Stalinist historical science cautiously made assessments of the initial stage of the 1941–45 war. Only after the death of the “father of the peoples” did they begin to mention the serious defeats suffered then by the Red Army.
The medal "For the Defense of Kiev", established on the initiative of the new leader of the country - N. S. Khrushchev, became a symbol of memory of the terrible losses of the first summer of the war.
The tragic beginning of the war
Hitler considered the quick capture of Ukraine to be the most important strategic goal. This allowed depriving the Soviet Union of a large raw material and food base and freeing up forces to support troops in the main - Moscow - area.
The Ukrainian capital was attacked by aircraft from the first hours of the war, and in a short time a powerful group of German armies “South” reached the Dnieper. The opposing Soviet military units, united in the South-Western Front, were commanded by a general whose competes are still debated today - MP P. Kirponos, and the general direction of the southern forces was carried out by Marshal Budyonny.
Regulation on the medal
Timed to the 20th anniversary of the outbreak of war, the medal "For the Defense of Kiev" was established on June 21, 1961. Historians note special political circumstances. Nikita Khrushchev, who became the new leader of the party and the country, was for a long time the head of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks of Ukraine, and even during the war raised the question of a reward for participants in the battles for Kiev. Stalin spoke out sharply against, arguing that it was then necessary to establish awards separately for each union republic. But most importantly, Stalin did not consider the actions of the Soviet troops and his command as a heroic page in history.
According to the regulation, from July to September 1941 all those awarded the medal “For the Defense of Kiev” were in Kiev and its environs as part of regular troops and the people's militia, participated in the construction of defensive fortifications, worked at the military enterprises of the city, were members of the anti-fascist underground or partisan movement.
According to the regulations, in the presence of other state awards, the medal "For the Defense of Kiev" is located after the "Stalingrad", the "junior" for it was declared "For the Defense of the Caucasus."
To take Moscow, you need to take Kiev
The High Command of the Wehrmacht, obeying Hitler’s directive, made a decision that most military historians recognize as erroneous in terms of the strategy of seizing the Soviet capital. Seeking to quickly reach the rich Ukrainian regions and the Caucasian oil, the southern group was strengthened by 2 powerful tank armies, which previously operated in conjunction with the Army Group Center in the Moscow direction. Hitler did this after an unsuccessful attempt to capture the Ukrainian capital at once, prevented by counter-actions of the Red Army on the line of the Kiev fortified area.
The Stavka did not begin to strengthen the Soviet South-Western Front at the expense of the units that blocked the Germans' path to Moscow, because Stalin was sure that the main direction for the Germans remained capital. The power and dynamics of the new tank units, their roundabout and dissecting strikes led to the encirclement and destruction of a huge group of the Red Army near Kiev led by the leadership of the front. Even the official loss figure is monstrous - more than 700 thousand people.
Description of the medal
The form, which has the medal "For the Defense of Kiev" is standard for such awards: a brass disc with a diameter of 32 mm. The pentagonal block is also familiar, covered with an olive ribbon made of moire, with two stripes: red (4 mm) and blue (2 mm).
The flip side is the same as on many medals of the Second World War - with the inscription: "For our Soviet Motherland!" But there is a rarity among collectors-falerist: the medal "For the Defense of Kiev", made using a mold incorrectly used by the Mint from another military award. On its reverse posted the date of the capture of Vienna - "April 13, 1945". Such medals were not awarded.
The obverse was made according to the sketch of the artist V.N. Atlantov and represents relief figures of a partisan and a worker, sailor and soldier armed with rifles against the background of the building of the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR with a characteristic dome and flag above it. On the top there are convex letters: “For the defense of Kiev”, in the center below is a five-pointed star against the background of the flag, and a laurel branch on both sides of it. The obverse borders a convex side.
Results of the Kiev defense
The battles of the summer of 1941 relate to the hard lessons from which the Great Patriotic War began for the Soviet command. The defense of Kiev lasted 70 days and ended on September 26, when the fighting ended in the vicinity of the Ukrainian capital, already abandoned by that time by Soviet soldiers.
The defeat of the South-Western Front of the Red Army had dire strategic consequences for the USSR: the Germans opened the road to the south of Ukraine and Donbass and Crimea were soon captured, where Sevastopol, the main base of the Black Sea Fleet, was blocked. The largest economic zones - sources of food and coal - were lost, a threat loomed over the main oil-producing regions of the USSR.
But the feat of the defenders of Kiev has historical significance for achieving a common victory over fascism: the diversion of a significant part of the Wehrmacht tank forces from the central group of forces weakened the onslaught on the Soviet capital and gave time to better prepare for the defense of Moscow.
170 thousand awarded
Soviet historical science tended to make assessments based on the opinions of the leadership and the main party ideologists. This particularly affected the most complex and controversial victories and defeats of the Great Patriotic War, which include the defense of Kiev. WWII, its main events can be traced in the names of the established awards for its participants - medals for the defense and capture of cities and regions.
The military medal “For the Defense of Kiev” became the only one established in the post-war period. But from this she did not become less honorable and dear to the 170 540 people awarded her for their contemporaries and descendants.