In Soviet times, the government often rewarded soldiers for their successes in battle, and the atmosphere in the army depended on this. In this regard, more than twenty factories producing orders, medals, badges and other military paraphernalia operated on the territory of the USSR.
In the mid-1940s, at the height of the Great Patriotic War, the Supreme Council approved a new medal called “Victory”. The authorities also determined the rules for wearing this award.
The Order of Victory is the highest military award of that period. The order was issued only to the command staff of the Soviet army for their success in fierce battles against a formidable enemy. At that time, there was no question about who received the Order of Victory, since the soldiers received it for victory on several fronts.
The famous artist Alexander Kuznetsov worked on the creation of the award, who made every effort and talent. The appearance of the order is as follows - a five-pointed star made of ruby with a fairly large number of diamonds. Also on the front side there is an image of part of the Kremlin. As for the sign, it was created from platinum. The award itself was not only honorable, but also expensive. You can find out the price of the Order of Victory on the black market on specialized portals where professional collectors communicate with each other. They will provide absolutely free advice on any issue.
Only after a special decree of the Soviet government were the soldiers awarded the Order of Victory. A distinctive feature of this award is the absence of a number; it was indicated only on the certificate. It is also noteworthy that after the death of the hero, the medal was returned to the state.
A little later, the government noted all those awarded the order on memorial plaques that were installed on the territory of the Kremlin. This highest award was given only 19 times to 17 military commanders. Several military leaders received the order twice. To get acquainted with the order in more detail, you can see the order of victory photo in a specialized catalog.
After it became clear that the Nazis were retreating from the borders of the USSR, the government awarded the Order of Victory to A. Vasilevsky and G. Zhukov. They became the first holders of the valuable Soviet award. A year later, in 1945, the marshals again received the same award. In this case, it is worth mentioning that Joseph Stalin received the order twice.
During the terrible and bloody war with the Nazis, Victory awards were awarded to many brave military commanders. In this case, we can recall the heroic actions of Meretsky, Antonov, Govorov, Malinovsky, Rokossovsky and others. All these military leaders received the worthy Order of Victory.
Even after the victory over the Nazis in 1945, the USSR authorities continued to reward distinguished Soviet soldiers. The Order was issued not only to citizens of the Soviet Union, but also to foreigners. Most often, marshals, field marshals, kings and generals received the badge. Stalin personally congratulated Eisenhower, Bernard Law Montgomery, Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, Zhimersky and Tito on the Great Victory.
Several decades later, the government decided to change the process of awarding the order. In the late 1970s, Leonid Brezhnev received such an award as “Victory”. In a solemn atmosphere, the Secretary General of the USSR was awarded a valuable sign, showing respect for his activities. However, just before the collapse of the Soviet Union, the order was cancelled.
It is noteworthy that of all those awarded the order, only one person is alive now. We are talking about King Michael I of Romania, who comes from the Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen family. He had the chance to rule Romania twice: 1927-1930 and 1940-1947. Stalin presented the order to the king for leading the country out of the Hitlerite coalition.
This order was first exhibited as an exhibit in the mid-1960s at the Diamond Fund. Now this award is kept in the Central Museum of the Great Patriotic War under special protection.
Using the catalog, you can find out the cost of the Victory Order and additional information about the award. Very often, many questions are answered by professional collectors who communicate on special forums.
Order "Victory"
Reward Card
Title = Order "Victory"
Image:
Image Tape: 
OriginalName =
Country = USSR Flag USSR
Type = highest military order
To whom it is awarded = to persons of the highest command of the Red Army
Reasons Awards = for the successful conduct of such military operations on the scale of one or several fronts, as a result of which the situation radically changes in favor of the Red Army
Status = not awarded
Parameters = distance between opposite vertices of the star - 72 mm,
total weight - 78 grams:
platinum - 47 g,
gold - 2 g,
silver - 19 g,
rubies - 25 carats,
diamonds - 16 carats.
Date of Establishment = November 8, 1943
First Award = April 10, 1944
Last Award = September 9, 1945
(February 20, 1978) 19 orders, not counting the award to Brezhnev on February 20, 1978, canceled after his death]
Number = 20 (19) 19 orders, not counting the award to Brezhnev on February 20, 1978, canceled after his death]
Senior Award =
Junior Award =
Matches =
Order "Victory"- the highest military order of the USSR, was established by the Decree of the Presidium of the USSR Armed Forces of November 8, 1943, simultaneously with the Soldier's Order of Glory. The decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated August 18, 1944 approved the sample and description of the ribbon of the Order of Victory, as well as the procedure for wearing the bar with the ribbon of the order. In total there were 20 awards and seventeen gentlemen (three were awarded twice, one was deprived of the award posthumously).
The Order of Victory is the highest military order. It is awarded to senior officers of the Red Army for the successful conduct of such military operations on the scale of one or several fronts, as a result of which the situation radically changes in favor of the Red Army.
For those awarded the Order of Victory, a memorial plaque is established, as a sign of special distinction, to include the names of the holders of the Order of Victory. A memorial plaque is installed in the Grand Kremlin Palace. This order is awarded only by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.
The Order of Victory is worn on the left side of the chest 12-14 cm above the waist.
Story
History of creation
In 1943, after a radical turning point during the Great Patriotic War, the country's leadership arose the need to establish a highest military order, to which particularly distinguished commanders could be nominated. Several medal-winning artists were assigned to work on the design of this award. Initially, the award was supposed to be called “For Loyalty to the Motherland” [ cite web
author =
coauthors =
datepublished =
url = http://www.vokrugsveta.ru/quiz/?item_id=231
title = Why was the Order of Victory needed?
format =
work =
publisher = Around the world
accessdate = January 15
accessyear = 2008
lang =
description =] .
One of the first, in July 1943, to submit a draft order for consideration was Colonel N. S. Neelov, an officer at the headquarters of the rear department of the Soviet Army. However, this project was not approved and work on creating a design for the award continued. Among the various options, preference was given to the sketch of the chief artist of the technical committee of the Main Quartermaster Directorate of Logistics, A.I. Kuznetsov, who was already the author of the Order of the Patriotic War. The first example of the order was presented to Stalin on October 25, 1943. The design of the order, which was a five-pointed star with a central round medallion on which chest-length profile bas-reliefs of Lenin and Stalin were placed (as in Neyolov’s previous project), was not approved by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. Stalin expressed a wish to place an image of the Kremlin's Spasskaya Tower in the center of the medallion. On October 29, Kuznetsov presented several new sketches, of which Stalin chose one - with the inscription “Victory”. In addition, the artist was instructed to slightly adjust the appearance of the order: enlarge the size of the Spasskaya Tower and a fragment of the Kremlin wall, make the background blue, and also change the size of the diverging rays between the tops of the red star (the so-called “strals”). On November 5, a trial copy of the order, made of platinum, diamonds and rubies, was ready, which was finally approved. In total, Kuznetsov proposed more than fifteen different versions of the order [ cite web
author = Vladimir Pakhomov
coauthors =
datepublished = October 23, 2003
url = http://www.sovross.ru/old/2003/119/119_3_1.htm
title = “Glory” illuminated by “Victory”
format =
work =
publisher = Soviet Russia
accessdate = January 16
accessyear = 2008
lang =
description =] .
Since precious metals were needed for the production of the order: platinum and gold, diamonds and rubies, the execution of the order for the production of insignia of the order was entrusted to the craftsmen of the Moscow Jewelry and Watch Factory, which was a unique case - “Victory” became the only one of all domestic orders not made at Mint. It was planned to produce 30 badges of the order. According to experts, each order required 180 (including damage) diamonds, 50 roses and 300 grams of platinum. By order of the Council of People's Commissars, Glavyuvelirtorg was given 5,400 diamonds, 1,500 roses and 9 kilograms of pure platinum. In the process of making the order, the highly qualified master of the Moscow Jewelry and Watch Factory, I. F. Kazennov, faced the following problem: natural rubies had different shades of red and it was not possible to assemble even one order from them while maintaining the color. Then it was decided to use artificial rubies, from which it was possible to cut the required number of blanks of the same color [ cite web
author = dreamowner
coauthors =
datepublished = 3rd 2007
url = http://h.ua/story/72684/
title = Pretium laborum non vile
format =
work =
publisher = Highway
accessdate = January 22
accessyear = 2008
lang =
description =] .
From the memoirs of master I. F. Kazennov:
First awards in 1944
The first award took place on April 10, 1944. The owner of Order No. 1 was the commander of the 1st Ukrainian Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov. Order No. 2 was received by the Chief of the General Staff, Marshal of the Soviet Union A. M. Vasilevsky. The Order of Victory No. 3 was awarded to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Marshal of the Soviet Union I.V. Stalin. All of them were awarded this award for the liberation of Right Bank Ukraine.
In his book “Memories and Reflections” [ cite web
author = G. K. Zhukov
coauthors =
datepublished =
url = http://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/zhukov1/18.html
title = Memories and reflections. Chapter Eighteen. In the battles for Ukraine
format =
work =
publisher = Military literature
accessdate = December 24
accessyear = 2007
lang =
description =] G.K. Zhukov wrote about this event: cquote|After calling A.I. Antonov, I found out that he had also been summoned to the Supreme. It was not difficult to guess that before meeting with me, I.V. Stalin wanted to familiarize himself with the latest situation and the considerations of the General Staff.
When I entered the Supreme's office, A. I. Antonov, the commander of the armored forces, Marshal Y. N. Fedorenko, and the commander of the Air Force, Colonel General A. A. Novikov, were already there, as well as the Deputy Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars V. A. Malyshev.
Having said hello, the Supreme Commander asked if I had visited Nikolai Mikhailovich Shvernik.
I answered no.
- We must go in and receive the Order of Victory.
I thanked the Supreme Commander-in-Chief for the high award.
Marshal of the Soviet Union A. M. Vasilevsky in his book “The Work of a Whole Life” [ cite web
author = A. M. Vasilevsky
coauthors =
datepublished =
url = http://victory.mil.ru/lib/books/memo/vasilevsky/21.html
title = Life's work
format =
work =
publisher = 60 years of the Great Victory
accessdate = December 24
accessyear = 2007
lang =
description =] wrote about awarding the order like this: cquote|The day of April 10, when Odessa celebrated the expulsion of the German-Romanian fascists, is doubly memorable to me. On this day I learned that I had been awarded the highest military order “Victory”. I received this order for No. 2, and No. 1 stood on the one awarded to Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov. The award wording read: “For the skillful fulfillment of the tasks of the Supreme High Command in directing large-scale combat operations, as a result of which outstanding successes were achieved in defeating the Nazi invaders.”
The first to congratulate me over the phone, even before the publication of the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, was the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. He said that I was being awarded not only for the liberation of Donbass and Ukraine, but also for the upcoming liberation of Crimea, to which I should now turn my attention, not forgetting at the same time about the 3rd Ukrainian Front.
End of the war
The following awards took place only a year later: on March 30, 1945, the commander of the 2nd Belorussian Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union K. K. Rokossovsky - for the liberation of Poland, and the commander of the 1st Ukrainian Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union I. S. Konev - for liberation of Poland and crossing of the Oder.
By decree of April 19, 1945, the second order was awarded to the commander of the 3rd Belorussian Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union A.M. Vasilevsky, for the capture of Königsberg and the liberation of East Prussia, with the wording: “For the skillful fulfillment of the tasks of the Supreme High Command in directing large-scale combat operations as a result of which outstanding successes were achieved in the defeat of the Nazi troops."
On April 26 of the same year, two more were awarded: the commander of the 2nd Ukrainian Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union R. Ya. Malinovsky and the commander of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union F. I. Tolbukhin. Both were awarded for the liberation of the territories of Hungary and Austria in difficult, bloody battles.
On May 31, by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the following were awarded:
* Commander of the Leningrad Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union L. A. Govorov - for the liberation of Estonia.
* Commander of the 1st Belorussian Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov - for the capture of Berlin
On June 4, two more military leaders were awarded the Order of Victory for planning combat operations and coordinating the actions of the fronts throughout the war: the representative of the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Marshal of the Soviet Union S. N. Timoshenko and the Chief of the General Staff, Army General A. I. Antonov.
By decree of June 26, 1945, Stalin was awarded the Order of Victory for the second time. Following the war with Japan, on September 8, 1945, the commander of the Far Eastern Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union K. A. Meretskov, became a holder of the Order of Victory.
Allied awards
After the end of the war, it was decided to award the Order of Victory to the military leaders of the Allied forces. By decree of June 5, 1945 ""for outstanding success in conducting large-scale military operations, which resulted in the victory of the United Nations over Hitler's Germany"" the following were awarded:
* US Army General Dwight Eisenhower
*Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery
* All orders awarded to Soviet military leaders are in Russia. In the Central Museum of the Armed Forces there are 5 Orders of Victory: 2 by Zhukov, 2 by Vasilevsky and one by Malinovsky. In the Victory Hall of this museum, copies of orders are exhibited; the orders themselves are in the storerooms [ cite web
author = Mikhail Falaleev
coauthors =
datepublished = December 15, 2006
url = http://www.rg.ru/2006/12/15/ordena.html
title = Where did the orders of the Soviet Marshal go?
format =
work =
publisher = Russian newspaper
accessdate = January 20
accessyear = 2008
lang =
description =] . The remaining copies of the Order of Victory are in Gokhran (the Order of K.K. Rokossovsky is in the Diamond Fund).
*Eisenhower's award is located in the 34th President of the United States Memorial Library in his hometown of Abilene, Kansas [ cite web
author = Ivan Lebedev
coauthors =
datepublished = March 11, 2005
url = http://victory.tass-online.ru/?page=article&aid=513&categID=11
title = Order of Victory at the Eisenhower Museum
format =
work =
publisher = ITAR-TASS
accessdate = December 22
accessyear = 2007
lang =
description =] .
* Marshal Tito's award is on display at the 25 May Museum in Belgrade.
*Field Marshal Montgomery's award is on display at the Imperial War Museum in London.
* The fate of the Order of Victory, which belonged to King Michael I, is unclear (Mihai arrived without the order to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Victory). According to some information, it is in a private collection, having been sold at auction either by one of N. Ceausescu’s relatives, or by the king himself. According to the official version, "the Order of Victory was never sold and is located on the estate of King Michael I in the town of Versoix, Switzerland" [ cite web
author = Vera Shchirova
coauthors =
datepublished = November 21, 2006
url = http://www.newizv.ru/news/2006-11-21/58556/
title = Reward price
format =
work =
publisher = New news
accessdate = December 23
accessyear = 2007
lang =
description =] .
Interesting Facts
* In the Grand Kremlin Palace there is a memorial plaque with the names of all holders of the Order of Victory.
* Unlike all other Soviet orders with a pin fastening, the Order of Victory was worn on the left rather than on the right side of the chest.
* The Order of Victory was placed on the chest below all other orders and medals.
* The order does not have a number (it was indicated only in award documents) and a mint mark.
* The width of the order ribbon is 46 mm (for all Soviet orders and medals - 24 mm).
* Bars with the ribbon of the Order of Victory were worn on the uniform 1 cm higher than the bars of all other awards.
* The Order of Victory is depicted on the anniversary medal “60 years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945”.
* From the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated March 28, 1980:
The ribbon of the Order of Victory is worn separately and is located 1 cm above the bars with ribbons of orders and medals.Since by the time this decree was published, only one Soviet holder of the order remained alive, we can say that this phrase was intended personally for Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev.
* There were two varieties of the order. The first variety, awarded in 1944-1945, had a pin fastening. The second variety, awarded to Brezhnev in 1978, had a pin fastening. [ book
author = Paul McDaniel and Paul J. Schmitt
part =
title =
original = The Comprehensive Guide to Soviet orders and medals
link =
edition =
location = Arlington, Virginia
publisher = Historical research
year = 1997
volume =
pages =
pages =
isbn = 0-9656289-0-6]
* In the Hall of Generals of the Central Museum of the Great Patriotic War there are bronze busts of all Soviet holders of the Order of Victory by sculptor Zurab Tsereteli.
* Contrary to popular misconception, the Order of Victory is only the second rarest order of the USSR. The rarest is the Order “For Service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces of the USSR”, 1st degree, of which 13 people became holders.
Gallery
stamps of the USSR"> 
|USSR stamp, 1945 
|USSR stamp, 1945 
|USSR stamp, 1945
Notes
Literature
* book
author = Ionina N. A.
part =
title = One Hundred Great Awards
original =
link =
edition =
place = Kyiv
publishing house = Veche
year = 2003
volume =
pages =
pages = 432
isbn = 5-7838-1171-8
* book
author = Savichev N.P.
part =
title = Symbols of labor and military valor
original =
link =
edition =
place = Kyiv
publishing house = Radjanska school
year = 1987
volume =
pages =
pages = 233
isbn =
* book
author = Smyslov O. S.
part =
title = Mysteries of Soviet awards
original =
link =
edition =
place = Kyiv
publishing house = Veche
year = 2005
volume =
pages =
pages = 352
isbn = 5-9533-0446-3
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
The Order of Victory is the highest military award of the USSR, a symbol of valor and military leadership,
manifested in the most difficult war that has ever happened on Earth.
The award was established on November 8, 1943, then its statute and description were approved. The statute of the order stated that it was awarded to officers of the High Command who carried out combat operations, as a result of which the military situation changed radically.
Order of “Victory” - a five-pointed ruby star with diamonds interspersed around the edges, in the center there is an image of the Kremlin wall with the Lenin Mausoleum and the Spasskaya Tower, the circle is bordered by a wreath of laurel and oak leaves, below the inscription “VICTORY” at the top “USSR”, under the star there are diverging rays from diamonds.
This is not just an order, but a unique piece of jewelry, consisting of five artificial rubies and 174 diamonds (16 carats). In addition, such expensive materials as gold (2 g), platinum (47 g) and silver (19 g), as well as enamel, were used for its manufacture.
The total weight of “Victory” is seventy-eight grams, of which two grams are gold, nineteen are silver and forty-seven are platinum. The weight of the diamonds is sixteen carats, the weight of each ruby is five carats. The order ribbon is silk, with a red stripe in the center and green, light blue, blue stripes on the sides. The order is worn on the left side of the chest, a centimeter above the other ribbons.
After the death of the order bearer, the order was taken into the State Diamond Fund.
At the moment, all awarded Orders of Victory are in museums and are the most valuable exhibits.
The Order of Victory is one of the most expensive Soviet awards, literally and figuratively. The estimated value of the Order of Victory among collectors is over ten million euros.
In addition, it is considered second in rarity after the Soviet Order “For Service to the Motherland”, 1st class.
The first holders of the Order of Victory were Zhukov, Vasilevsky and Stalin for the liberation of Right Bank Ukraine.
All three first holders of the order will be presented for this award again in 1945.
The Order of Victory was awarded 20 times.
The list of holders of the Order of Victory looks like this: Zhukov Georgy Konstantinovich (twice), Vasilevsky Alexander Mikhailovich (twice), Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich (twice), Konev Ivan Stepanovich, Rokossovsky Konstantin Konstantinovich, Malinovsky Rodion Yakovlevich, Tolbukhin Fedor Ivanovich, Govorov Leonid Alexandrovich, Timoshenko Semyon Konstantinovich, Antonov Alexey Innokentievich, Dwight Eisenhower, Bernard Montgomery, Mihai I of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, Michal Rolya-Zhimersky, Meretskov Kirill Afanasyevich, Josip Broz Tito, Brezhnev Leonid Ilyich (deprived of the award posthumously).
The names of all holders of the order were included on the Memorial Plaque in the Grand Kremlin Palace.
Books from the series “Knights of the Order of Victory”
The world walked towards victory in the war with Nazi Germany for six long years. The fighters were led by great commanders, whose names are written in golden letters in history. In these books you will find a fascinating historical and biographical story about the victorious commanders, their successes and mistakes, ups and downs, careers and destinies.
*Karpov, V.V. Marshal Zhukov: / Vladimir Karpov. - Moscow: Veche, 2015. - 427, p., l. ill., portrait - (Knights of the Order of Victory).
Awarded twice
The first award took place on April 10, 1944. The owner of Order No. 1 was the commander of the 1st Ukrainian Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov, for the liberation of Right-Bank Ukraine.
G. K. Zhukov received the second order for the capture of Berlin on March 30, 1945, being the commander of the 1st Belorussian Front.
The book by the famous writer Vladimir Karpov, who has been collecting and analyzing documents and materials stored in domestic and foreign archives for many years, is a monumental and majestic canvas, in the center of which is Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov.
The author explores his relationship with I.V. Stalin as the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, with other leaders of the state and army, with subordinate commanders and political workers. Without reticence, it tells about the painful years of Marshal Zhukov - the years when the great commander was subjected to disgrace. He was feared and disliked by Stalin, Khrushchev, Brezhnev, and many of those whom he considered comrades in arms. The tragedy of Zhukov is the tragedy of a country that broke fascism, but did not defeat the most ancient of evils - envy and fear. The greatness of Zhukov does not fade, disgrace did not erase his glory, did not take away the people's love from him.
The book is published in an abridged version for the series “Knights of the Order of Victory.”
Daines, V. O. Marshal Vasilevsky: / Vladimir Daines. - M.: Veche, 2015. – 381, p., l. ill. - (Knights of the Order of Victory). - Bibliography sublinearly note
Awarded twice
Order No. 2 On April 10, 1944, the Chief of the General Staff, Marshal of the Soviet Union A. M. Vasilevsky received for the liberation of Right-Bank Ukraine.
On April 19, 1945, the commander of the 3rd Belorussian Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union A.M. Vasilevsky, was awarded the second order for the capture of Koenigsberg and the liberation of East Prussia.
A participant in four wars - the First World War, the Civil War, the Great Patriotic War and the war with Japan, Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky quickly rose to the very top of the military Olympus. During the Great Patriotic War, A. M. Vasilevsky skillfully led the General Staff, and also showed the remarkable talent of a commander, a master of preparing, planning and conducting strategic and front-line operations.
The book, based on a wide range of documentary sources and previously published literature, examines the creative laboratory of Marshal A. M. Vasilevsky, his contribution to achieving victory over Nazi Germany.
*Emelyanov, Yu. V. Generalissimo Stalin / Yuri Emelyanov. - Moscow: Veche, 2015. - 381, pp., l. ill., portrait - (Knights of the Order of Victory).
Awarded twice
On April 10, 1944, Order No. 3 was awarded to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Marshal of the Soviet Union I.V. Stalin for the liberation of Right-Bank Ukraine.
By decree of June 26, 1945, Stalin was awarded the Order of Victory for the second time.
For victory over Germany.
The book by the famous Russian historian Yu. V. Emelyanov is dedicated to the military leadership of I. V. Stalin. Why did Stalin, who never served in the army and had no military education, lead the Soviet Armed Forces during the Great Patriotic War? What was Stalin's personal contribution to the preparations for the war and how did he cope with his duties as Supreme Commander-in-Chief?
* Daines, V. O. Marshal Rokossovsky: / Vladimir Daines. - Moscow: Veche, 2015. - 348, pp., l. ill., portrait - (Knights of the Order of Victory).
On March 30, 1945, the commander of the 2nd Belorussian Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union K.K. Rokossovsky, became a holder of the order - for the liberation of Poland.
A skilled stonemason, a fearless dragoon, a desperate cavalryman, a brave tankman, and a talented combined arms commander became one of the best commanders of the Second World War. “Bedouin”, “Soviet Bagration”, “Genius of Maneuver”, “General Dagger”, “Marshal of Two Nations” - this is how his friends and enemies spoke of K. K. Rokossovsky. He endured brutal torture in the basements of the state security service and heavy defeats at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War. Konstantin Konstantinovich improved his military leadership on the battlefields of the First World War and the Civil War, in battles on the Chinese Eastern Railway. It manifested itself in all its splendor in the battles of Moscow, Stalingrad, Kursk, on the Dnieper, in the Belarusian, East Pomeranian and Berlin strategic offensive operations. The highest recognition of the merits of Marshal of the Soviet Union Rokossovsky was the awarding of the Order of Victory on March 30, 1945.
Portuguese, R. M. Marshal Konev / Richard Portuguese. - M.: Veche, 2015. - 317, p., l. ill. - (Knights of the Order of Victory).
On March 30, 1945, the commander of the 1st Ukrainian Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union I.S., became a holder of the order. Konev - for the liberation of Poland and the crossing of the Oder. Marshal Konev went down in the history of World War II as one of the most brilliant and talented Soviet commanders.
Commander of the troops of the Kalinin, North-Western, Steppe, 2nd and 1st Ukrainian fronts, Konev participated in the Battle of Smolensk, the Battle of Moscow and Kursk, the crossing of the Dnieper, the liberation of Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Berlin and Prague operations. He was a fearless military leader, whom even Stalin respected and listened to. Marshal Konev not only won major victories, brilliantly organized and carried out a number of important operations, but also made a great contribution to the development of military art. Konev's leadership talent was most clearly demonstrated in offensive operations. He had extremely good intuition and skillfully combined the power of artillery and aviation with speed, pressure and surprise of a strike. Konev is rightfully considered a master of encircling and destroying large enemy groups, having earned the highest military award.
Balandin, R.K. Marshal Malinovsky: / Rudolf Balandin. – M.: Veche, 2015. - 380, p. : l. ph. - (Knights of the Order of Victory).
On April 26, 1945, the commander of the 2nd Ukrainian Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union R. Ya. Malinovsky, was awarded for the liberation of Hungary and Austria in difficult, bloody battles.
Rodion Yakovlevich Malinovsky occupies a special place among Soviet marshals. A brave soldier, talented commander and author of vivid memoirs about the First World War, he was also a caring father. The marshal's military career is bright and amazing: during the First World War, he managed to fight on both the Eastern Front (Russia) and the Western Front (France); having passed the Civil War, Rodion Yakovlevich became a prominent commander of the Red Army and was sent as a military adviser to Spain; Having liberated his native land during the Great Patriotic War, Malinovsky was appointed commander of the Trans-Baikal Front and participated in the defeat of Japan. The pinnacle of the military career of the Marshal of the Soviet Union was his appointment to the post of Minister of War of the USSR in 1957.
Smyslov, O. S. Marshal Tolbukhin: / Oleg Smyslov. - M.: Veche, 2015. - 349, pp., l. ill. - (Knights of the Order of Victory). - Bibliography: p. 345-350.
On April 26, 1945, the commander of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union F.I. Tolbukhin, was awarded. For liberation in difficult, bloody battles of Hungary and Austria.
This book is a story about the amazing fate of Fyodor Ivanovich Tolbukhin - a man who went from being a volunteer in the Russian Imperial Army to Marshal of the Soviet Union. The courage and abilities of the future marshal became obvious to contemporaries during the First World War. After the revolution, Staff Captain Tolbukhin joined the Bolsheviks and joined the Red Army. His ascent to new heights began. The events of the Great Patriotic War made F.I. Tolbukhin one of the most famous Soviet military leaders, his contribution to the defeat of the enemy was appreciated by the government, and therefore F.I. Tolbukhin became a holder of the Order of Victory.
Telitsyn, V. L. Marshal Govorov: / Vadim Telitsyn. - M.: Veche, 2015. - 285, pp., l. ill. - (Knights of the Order of Victory). - Bibliography: p. 233-238.
On May 31, 1945, for the defeat of German troops near Leningrad and in the Baltic states, the commander of the Leningrad Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union L. A. Govorov, became a holder of the order.
Marshal Govorov was one of the prominent military leaders of the Soviet Union. The fate of the marshal was bright and amazing. A short service in the White Army and then a brilliant career in the Red Army, teaching and, finally, successful command of the army and fronts during the Great Patriotic War brought L. A. Govorov the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union. The troops under the command of L. A. Govorov distinguished themselves during the defense of Moscow, the liberation of Leningrad, the liberation of Estonia and forced Finland to withdraw from the war.
The book by V.L. Telitsyn tells about the fate of the marshal, about his ups and downs, about how he lived and fought during the war.
*Daines, V.O. General Antonov: / Vladimir Dines. - Moscow: Veche, 2015. - 349, pp., l. ph. - (Knights of the Order of Victory).
On June 4, 1945, the Order of Victory was awarded to the Chief of the General Staff, Army General A. I. Antonov, for planning combat operations and coordinating the actions of the fronts during the war.
Alexey Innokentyevich, by the way, is the only holder of the order in the USSR who did not have the rank of marshal.
A descendant of an old noble family of Russified Tatars and Polish gentry became one of the architects of the Great Victory in the Great Patriotic War. He was a real officer and a patriot of his Fatherland. A military intellectual, a born staff worker, a man of high erudition, imperturbable, balanced, an “ice sphinx” - this is how the contemporaries of Army General A.I. Antonov remembered him.
He was close to I.V. Stalin, who took his opinion into account and had obvious sympathy and trust in him. During the Great Patriotic War, Alexey Innokentyevich did not command either armies or fronts, but on June 4, 1945 he was awarded the military order “Victory”. This was recognition of his merits in preparing and planning strategic operations, in achieving victory over the strongest army in the world - the Wehrmacht.
Portuguese, R. M. Marshal Timoshenko / Richard Portuguese. - M.: Veche, 2015. - 381, p., l. ill. - (Knights of the Order of Victory).
On June 4, 1945, the Order of Victory was awarded to the representative of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, Marshal of the Soviet Union S.K. Timoshenko, for planning military operations and coordinating the actions of the fronts during the war.
The fate of Semyon Konstantinovich Timoshenko is still little known, but this man was the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR. A participant in the First World War and a talented cavalry commander, Civilian Semyon Timoshenko occupied a prominent place among the Soviet military elite. In his book, P. M. Portuguese tells readers about the ups and downs in the military career of the mysterious marshal.
At twenty-four, the peasant son Semyon Timoshenko became the commander of a cavalry division. Many victories of the Red Army in the Civil War are associated with his name. After its completion, he occupies high positions in the troops - and ends up on Yezhov’s “black list”... In the last pre-war year, Tymoshenko served as People's Commissar of Defense, and therefore many are still trying to blame him for the tragedy of the initial period of the war. Having experienced the full wrath of Stalin in the first days of the terrible failures at the fronts, Timoshenko asked to be sent to the most dangerous sector. Subsequently, the marshal commanded strategic directions and fronts. Under his command, heavy defensive battles took place on the territory of Belarus in July - August 1941. His name is associated with the heroic defense of Mogilev and Gomel, counterattacks near Vitebsk and Bobruisk. Under the leadership of Tymoshenko, the largest and most stubborn battle of the first months of the war unfolded - Smolensk. In July 1941, Western troops under the command of Marshal Timoshenko stopped the advance of Army Group Center. This book, based on archival materials, covers many previously little-known pages of the life and activities of this major military leader.
Smyslov, O. S. Marshal Meretskov / Oleg Smyslov. - M.: Veche, 2015. - 414, p., l. ph. - (Knights of the Order of Victory). - Sources and lit.: p. 410-414.
Following the war with Japan, on September 8, 1945, the commander of the Far Eastern Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union K. A. Meretskov, became a holder of the Order of Victory.
Generals, like soldiers, are not born, they are made. And before becoming one, K. A. Meretskov came a long way as a serious military school. Suffice it to say that Kirill Afanasyevich was the first of the future Marshals of Victory to complete a full course of study at the Military Academy of the General Staff, combining theory with practice on the fronts of the Civil War. After graduation, he had the opportunity to serve in different military districts, in various positions, and met the war as an army general and deputy people's commissar of defense of the USSR. During the Great Patriotic War, K.A. Meretskov proved himself to be a talented military leader, but his finest hour was the battle for Leningrad. A new book by O. S. Smyslov will tell readers about the life and military path of the outstanding commander.
* - publications that are not in the collections of the Centralized Library System of Pskov are marked (data as of 05/05/2016).
Article used:
Sazonov, E. Order of Victory / Evgeny Sazonov, Alexey Stefanov // Red Star. – 2015. – April 30. – P. 7. – (Victory Awards).
The material was prepared by Subbotina S.N.
The Order was established in 1943, after a radical turning point during the Great Patriotic War, when the leadership of the USSR arose the need to establish the highest military award, to which particularly distinguished commanders could be presented with the rank of no lower than marshal.
Several medal-winning artists were assigned to work on the design of this award.
Initially, the award was supposed to be called “For Loyalty to the Motherland.” However, this project was not approved, and work on creating a design for the award continued. Among the various options, preference was given to the sketch of the chief artist of the technical committee of the Main Quartermaster Directorate of Logistics, A.I. Kuznetsov, the author of the Order of the Patriotic War. The design of the order, which was a five-pointed star with a central round medallion on which chest-length profile bas-reliefs of Lenin and Stalin were placed, was not approved by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. Stalin expressed a wish to place an image of the Kremlin's Spasskaya Tower in the center of the medallion. On October 29, 1943, Kuznetsov presented several sketches, of which Stalin chose one - with the inscription “Victory”.
To make the order, platinum and gold, diamonds and rubies were needed. The execution of the order for the production of insignia of the order was entrusted to the craftsmen of the Moscow Jewelry and Watch Factory, which was a unique case - “Victory” was the only one of all domestic orders not made at the Mint. It was planned to produce 30 badges of the order. According to experts, each of them required 180 (including damage) diamonds and 300 grams of platinum. In the process of making the order, we encountered a problem: natural rubies had different shades of red and it was not possible to assemble even one order from them, maintaining the color. Then it was decided to use artificial rubies, from which it was possible to cut the required number of blanks of the same color. A total of 22 copies of the order were made, of which 3 copies were never awarded to anyone.
The first award took place on April 10, 1944. The owner of Order No. 1 was the commander of the 1st Ukrainian Front, Marshal G. Zhukov. Order No. 2 was received by the Chief of the General Staff, Marshal A. Vasilevsky. The Order of Victory No. 3 was awarded to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Marshal I. Stalin. All of them received such high awards for the liberation of Right Bank Ukraine.
The next awards took place only a year later. On March 30, 1945, the holders of the order were: the commander of the 2nd Belorussian Front, Marshal K. Rokossovsky - for the liberation of Poland and the commander of the 1st Ukrainian Front, Marshal I. Konev - for the liberation of Poland and the crossing of the Oder.
On April 26, the list of awardees was replenished with two more names - the commander of the 2nd Ukrainian Front, Marshal R. Malinovsky, and the commander of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, Marshal F. Tolbukhin. Both were awarded for the liberation of Hungary and Austria.
On May 31, the commander of the Leningrad Front, Marshal L. Govorov, became a holder of the order for the liberation of Estonia. By the same decree, the commander of the 1st Belorussian Front, Marshal G. Zhukov, and the commander of the 3rd Belorussian Front, Marshal A. Vasilevsky, were awarded the Order of Victory for the second time. The first - for the capture of Berlin, the second - for the capture of Konigsberg and the liberation of East Prussia.
On June 4, the Order of Victory was awarded to the representative of the Headquarters, Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Marshal S. Timoshenko, and the Chief of the General Staff, Army General A. Antonov, the only holder of the Order of Victory who did not have the rank of marshal. By decree of June 26, 1945, I. Stalin was awarded the Order of Victory for the second time. As a result of the war with Japan, Marshal K. Meretskov, commander of the Far Eastern Front, became a holder of the Order of Victory.
Another order was intended for Army General I. Chernyakhovsky. The order to award him the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union was already ready, but due to the sudden death of the general on February 18, 1945 near Melzak, the order remained unfulfilled.
Thus, 10 Marshals of the Soviet Union were awarded the Order of Victory in the USSR - three of them twice - and 1 army general.
After the end of the war, it was decided to award the Order of Victory to the military leaders of the Allied forces. By decree of June 5, 1945, “for outstanding success in conducting large-scale military operations, which resulted in the victory of the United Nations over Nazi Germany,” the following were awarded:
US Army General Dwight Eisenhower, Field Marshal Sir Bernard Loy Montgomery, Marshal of Poland Michal Rolya - Zymierski.
On August 23, 1944, King Mihai I of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen of Romania arrested members of the Romanian government who collaborated with Nazi Germany. For this act, on July 6, 1945, Mihai was awarded the Order of Victory with the wording “For the courageous act of a decisive turn in the policy of Romania towards a break with Nazi Germany and an alliance with the United Nations at a time when the defeat of Germany was not yet clearly determined.”
The last foreign holder of the Order of Victory was on September 9, 1945, Marshal of Yugoslavia Josip Broz Tito.
In 1966, the Order of Victory was supposed to be awarded to French President Charles de Gaulle during his visit to the USSR, but the award never took place.
On February 20, 1978, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR adopted a decree awarding the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Marshal of the Soviet Union L.I. Brezhnev with the Order of Victory. However, on September 21, 1989, the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR M.S. Gorbachev signed a decree canceling the award of L. I. Brezhnev with the wording “as contrary to the statute of the order.”
The diamonds for the order, made of pure platinum, were taken from the royal treasury, but the rubies turned out to be synthetic
This was the highest award in the USSR, intended only for supreme military leaders. But Stalin, who ordered its creation, did not suspect that the Moscow jeweler Ivan Kazennov, a highly qualified master who inserted precious stones into the order, had deceived him. And then he revealed this secret only before his death.
In the summer of 1943, when it became clear that the USSR was winning victory over Nazi Germany, Stalin decided to create a special award specifically for senior military leaders. The task was given to several medal-winning artists at once. Colonel Nikolai Neelov, an employee of the Red Army logistics headquarters, was the first to make a sketch of the new award, which was initially called “For Loyalty to the Motherland.” However, his project was not approved. Preference was given to the sketch of Anatoly Kuznetsov, who was already the author of the Order of the Patriotic War. His design was a five-pointed star with a central round medallion on which bas-reliefs of Lenin and Stalin were placed.
The project was shown to Stalin. But he ordered to place an image of the Kremlin’s Spasskaya Tower instead of bas-reliefs. In October, Kuznetsov presented the leader with seven new sketches, of which Stalin chose one with the inscription “Victory”, giving instructions to use platinum instead of gold, enlarge the size of the Spasskaya Tower, and make the background blue. After this, an order was received to make a test copy of the order.
Master's Courage
The order was received by the Moscow Jewelry and Watch Factory (this was the first order that was not made at the Mint). But difficulties immediately arose. There were no problems with platinum; diamonds were taken from the royal fund, but the necessary rubies for the rays of the red star were not found. A highly qualified master, Ivan Kazennov, collected them from all over Moscow, but all the precious stones were of different sizes and varied in color. What to do? The master was seized with panic, because he knew about Stalin’s order to use only materials of domestic origin for the order. But where can I get the rubies needed for the order? The deadlines were strict, and there was no time left to search for them.
Then, at his own peril and risk, Kazennov decided to use synthetic rubies for the order. He didn’t tell anyone about this, and only revealed the secret to his student before his death, many years after Stalin’s death.
Then the first Order of Victory was shown to the leader, and he liked it. Stalin ordered the production of a total of 20 pieces of this award. And on November 8, 1943, a decree was issued by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on the establishment of the order. It was intended as a reward “to the senior command staff of the Red Army for the successful conduct of an operation on the scale of one or several fronts, as a result of which the situation radically changed in favor of the Soviet Armed Forces.”
To make the first copy of the most beautiful and expensive order in the USSR, 170 diamonds with a total weight of 16 carats and 300 grams of pure platinum, as well as rubies, which, as we already wrote, were synthetic, were used. The jewelry was allocated by special order of the Council of People's Commissars. It was also the largest order in size in the USSR - the distance between the opposite rays of the star was 72 mm. It was to be worn on the left, not the right, side of the chest on a red ribbon with stripes of green, blue, burgundy, light blue, orange and black.
The first gentlemen
However, no one was immediately awarded the new order. Only on April 10, 1944, the names of its first three gentlemen became known: the owner of the order with badge No. 1 was the commander of the 1st Ukrainian Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Zhukov, No. 2 - Chief of the General Staff, Marshal Alexander Vasilevsky and No. 3 - Supreme Commander-in-Chief Marshal Joseph Stalin. The award was timed to coincide with the liberation of right-bank Ukraine.
Many were awarded in 1945, when Germany was defeated: Marshals Rokossovsky, Konev, Malinovsky, Tolbukhin, Govorov, Timoshenko, as well as Army General Antonov. Zhukov and Vasilevsky were awarded this order a second time in the same year. In June 1945, Stalin himself was awarded the Order of Victory for the second time, and following the results of the war with Japan, Marshal Meretskov received the award.
Awards for foreigners
The Order of Victory was also awarded to some figures from the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition: the commander-in-chief of the Yugoslav People's Liberation Army Tito, the commander-in-chief of the Polish Army General Rolya-Zhimierski, the English Field Marshal Montgomery and the American General Eisenhower. The Romanian King Mihai I also received the order.
Romania, as you know, fought on the side of Nazi Germany, however, when the Red Army approached its borders, Mihai arrested dictator Antonescu, announced Romania’s withdrawal from the war and stopped all military actions against the allies. It was for this – “the courageous act of a decisive turn in Romania’s policy towards a break with Hitler’s Germany and an alliance with the United Nations,” as stated in the resolution, that Stalin decided to reward him.
The new, seventeenth, holder of the order appeared only 30 years later. He became “our dear” Leonid Ilyich, who loved to hang himself with awards. The Order of Victory was awarded to the Secretary General in February 1978, on the eve of the 60th anniversary of the Soviet Army. Although Brezhnev, of course, did not have merits that would correspond to the status of this high award. However, this is precisely why he was deprived of it after his death.
Kalinin presents the Order of Victory to Stalin
Where are they now?
There are few such expensive and beautiful orders in the world. According to the recollections of Eisenhower’s adjutant, when he was awarded the Order of Victory, he spent a long time and practically counting the diamonds and stated that it was worth at least 18 thousand dollars (at prices at that time). However, American experts could not determine the value of the rubies, since they had never seen such large stones, and they did not pick them out of the order and check whether they were synthetic.
At the present time, the order is worth at least a million dollars (according to other estimates, at least four million). According to rumors, it was for this amount that King Michael I sold it to the American billionaire Rockefeller. However, the king himself never admitted to the act of sale. But when he arrived in Moscow to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Victory, he was not wearing this order, although all the king’s other awards were on his luxurious uniform.
Today the location of all other Orders of Victory is known. Awards presented to Soviet military leaders, as well as the Polish marshal, are in the Central Museum of the Armed Forces. And the awards given to foreigners are in the museums of their countries.
