Medals "for courage": description of what they were awarded for. USSR military awards

The USSR Medal “For Courage” was awarded for personal courage and bravery shown in defending the socialist Fatherland and fulfilling military duty. The award was presented to military personnel of the army and navy. The medal was awarded, as a rule, to private and non-commissioned officers of the armed forces, although there were also cases of awarding junior officers. The medal could be awarded to persons who were not citizens of the USSR.

The medal was made of 925 silver. It has the shape of a circle with a diameter of 37 mm. On the obverse at the top there are three flying aircraft, below is the inscription “FOR COURAGE”, under which is a tank. At the bottom of the medal is the inscription “USSR”. The total weight of silver in the medal (as of September 18, 1975) is 25.802 ± 1.3 grams. The total weight of the medal without the block is 27.930±1.52 grams. All images on the medal are in relief, the inscriptions are pressed, covered with ruby-red enamel. The deepening of the letters of the inscriptions is 1 mm. The obverse of the medal is bordered by a border 0.75 mm wide and 0.25 mm high. The medal, through an eyelet and a ring, is connected to a pentagonal block covered with a gray silk moiré ribbon with 2 longitudinal blue stripes on the sides. The width of the tape is 24 mm, the width of the strips is 2 mm. Until 1947, the medal was marked with a serial number.

The medal “For Courage” is the second, after the medal “XX Years of the Red Army”, by the time of its establishment in the USSR. The Medal "For Courage" is the highest Soviet medal and is placed in front of the others when worn.

On October 19, 1938, the first award of the medal “For Courage” was made to 62 military personnel.

The subsequent award ceremony took place just three days later. On October 22, 1938, the Red Army border guards Gulyaev Nikolai Egorovich and Grigoriev Boris Filippovich were awarded the medal “For Courage”. While on night patrol near Lake Khasan, they entered into battle with a large group of saboteurs trying to break through the border. Despite the fact that the forces were unequal and the border guards were wounded, they did not let the saboteurs through.

For the first time in the pre-war years, the medal “For Courage” was awarded en masse to participants in the battles near Lake Khasan. For the exemplary performance of combat missions, for the valor and courage shown in defending the area of ​​Lake Khasan, 1,322 awards were made by Decree of the USSR Military Command of October 25, 1938.

The next mass awards ceremony will be for military personnel who fought in the area of ​​the Khalkhin Gol River. Then major awards came during the Finnish campaign.

In total, before the start of World War II, the medal “For Courage” was awarded to about 26,000 military personnel.

Ippolitova (Potapova) Vera Sergeevna – holder of five (!!!) medals “For Courage”. During the Great Patriotic War, he was a medical instructor and a Marine in the 71st Separate Marine Infantry Brigade.

During the Second World War, the awarding of the medal became widespread. For feats accomplished during this period, over 4 million 230 thousand awards were made with the medal “For Courage”.
Four medals “For Courage” were awarded to Astafiev V.D., Babich V.P., Bashmakov Ya.T., Bublikov A.V., Buketov K.F., Voronov A.N., Gavlovsky E.A., Gnidenko Ya.F., Goryachiy I.T., Gromyko N.I., Danilyuk O.A., Zuy A.I., Kozorezov N.P., Koptev I.L., Kratko I.I., Levchenko A. Ya., Makarenko A.L., Marchenko M.G., Mitelev M.I., Nalet N.S., Naumov P.M., Nikolenko I.D., Osipov M.N., Papchenko V.F. , Peshkov A.D., Potapov G.V., Prokofiev A.E., Rudenko A.F., Ryabchenko P.M., Sivoraksha I.I., Sirotenko A.I., Startsev P.T., Strelnikov N.T., Telikh V.N., Tretyak S.Ya., Cherpak M.F., Yakimshin V.K., Yatsun V.S. etc.

The youngest recipient of this USSR award was a student of the 142nd Guards Rifle Regiment, six-year-old Sergei Aleshkov, who was awarded this high award for saving his commander. At the age of twelve, Afanasy Shkuratov became the son of the 1191st Infantry Regiment and by the end of the war he was awarded the medal “For Courage” twice. He received his first medal during the battles for the city of Surozh (Vitebsk region), when he bandaged and delivered the seriously wounded Major Starikov to the medical battalion. Shkuratov received his second medal for the courage shown in breaking through the Mannerheim Line in Karelia.

The youngest holder of the medal “For Courage” is a student of the 142nd Guards Rifle Regiment, six-year-old Sergei Aleshkov, who was awarded a high award for saving the commander.

On May 15, 1964, Danish citizens Viggo and Lilian Lindum were awarded the medal “For Courage” for saving the life of a Soviet officer. On June 19, 1964, the Dane S.A. was awarded the medal. Essen-Balle. On July 8, 1964, this USSR medal was awarded to a native of Czechoslovakia, Alexander Haller, who at the very end of the war showed the lead Soviet patrol the way to Prague.

For exploits performed during the Second World War, over 4 million 230 thousand people were awarded the medal “For Courage”.

In the post-war years, the medal “For Courage” was awarded much less frequently, since the Soviet Union was not officially at war. And yet, in 1956, a large group of military personnel who distinguished themselves in suppressing the “counter-revolutionary revolt” in Hungary was awarded. In the 7th Guards Airborne Division alone, 296 people received this award.

The second mass awarding of this honorary medal occurred during the period of military operations of the Soviet Army in Afghanistan. Thousands of soldiers and officers who took part in this war became recipients of various military awards, incl. and medals "For Courage".

A curious case of awarding occurred in 1954. It is well known about the heroic battle of the Russian cruiser “Varyag” and the gunboat “Koreets” with the Japanese squadron on January 27, 1904. 50 years later, 45 more participants in that tragic battle remained alive. All of them, in recognition of their heroic deeds and in connection with the half-century anniversary of this event, were awarded medals “For Courage”. Some of the “Varangians” a year later (in 1905) took part in the uprising on the battleship Potemkin. In accordance with this, in 1955, in connection with the 50th anniversary of this revolutionary event, they were presented with new awards -. One of the heroes of these two events was the Varyag fireman Pyotr Egorovich Polyakov. He received both a medal and an order.

Courage is the quality that turns ordinary people into heroes, both during armed conflicts and in times of peace. In the Middle Ages, the custom was invented to reward a particularly distinguished warrior with a medal or order, attached to clothing or worn on a ribbon or chain around the neck. They were supposed to testify to the accomplished feat and distinguish the hero from the crowd. Over time, many countries around the world have their own awards. They were also in the Soviet Union. One of the most famous was the medal “For Courage”. During the Second World War, the USSR awarded it to more than 4 million people.

Description

Medals “For Courage” are silver in color and have a round shape (diameter - 3.7 cm). They have a convex edge on both sides. At the top of the obverse there are 3 flying airplanes. Below them there is an inscription in 2 lines “For courage”. Its constituent letters are covered with red enamel. Below this inscription is a raised image of a stylized T-35 tank, which in 1938 was considered a symbol of the military power of the Soviet Union. Even lower is the inscription “USSR” covered in red enamel.

As for the design of the reverse, it is extremely simple; it only has a number on it.

The block of the medal “For Courage” had a 5-gonal shape. It is covered with silk gray moire ribbon. It has two longitudinal blue stripes along the edges. The width of the tape itself is 2.4 cm, the stripes are 2 mm. It should be noted that initially the block was 4-cornered, covered with a red ribbon, but this design was later abandoned.

History before the start of the Second World War

The establishment of the medal “For Courage” occurred in 1938. According to the relevant Decree of the Presidium of the USSR Armed Forces, it was intended to reward military personnel of the spacecraft, navy, border and internal troops, as well as other citizens of the Soviet Union who showed personal courage and bravery in defending the Motherland and in the performance of military duty. The Medal “For Courage” (the Second World War was commemorated by many feats for which it was awarded) was established almost simultaneously with the Medal “For Military Merit”. The latter was also awarded not only to military personnel, but also to the civilian population. Both of these awards were the first in the Soviet Union, with the exception of the anniversary medal established for the 20th anniversary of the Red Army. Thus, it was extremely honorable to receive it.

Some sources indicate that the first recipients of the medal “For Courage” were F. Grigoriev and N. Gulyaev, and they received it for detaining a group of enemy saboteurs on the shore of Lake Khasan. However, this is not entirely true. Thus, it is known that 3 days before the decree, which announced the awarding of border guards, 62 military personnel were awarded medals. Among them are V. Abramkin, senior officer F. Alekseev, GB lieutenant B. Almaev, political instructor A Baimuldin, lieutenant G. Barbotko and others.

In addition, before the Nazi invasion of the territory of the Soviet Union, it was awarded to about 26 thousand Soviet military personnel for feats committed while protecting the state borders of the USSR and during the days of the so-called Finnish War.

During the Second World War and in peacetime

From the beginning of the Nazi invasion until August 1945, more than 4,000,000 people received medals “For Courage,” mostly soldiers, junior officers, as well as sailors and midshipmen of the Navy. Some warriors were even awarded this award 4, 5 and 6 times. The Medal "For Courage" was especially respected among front-line soldiers, since it was awarded only to those who showed personal courage in battle, and not for participation in a particular battle, defense or liberation of a city, etc. It was mainly awarded to privates, sergeants and junior officers.

In the post-war period, the medal was awarded much less frequently. Nevertheless, in 1956 it was awarded to a large group of military personnel who distinguished themselves during the operation to suppress the “counter-revolutionary rebellion” in Hungary.

Another mass presentation of medals “For Courage” took place during the fighting during the events taking place in Afghanistan in the first half of the 80s. Then thousands of soldiers and officers were awarded it.

Awardees

The Medal “For Courage” (the Patriotic War was the most difficult of all wars in world history, and the awarding of this medal during it became widespread) after the Victory ended up in many families of Soviet people. Among those awarded were very young heroes. Thus, the youngest recipient was the 6-year-old son of the regiment, Sergei Aleshkov, who saved his commander. Another teenage soldier, 15-year-old Afanasy Shkuratov, already had 2 such awards by the end of the war. He received the first of them during the battles for the capture of the city of Surozh, when he delivered a wounded officer to the medical battalion, and the second was awarded to him for the courage shown in Karelia during the operation on the Mannerheim Line.

The Medal “For Courage” (1945 was not the last year when it was awarded) was also awarded to foreign citizens. In particular, in May 1964, the Danes Viggo and Lilian Lindum were awarded for saving the life of a Soviet officer. In addition, on July 8, 1964, this high award was awarded to Czechoslovakian citizen A. Haller, who in the last days of the war conducted the lead Soviet patrol by the shortest route to Prague.

Few people know that regarding the medal “For Courage,” on July 7, 1941, a decision was made to return it to the Presidium of the USSR Armed Forces in the event of the death of the recipient. However, after 2 years it was revised, and the families of the heroes could keep them in memory of their deceased son, brother, father.

Another interesting fact is related to the presentation of such medals to soldiers from the notorious penal battalions. As is known, while serving their sentence there, the latter were deprived of their military rank and existing awards. However, in the case of performing feats and displaying heroism, many of them received the medal “For Courage”. By the way, there is a mention of this in one of Vladimir Vysotsky’s songs, where the poet, addressing a penal battalion soldier, says that if he “does not catch lead in the chest,” he will receive this award.

After the outbreak of the Second World War, the leadership of the USSR was faced with the task of maintaining with all its might the morale of soldiers and officers who performed unprecedented feats on the fronts, fighting in the most difficult conditions. For this purpose, new awards were established. Among them are medals for the defense of Leningrad, Sevastopol, Odessa and Stalingrad (1942). In addition, by the beginning of 1943, the role of partisans in the fight against the enemy had increased. In this regard, it was decided to establish an award for this category of defenders of the Motherland. Thus, from the beginning of February 1943, medals “Partisan of the Patriotic War” of 1st and 2nd degrees began to be used.

The successes of the USSR Navy also made it necessary to establish special awards for participants in naval battles. They became the medals of Ushakov and Nakhimov. They appeared in 1944. By the way, the first of them is the next in seniority after the award “For Courage” already known to you. Around the same time, medals were established for the defense of the Caucasus, Moscow and the Soviet Arctic.

On May 9, 1945, one of the last medals from the Second World War appeared. They were the medals “For Victory over Germany” and “For the Capture of Berlin”.

A month later, 6 more awards were established by special decree. They were medals for the capture of Budapest, Vienna, Belgrade, Warsaw, Prague, which were used to mark participants in operations to liberate European capitals. Finally, the last award of World War II was established by decree issued at the end of September 1945. The medal "For Victory over Japan" was awarded to 1,800,000 soldiers and officers who took part in the battles that led to the signing of the act of surrender by the imperial army.

Some of the most famous orders from the Second World War

By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, several similar awards had already been established in the country of the Soviets. The first of these was the Order of the Red Banner. It was established in 1924, and for many years it was the country's only award. Later, the Order of the Red Banner of Labor, Lenin and the "Badge of Honor" appeared.

After the start of the war, there was no time for the establishment of new awards for a long time. However, in 1942, according to the decree of May 20, particularly distinguished soldiers were to be awarded the Order of the Patriotic War. This award was one of the first in the USSR to have degrees. In order to promptly celebrate the exploits of soldiers, the right to award the Order of the Patriotic War of the 1st and 2nd degrees was transferred directly to the local command. At the same time, clear conditions were established under which this award could be awarded. For example, the Order of the Patriotic War, first degree, could be awarded to an artilleryman who personally destroyed one heavy or two light tanks (armored vehicles). In total, more than 9,000,000 people received it.

In 1942, the orders of Kutuzov, Ushakov and Alexander Nevsky were also established. All three awards were intended for commanders of military units and were awarded to those who showed leadership talent. A year later, the Order of Bohdan Khmelnitsky, Glory and "Victory" also appeared in the USSR award system. The last two deserve special mention.

The highest military award of the USSR

The Order of Victory was established on November 8, 1943. This is the highest military award of the USSR, the decision to create which was made after a radical change in the Second World War. In total, 20 people received it, including G. Zhukov, Vasilevsky and I. Stalin.

At the end of the war, some foreign military leaders also received it. In particular, Dwight Eisenhower and Bernard Law Montgomery were awarded the Order of Victory. In addition, the award was presented to the Romanian monarch Michael the First.

Order of Glory

If the previous award was intended to celebrate the merits of military leaders whose actions led to a turning point in the war, then this star with the image of the Kremlin was established for the rank and file of the spacecraft. In total, 1,000,000 military personnel were awarded it. Among the actions that were considered a worthy reason for awarding the Order of Glory were:

• performing a task by a tanker in a burning vehicle;
• destruction of 10-50 enemy soldiers by a sniper;
• capture of an enemy officer;
• rescue of the commander;
• destruction of an enemy warehouse, etc.

Medal "For Courage in a Fire"

Heroism demonstrated in everyday life is no less deserving of reward than heroism on the battlefield. Taking this fact into account, in 1957 the USSR established the medal “For Courage in Fire.” It was intended to reward fire department members, members of the DPD, military personnel and other civilians who took actions to prevent the spread of a fire, explosion or threat to human life.

Description of the medal “For courage in a fire”

This award was originally made of silver and later of nickel silver. The medal has a round shape. The diameter is 3.2 cm. On the obverse at the top there is the inscription “For courage in a fire”, and under it there is a 5-pointed star engraved. A sliding key and a fire ax are crossed in the center. Below, on 2 branches of laurel and oak, there is an image of a hammer and sickle.

The reverse design is also quite interesting. It depicts the figure of a fireman in appropriate ammunition with a rescued baby in his arms. In the background is a burning residential building. The lower part of the reverse is decorated with a laurel branch.

All figures, objects and inscriptions on the medal “For Courage in a Fire” are convex. Its front and reverse sides are surrounded by a convex edge around the circumference.

The medal has a pentagonal block covered with crepe moire silk ribbon. Its width is 2.4 cm. Along its edges there are cornflower blue stripes 3 mm wide. They are bordered by white stripes, each of which is 1 mm wide.

History of the award “For Courage in Fire”

The initiator of the establishment of the medal in 1957 was Klim Voroshilov. However, decrees on its assignment were issued extremely rarely, and, according to statistics, it was awarded to approximately 100 firefighters and civilians annually. The first to receive it were V. Kaban and I. Sobolev. There are also cases where a firefighter was awarded this medal twice. Moreover, it was awarded to S. Derevianko three times. The last time the medal “For Courage in Fire” (USSR) was awarded was in early March 1991. Then it was replaced by a Russian analogue, which existed until 1994. At the moment there is no such award in the award system of the Russian Federation. Instead, there is a medal “For saving the dead.” At the same time, departmental awards of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia with the same name were established.

Benefits

Until 1947, the USSR had a system of cash payments to encourage those awarded orders and medals. However, it was declared inactive by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. This decision also canceled the benefits for the medal “For Courage”, as well as for other USSR awards. They were not restored in subsequent years.

At the moment, veterans who have the medal “For Courage” (1941-1945 are the years when the largest number of such awards were awarded) are deprived of any privileges associated with this circumstance. The situation is different with regard to contract military personnel. Upon completion of service, they are entitled to an additional cash payment in the amount of one salary.

As for what benefits are awarded to those awarded the medal “For Courage in a Fire,” it is believed that a person performs such feats at the behest of his heart, and not for the sake of cash payments and discounts on housing and communal services.

Now you know what the medal “For Courage” looked like. You also know why it was awarded, so now you will certainly have great respect for those who have such a sign of recognition of merit on their chest.