Soviet Order of Victory
The Soviet Order of Victory ( Russian Орден "Победа" / Order "Pobeda" ) was the USSR's highest military order of merit .
The one-class medal was donated by the Soviet government under Josef Stalin on November 8, 1943 and was only allowed to the highest military personnel in the Soviet army and to foreign commanders-in-chief and heads of state for successful war operations that led to the advantage of the Soviet army and made a significant contribution to victory , be awarded. Multiple awards were possible, but only three cases are known, including to Stalin himself.
Order star
The medal was a round star made of platinum , which was covered with a five -pointed red star consisting of five rubies . The central medallion of the red star showed part of the wall of the Kremlin with the Savior Tower and the Lenin Mausoleum against a blue background, framed on the left by a wreath made of laurel and on the right by a wreath made of oak leaves. The inscription " СССР " floated above the tower and under it the inscription "ПОБЕДА" ( Victory ). The rays of the order star and the entire edge of the red star were covered with around 150 diamonds (together around 16 carats ).
Only 19 to 20 awards are known (the 20th award to Brezhnev was later canceled), 14 of them to Soviet marshals , three of whom received the medal twice. The remaining five knights were foreign military men or heads of state.
Bearer of the Order of Victory
- Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgi Konstantinowitsch Schukow (1896–1974), he was the first to receive the medal on April 10, 1944 and March 30, 1945
- Marshal of the Soviet Union Alexander Michailowitsch Wassilewski (1895–1977) on April 10, 1944 and April 19, 1945
- Marshal of the Soviet Union Josef Wissarionowitsch Stalin (1878–1953) on July 29, 1944 and April 26, 1945
- Marshal of the Soviet Union Ivan Stepanowitsch Konew (1897–1973) on March 30, 1945
- Marshal of the Soviet Union Konstantin Konstantinowitsch Rokossowski (1896–1968) on March 30, 1945
- Marshal of the Soviet Union Fyodor Ivanovich Tolbuchin (1894–1949) on April 26, 1945
- Marshal of the Soviet Union Rodion Jakowlewitsch Malinowski (1898–1967) on April 26, 1945
- Marshal of the Soviet Union Leonid Alexandrowitsch Goworow (1897–1955) on May 31, 1945
- Army General Alexei Innokentjewitsch Antonov (1896–1962) on June 4, 1945 - the only Soviet general to receive the Order of Victory
- Marshal of the Soviet Union Semyon Konstantinowitsch Timoshenko (1895–1970) on June 4, 1945
- General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1969) June 5, 1945
- Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery (1887–1976) on June 5, 1945
- King Michael I of Romania on July 6, 1945; King Michael (1921–2017) was the last living bearer of the Order of Victory
- Marshal of Poland Michał Rola-Żymierski (1890–1989) on August 9, 1945
- Marshal of the Soviet Union Kirill Afanassjewitsch Merezkow (1897–1968) on September 8, 1945
- Marshal of Yugoslavia Josip Broz Tito (1892–1980) on September 9, 1945
- Marshal of the Soviet Union Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev (1906–1982) on February 20, 1978 (Awarded in disregard of the statute. The medal should only have been awarded “for successful war operations.” After his death on September 21, 1989, the award was consequently contrary to the statutes canceled.)
literature
- Paul Hieronymussen: Orders, Medals and Decorations of Britain and Europe in Color. Blandford Press, London 1967.
- Václav Měřička : Orders and Awards. Artia, Prague 1966.
- Józef Tryliński: Radzieckie Odznaczenia II. Wojny Swiatowej. Warsaw 1949
