The war with the Nazis was terrible. How many lives she interrupted! How many fates crippled! How many cities and towns destroyed to the ground! Thanks to the valiant and fearless Soviet army, it was possible to expel this evil not only from our lands, but also to help free the occupied countries of Europe from the horrors of fascism. Paying tribute to the unprecedented dedication of the Soviet people who fought on all fronts of the Great Patriotic War, Russian President Putin issued a decree "On the jubilee medal" 70 years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War. " This Decree has a special provision and instructions for its delivery. 70 years is a very long time. Now those who were beardless youths in 1945 are already deep old men. Every year there are less and less of them, WWII veterans. The medal “70 years of Victory” is a great opportunity for all of us to express our recognition to these people and say “thank you so much” to them.
Anniversary Awards
After the completion of any great and significant event, years will inevitably pass. They discolor vivid memories, dull sensations, make a lot to rethink and rethink. In order not to erase the memory of the past, it is customary to issue commemorative signs and awards for each anniversary, which are awarded to people who participated in the event. These are the anniversary medals dedicated to the victory over the Nazis. The first of them was released in 1965, when the 20th anniversary of the great Victory was celebrated. Further, such medals began to be issued every 10 years. That is, there are awards and insignia to the 30th anniversary of this great event, to the 40th anniversary, of course, to the 50th anniversary. We prepared especially carefully for this anniversary, since 50 years is a round date. Significant was the award to veterans, presented in 1995. In 2000, which in itself was a jubilee, a medal was issued for the 55th anniversary of the Victory. We can say that it has become a tradition to hold awards not after 10, but after 5 years. Since in 2005, veterans were awarded medals for the 60th anniversary, and in 2010 for the 65th anniversary of this glorious event. It was the turn of 2015. On his eve, a medal was approved and issued for a significant date - the 70th anniversary of our great Victory. About 3 million war veterans living in Russia, including Crimea, were presented for the award.
Description of medals awarded to veterans in 1965-1985
Getting rewards is always an honor and a pleasure. They give people who have survived the terrible years of the war the confidence that their feat has not been forgotten by the modern generation. Anniversary medals presented since 1965 have a different design of both obverse and reverse. What they have in common is that each one has an "eye". It connects to the ring. With it, the award is attached to the block, on which there is a pin on the back. On the front side of the block is covered with moire tape. The reverse of the medals is also almost identical. On each there is an inscription in large convex letters, indicating how many years have passed since the Victory Day desired for all people. On the back of some commemorative awards there are also additional signs. Let's briefly describe what the medals looked like for the anniversary anniversary of Victory Day in different years:
1965 (20th anniversary of our Great Victory). The metal from which the award is made is brass. The diameter is 32 mm. Obverse: depicts a monument erected in Treptower Park. It is a sculpture of a Soviet soldier-liberator with a rescued girl in her arms. Under the feet of the Soviet warrior are two branches of the laurel. In the center of the medal are the numbers "1945-1965." Reverse: an inscription in capital letters in a circle, saying that 20 years have passed since the Great Victory. In the center is a star with diverging rays. Against her background, the Roman numerals "XX". Ribbon: green and black stripes on a red background.
1975th (30th anniversary of our Great Victory). Metal is brass. The diameter is 36 mm. Obverse: against the background of festive salutes, a convex image of the sculpture of Vuchetich and Nikitin, known to many, "Motherland". On the left side is a star, two branches of a laurel and the numbers "1954-1975". Reverse: at the top the inscription “PARTICIPANT OF THE WAR”. In the center: "XXX VICTORY IN THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR 1941-1945." At the bottom of the background of the tape sickle and hammer. Ribbon: on a red background, orange, black and greenish stripes.
1985 (40th anniversary of the Victory). Metal is brass. The diameter is 32 mm. Obverse: images of a soldier, worker and peasant on the background of a large star without rays, the Kremlin tower, two laurel branches and the inscription “1945-1985”. Reverse: at the top the inscription “PARTICIPANT OF THE WAR”. In the center in convex letters there is an inscription that 40 years have passed since the day of our Victory in the Second World War. Under this inscription is an image of a ribbon, and above it a small sign of a sickle and a hammer. Moire ribbon: on a red background green, orange and black stripes.
Description of the 1995 award
There was a time when we were all citizens of one country, in which there was no separation according to nationality. Therefore, all veterans of the war, regardless of their place of residence, were presented with unified awards. Even in 1095, when the country began to be torn to pieces for political and personal ambitions, the medal for the 50th anniversary of the glorious Victory over the Nazis was the same for all veterans. It was the last award that all participants in the war received, regardless of where in the Soviet Union they lived.
Description of the medal issued on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of our great Victory:
Metal - tompak (brass with impurities of copper and zinc). The standard diameter is 32 mm. Obverse: the Spasskaya Tower, the world-famous Cathedral of the Intercession on the Moat, a part of the Kremlin wall, salute are depicted. Below is a convex image (monochrome) of the Order of the Patriotic War, two branches of the laurel, the inscription "1945-1995". Reverse: below the laurel branches. Above them is an inscription in large print that 50 years have passed since the long-awaited Victory over the Nazis. Ribbon: wide red stripe, narrow black (3 pcs.) And orange (4 pcs.) Stripes.
The Soviet Union collapsed. The Baltic republics emerged from it, becoming independent countries. They began to consider the victory in the Second World War from a different perspective. All awards to its participants were canceled.
XXI Century
In the new century and millennium, some countries formed from the republics of the USSR continued the glorious tradition of rewarding their WWII veterans. Jubilee medals dedicated to the 55th anniversary, 60th anniversary and 65th anniversary of the Greatest Victory were issued and presented. All of them have the same diameter equal to 32 mm. In different years they looked like this:
2000th (55th anniversary of the Victory). Metal is a tampac. Obverse: the image of the climax in the Victory Parade, held on Red Square in 1945, the mausoleum, the Kremlin wall, the famous Spasskaya tower, the inscription in voluminous letters “55 years”. Reverse: in the center is the inscription “VICTORY OF THE SOVIET PEOPLE IN THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR 1941-1945”. In the lower part there are laurel branches, at the intersection of which there is a sickle and a hammer. Ribbon: a combination of red, white, blue, black and yellow stripes.
2005th (60th anniversary of our Great Victory). Metal is a tampac. Obverse: in the center depicts the Order of Victory. At the bottom of the figure is "1045-2005." Reverse: laurel branches in a circle. A convex inscription is made in the center that 60 years have passed since the Victory Day. Ribbon: In the center, a red stripe bordered by orange and black stripes.
2010th (65th anniversary of our Great Victory). Metal is a tampac. Obverse: the order of Glory of the 1st degree is depicted in the center. In the lower part (under the order) are the numbers "1945-2010". Reverse: there is only an inscription that 65 years have passed since the day of our Victory in the war against the Nazis. Ribbon: black and orange stripes in the center, red stripes around the edges.
Analogs of this medal are issued in Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan.
70 years of a significant victory over the Nazis
In 2015, all civilized people of the world celebrated 70 years of the greatest and very long-awaited Victory over the Nazis. By this date, several jubilee awards were issued at once, including the medal "70 years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945." A decree has been issued on the establishment of this award, signed by Putin. This document is registered under No. 931. It entered into force on December 23, 2013. The Regulation on this medal was also signed, which indicated the categories of people worthy of the award, determined the manufacturing companies and the persons responsible for the implementation of the Decree.
On June 4, 2014, the President’s Order was issued, which approved the instructions for the presentation of the award. Lists of the awarded were to be compiled by the heads of municipalities on the ground (in the settlements where veterans live), and in foreign states - ambassadors of the Russian Federation. They were ordered to send lists to the Russian Foreign Ministry. Awarding the award and the certificate attached to it should only be in a festive atmosphere. The awarded “70 years of Victory” medal does not provide any additional benefits.
The basis for the award
Listing is not as easy as it sounds. Responsible persons are required to review a lot of information, check hundreds of documents.
The grounds for entering the list of awards are:
- Military ID.
- The certificate of the disabled person of the Second World War.
- Employment history.
- Certificate of employment in the military service or work during the Second World War, issued in the military unit or in the archive.
- Red Army book.
- Certificate of injury or other serious injury during the Second World War or the war with Japan.
- Certificate of a veteran or a participant in the Second World War.
- Certificates of awarding with commemorative medals in honor of the previous anniversaries of the Victory over the Nazis, as well as medals for the Victory over Japan and / or Germany.
- Documents attesting to the award of medals for labor distinctions and valiant work shown during the years of war, for the defense of Moscow, Leningrad, Sevastopol, Odessa, Stalingrad, the Caucasus, Kiev, and the Soviet Arctic.
- Sign "Resident of the besieged Leningrad."
- Documents confirming your stay in concentration camps and ghettos.
- Rehabilitation certificate confirming the presence of citizens at least six months in exile, in prison, in the colonies of the NKVD during the Second World War.
Categories of award winners
According to the Presidential Decree, the award must be presented:
- Military personnel and civilian employees who participated in military operations during the Second World War.
- Partisans.
- Underground members whose groups operated in the occupied lands.
- Persons holding anniversary awards in honor of the Victory over Germany and / or Japan.
Categories of persons who did not take part in battles
According to the decree signed by President Putin, the medal “70 years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.” were awarded citizens who did not take part in the battles. Their categories are as follows:
- Prisoners of concentration camps and ghettos.
- People who “forged” the victory in the rear and were awarded medals for their dedicated work.
- People who worked during the war and received an award for labor distinction.
- With a reward for labor prowess during the war years.
- Residents of besieged Leningrad.
- Persons awarded medals for the defense of certain cities (Moscow, Sevastopol, Kiev, Leningrad, Stalingrad, Odessa, the Caucasus, the Northern Polar Region.
- Foreign citizens who fought in the ranks of the Soviet army, partisan detachments, underground organizations (we are not talking about residents of the CIS).
Description
The circulation of medals "70 years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945." amounted to over 3 million, according to a census conducted in 2015.
This award is as follows: it is made of silver alloy. The diameter is standard for awards of this type and is 32 mm. Obverse: here is an image (multicolor) of the Order of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree. Below (under the order) are the numbers “1945-2015”. Reverse: on the circumference of the branches of the laurel, entwined with a ribbon. In the center of the circle of the word "70 YEARS OF VICTORY IN THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR 1941-1945." All images are embossed. There is a side along the edge of the coin. Ribbon: includes a red stripe in the center. Brown stripes and alternating orange and black stripes surround it on both sides.
This appearance of the medal was not accepted by all states. So, in Moldova on the front side of the award there will be no hammer and sickle. Ukraine has approved its medal by adding national attributes to its design.
The award must be worn on the chest on the left side, after the medal awarded to the 65th anniversary of the significant Victory.
Medal "70 years of Victory over Germany"
She was also released on her anniversary. They approved it by the decision of the Commission on commemorative signs and public awards. The document was adopted in February 4, 2015. The chairman of the commission was M. M. Moiseev. In the Regulations on this award and on the medal “70 years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.” much in common. The list of categories of people to whom it was handed is almost identical. The difference is that this award was additionally awarded:
- Persons making a great contribution to the activities of the veteran movement.
- To participants of search activity.
- People popularizing military history.
- Members of military historical societies and clubs who adhere to an active position in their work.
Description:
Metal is light bronze. The diameter is 32 mm. Obverse: in the center is an image of Stalin in profile, face turned left. Dressed in the uniform of the Marshal of the USSR. Convex letters are at the top: “OUR BUSINESS IS RIGHT”, and at the bottom: “WE WILL WIN”. Reverse: in a circle there is an inscription “FOR VICTORY OVER GERMANY”, in smaller letters in the center there are distinct letters: “IN THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR 1941-1945”, an asterisk at the very bottom. The tape is represented by alternating black and orange stripes.
Order badge
Veterans are awarded not only commemorative medals. “70 years of the Great Victory” is an order badge, also issued for a significant anniversary. It looks almost identical with the Order of the Patriotic War. His obverse is this: a five-pointed red star against a background of diverging golden rays and crossed sabers with a rifle. In the center of the star is the sign of the sickle and hammer, framed in a white circle. On it is the inscription “DOMESTIC WAR”, below is a small yellow star. The difference between the awards is that the order is screwed into the clothes, and there is an eyelet on the memorial sign, as on medals. With it, the award is attached to a ribbon-covered pad, on the back of which there is a pin.
Many people doubt the authenticity of this sign, because there is no information about it in state registers of awards.
In conclusion, I want to say that the anniversary medals on the Day of Victory over the Nazis are important not only for veterans. We also need these awards as a reminder of the cost of this victory so that we never allow the revival of fascism again.