During the imperial wars, veterans were awarded orders and medals made of noble metals and precious stones. The rulers thus "paid" to the soldiers their skills. If necessary, such an order saved the family from poverty, because the owner could sell his reward. But in peacetime, insignia and rewards are needed. After the October Revolution, the order was awarded not so much for feats during the war, but for achievements in building a powerful state.
What does the order look like?
One of the most important awards of the Soviet Union was considered the October Revolution order. It was established on the eve of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Great October Revolution, in the fall of 1967. The order is made in the form of a five-pointed star, located on the background of the pentagon. The star itself is gilded, covered with red enamel; the pentagon is silver, riddled with rays. At the top of the star, the author of the project, artist V. Zaitsev , placed a red banner (also enamel). On the banner in two lines the inscription "October Revolution" is read. The center of the star is decorated with the image of the cruiser Aurora, placed on a silver polygon (oxidized with different shades of gray). The overhead sickle and hammer are located at the bottom of the order.
What the order is made of
Despite the large amount of enamel, the order is made of silver. But the composition of the alloy for the hammer and sickle includes gold, silver, palladium and copper (ZlSrPdM-375-100-38). Pure gold in this alloy is 0.187 grams, and the whole order contains 27.49 g of silver and 0.21 g of gold. It weighs 31 g. Of course, there are tolerances for deviations from the given values, but they are minimal.
The distance between the opposite vertices of the star is 43 mm, and from the center of the order to the top of any ray - 22 mm. The award's reverse is a smooth concave surface on which the inscription “Mint” is stamped and the serial number is manually engraved.
The order is attached to the block, which is covered with a red moire ribbon (its width is 24 mm). Five thin blue stripes are located along the ribbon.
It should be noted that in the event of the loss of the order to get a duplicate was almost impossible. However, stamping the letter "D" on the reverse of the duplicate is provided.
Who was awarded the order
Among those honored to wear the Order of the October Revolution are not only citizens of the USSR, but also enterprises of various fields of activity, military units; In addition, individual regions (republics, territories, cities, etc.) received the award. The statute of the order does not exclude the possibility of rewarding him with foreign citizens.
And yet, was it only for the contribution to the cause of the October Revolution that the order could be on the lapel of the awarded jacket? What had to be done for the state to receive such a high award?
Of course, a significant contribution to revolutionary activity and the formation of Soviet power gave the right to receive the order. He was noted and outstanding achievements in the development of science and technology, and achievements in all sectors of the economy. Cultural figures were also awarded the order. Activities aimed at strengthening relations with other states were also marked by the Order of the October Revolution. In addition, courage and courage shown in battles with enemies of the state during hostilities were associated with receiving this high award.
A bit of handing history
The order should be worn on the chest on the left, next to the Order of Lenin (after it). And this means that the reward is really high. In the unofficial ranking of orders, the first place was occupied by the Order of Lenin, and the second - by the October Revolution. The order was first awarded in November 1967.
The first to receive it were just the cities, and not the citizens of the USSR. Order No. 1 belongs to Leningrad (St. Petersburg), and No. 2 belongs to Moscow. Among the first awarded are the Russian and Ukrainian republics. In each case, the award took place after the signing of the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.
No less interesting is the fact that on February 22, 1968 the order was awarded to the famous cruiser Aurora. Its crew is noted for the merits and propaganda of revolutionary traditions. The award ceremony was dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the creation of the Soviet Army. By the way, by the same Decree the order was assigned to a whole group of military leaders: almost all the marshals of the Soviet Union, the admiral of the fleet, the chief marshal of aviation and the main marshal of artillery.
Foreigners awarded the Order of the October Revolution
As already noted, foreign citizens could also be honored to receive the Order of the October Revolution. The list of awarded representatives of the international revolutionary movement includes such well-known names as Max Reiman (First Secretary of the Central Board of the Communist Party of Germany), Secretary General of the SED Central Committee Erich Honneker, Gustav Husak (Secretary General of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Czech Republic), Josip Broz Tito (Chairman of the Union of Communists of Yugoslavia). The Order was also awarded to the Chairman of the Communist Party of Argentina, Victorio Codovilla and the First Secretary of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party, Yumzhagiin Tsedenbal.
Order Carriers
In 1971, a number of enterprises received a high award: the Leningrad plant “Krasnogvardeets” and the production association “Electrosila”, the Kiev plant “Arsenal”, the Moscow tool factory “Caliber”, the Far Eastern Railway, etc. The Mosfilm film studio received its award in 1974; over the next decade, the Bolshevik plant (Kiev), the Institute of Steel and Alloys (Moscow), and the Academic Drama Theater named after Pushkina (St. Petersburg). This is only a small list of enterprises and organizations whose work is marked by such a high award.
One of the first orders of the October Revolution received the staff of the newspaper Pravda (in connection with the 60th anniversary of the publication).
Knights of the Order
Repeated awarding of the order did not happen often. Nevertheless, Brezhnev L.I., Scherbitsky V.V. and a whole series of party leaders and military personnel were awarded this award twice. Also, the second order was awarded to the designer Kotin J. Ya. (Heavy tanks and tractors), academician Severny A. B. (his field of activity is astrophysics) and chief engineer of the Gorky Machine-Building Plant A. A. Gordeev.
Among the two dozen citizens of the Soviet Union re-awarded this order, not party figures, but ordinary workers stand out: the milkmaid from the Orenburg region Davlyatchina M.Z., the Donetsk tractor driver Mozgovoy I.K. and the combine operator Khorobrykh I.M. (Omsk region).
The last award was held in 1991
Separately, mention should be made of Atmagambet Oinarbayev, head of the mining and geological expedition of the Construction Materials concern. He was the last to be awarded the Order of the October Revolution. The photo of the order bearer only confirms the fact that there are no random people among the awarded.
For the entire time the order was awarded, 106,462 awards were held. However, the numbering of the orders of the October Revolution ends at 111,248.
Value and cost - concepts of the same order?
For each awarded order has a different value. Indeed, the recognition by your country of your merits is a very important moment in the life of any person. But there are situations when the Order of the October Revolution, the price of which is hard work, can save one of the family members from hunger or illness. Then it becomes necessary to sell the award.
But not so simple. Since there are no official places where the order can be attributed and sold, the owners have to look for possible buyers on their own. Most often we are talking about “black markets” - places (and virtual ones too) where collectors and interested people gather. At such sites you can sell everything. And the Order of the October Revolution, the price of which on the black market fluctuates around 500-600 dollars, is no exception.
Specialists and experts in this field remind the owners of awards that in the business of sales you need to leave the ardor and excitement, and be guided only by common sense. Beware of responding to a “too lucrative” offer to buy your Order of the October Revolution. The cost of orders and medals is based on the ratio of supply and demand, and therefore all sorts of non-standard offers may be fraudulent.
In general, before parting with the award of your grandmother or grandfather (and possibly parents), think for a moment about how outstanding your ancestor was. Perhaps it is worth passing the awards to future generations in order to carry the memory of the heroes through time.