the title "Hero of the USSR" for the first time. The awarded was given the star of the Hero of the Soviet Union. Let's remember how many heroes there were, who was the first to receive a medal and much more.
All about the highest award
The most important award of the USSR - a star - appeared in 1939. At first, it was used as an additional insignia for those who were awarded the highest degree of distinction. Then she was named differently: "Gold Star". It is made of gold, standard 950, and on its reverse side it says "Hero of the USSR".
The gold medal was given for special merits and for accomplished deeds. Heroes called those who shot down planes (at least 15 pieces), rescued people. Aerial gunners-bombers could get the "Golden Star" for 8 enemy aircraft shot down in the air.
The youngest Hero of the Soviet Union is partisan Valentin Kotik. He was 14 years old at the time, but he was a courageous pioneer. In 1943, Kitty was able to kill an officer and raise the alarm. Thanks to him, enemies were discovered and defeated.
Today Zvezda "-" Hero of the Soviet Union "- can even be found on sale, from shady antiques dealers. Of course, it is not cheap.
Anatoly Lyapidevsky is a famous Soviet pilot. He was a Major General of the Air Force. Today almost no one remembers about him, but in vain. After all, he was the first Hero of the Soviet Union. Anatoly Lyapidevsky received the Gold Star medal - Hero of the Soviet Union - had 3 Orders of Lenin and many other awards. In March, he still found them, landed a plane on a thin ice floe and rescued 12 people, including women and two children.Then he participated in the Great Patriotic War, where he received the rest of his awards.
Many believe that the first Hero of the Soviet Union passed away too banal. Such a difficult and thorny path went and survived. And then he was at the funeral of a colleague, where he caught a bad cold. They could not cure him, and on April 29, 1983, he died.
In honor of A. Lyapidevsky, a postage stamp of the USSR was issued in 1935. In Russia and Ukraine, many streets are named after him. In the school where the first Hero of the Soviet Union studied, a monument was erected in his honor in 1990 in the village of Belaya Glina.
There were few of them, only 95 people who were awarded this title. Some women - Heroes of the Soviet Union were even able to receive the title twice. Some were awarded posthumously, others still live today. Let's remember who was awarded the "Gold Star" of the Hero of the Soviet Union.
The first woman to receive the high title of Hero of the USSR is Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya. She was awarded a medal posthumously. Zoe managed to burn the connection of the Germans, thanks to which they could not interact with their units. The next time Zoya also tried to set fire, but she failed. She was caught and tortured brutally. However, Zoe did not even say her name. She turned out to be a real partisan. When she was led to the gallows, all beaten and covered in blood, she walked with her head held high. When she was being prepared to be hanged, she managed to shout that the Germans would not win the Soviet Union, and her comrades would avenge their fighting friend. And so it happened. And after her, other heroic women received the high rank.
Maria Baida - worked as a sanitary instructor in the second battalion. It was the 514th Infantry Regiment.
Gnilitskaya Nina - was a scout in the 383rd Infantry Division.
Kovshova Natalia - was a very good sniper in the 528th rifle regiment (Red Army soldier, awarded posthumously).
Tatyana Kostyrina is a junior sergeant, an excellent sniper of the 691st rifle regiment.
Elena Stempkovskaya - junior sergeant, awarded posthumously. She was a radio operator in the 216th Infantry Regiment.
Maria Semyonovna Polivanova - Red Army soldier, was a sniper in the 528th rifle regiment.
Svetlana Savitskaya - she was awarded twice. This is the first woman astronaut to walk into outer space. - Major of Aviation. She retired in 1993.
All these women are Heroes of the Soviet Union who are worthy of respect. After all, they have passed a very difficult and glorious path.
Solodkov Leonid Mikhailovich, the commander of a group of divers, turned out to be the last hero to whom the "Golden Star" of the Hero was issued for the successful completion of a special assignment. Leonid showed himself courageous, showed heroism and in December 1991 he was awarded the title "Hero of the Soviet Union".
After Solodkov had a high rank, the next day the Soviet Union was gone. Thus, Leonid Mikhailovich turned out to be the last Hero. They gave him the award 22 days after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Unfortunately, the "Golden Star" of the Hero of the Soviet Union was never again awarded to anyone.
During the entire existence of the USSR, about 13,000 people were awarded the honorary title "Hero of the Soviet Union". Some were deprived of this privilege for defamatory actions (72 cases). 154 people were awarded twice. Kozhedub, Pokryshkin and Budyonny received awards three times. There are two people who have been awarded 4 times for services to the Motherland - LI Brezhnev and GK Zhukov.
All these heroes distinguished themselves by their services to the Soviet Union and the public. In one way or another, they performed feats that are worthy of respect. The Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union was justly received by them.
Even before such an honorary title was received by 626 citizens. All other heroes have appeared since the beginning of the Great Patriotic War. These were not only Russian or Ukrainian citizens, but also representatives of other nationalities, of which 44 people received the "Gold Star".
Other names can be cited as examples, which, perhaps, do not sound so often.
Pavel Shcherbinko is a lieutenant colonel who was a commander in an anti-tank artillery regiment.
Vladimir Aksyonov is an engineer aboard a spacecraft. He has two Gold Stars.
Stepan Artyomenko - was a commander in a rifle battalion, twice awarded for military exploits.
Leonid Beda - at first he was an assistant commander, and then he himself began to command the 75th Guards Regiment. He was awarded two times the Gold Medal of the Hero.
Afanasy Pavlantievich Beloborodov - he commanded the 43rd Army and was twice awarded a medal.
Mikhail Bondarenko was a commander and navigator in an aviation regiment, for which he was twice awarded a high rank.
Anatoly Brandys - at first he was a deputy commander, and then he himself began to lead a squadron of an aviation regiment. He has earned the Gold Medal twice.
Vladislav Volkov - was an engineer on board the spacecraft, was awarded twice.
Arseny Vorozheikin - commanded a squadron in a fighter aviation regiment, had two Gold medals ..
Vasily Glazunov - was a commander in the Guards Rifle Corps. He was awarded twice a Gold Medal and a high title.
Sergey Denisov - commanded a detachment of fighter aviation brigades.
Vasily Zaitsev - navigator and commander in the Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment. He was a major in the guard and twice received the title of "Hero of the USSR".
That's how many Heroes of the Soviet Union. And that is not all. We have listed the most famous ones who became famous for their courage and heroism.
What benefits were provided to citizens who received an honorary title?
Today, there are certain privileges for citizens who have this title. Benefits for the Heroes of the Soviet Union, which were under the USSR:
1. They are exempt from different kind taxes, fees and other deductions to the budget.
2. In medical institutions, Heroes of the USSR have the right to receive medical treatment free of charge.
3. Free travel on all types of urban and suburban transport (taxi is not included here).
4. Their state should provide free medicines delivered to their homes (if the doctor has made the necessary conclusion).
5. Free dental treatment and prosthetics (only in state dentistry).
6. Every year they should be given a free ticket to a sanatorium or dispensary.
7. Heroes are eligible for payment benefits for utilities and housing.
8. They have the right to receive a telephone connection without waiting in line.
9. The children of the heroes have the right to provide the funeral service with the appropriate documents in order to bury their parent at the expense of the state.
10. If the Hero died, and his child is a full-time student, then the state is obliged to pay the child a cash reserve.
Conclusion
The Hero of the Soviet Union award was received by those citizens who really deserved it. They are the ones who teach us to love our Motherland. They served her and were ready to risk their lives, if only their compatriots were doing well. How can you forget Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, who until her last breath screamed in the face of the Germans how she hated them and knew that the Soviet Union would win. They beat her with sticks, rods, tore off her nails, but the Germans did not even recognize her real name. There were thousands of such heroes. They knew who they were fighting for and what they were defending. The heroes who received the award during the USSR were brave, decisive and deserving of great respect.
Today there are fewer and fewer patriots who are ready to give their lives for their Motherland. The thoughts and views of people have become completely different. Perhaps this is because the time is calmer, not like during the Great Patriotic War. Yes, many do not understand why fight, if you can live peacefully. But, as they say, to each his own.
