Medal "For the Rescue of Drowning"
The medal "For the Rescue of Drowning" ( Russian Медаль "За спасение утопающих" ) was an award of the former Soviet Union , which was donated on February 16, 1957 by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR in one step. By 1991, around 24,000 people had been awarded the medal. The renewal of the medal was decided on March 2, 1992. It will be awarded again by the Russian Federation from this point in time.
Award terms
The medal can be awarded to all citizens of the Soviet Union, as well as foreign nationals, who saved people from drowning on the territory of the USSR (the Russian Federation) through personal courage and sacrifice, own initiative, attention and ingenuity. The medal can also be awarded to members of the water rescue team on such missions.
Appearance and wearing style
The medal is made of brass , has a light golden shimmer and a diameter of 32 mm. On her obverse she shows the image of a rescuer who has a drowning man in tow. This rescue symbolism is surrounded by the inscription: За спасение утопающих (For the rescue of drowning people). The reverse of the medal, on the other hand, shows a hammer and sickle over a laurel branch and the abbreviation for the country below: СССР (USSR). This was omitted in the newer variant and instead РОССИЯ (Russia) was used.
The medal was worn on the upper left chest of the borrower on a light blue pentagonal clasp. A 2 mm wide, white and vertical central stripe is woven in the middle of this ribbon, which can be found in three weaves on both sides of the ribbon. Their distance from one another is 1 mm.