Hero Award. Merit medals

The USSR Medal for Military Merit became one of the first award regalia of the country. Together with her, another famous medal was established - "For Courage". The establishment of the medal "For Military Merit" took place on October 19, 1938. Until the mid-thirties, the party leadership still had serious concerns about the counter-revolution. A

since the second half of the decade, another rival of the country, Hitlerite Germany, has been designated on the map of Europe. Heroes in this period were simply necessary for the state, which was going through the most difficult years of its history since the Civil War.

The provisions of the medal "For Military Merit"

According to the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the following persons could be awarded this award:

• Courageous while defending state borders.
• Those who have shown initiative, courageous and skillful actions in battle, which have contributed to the successful completion of the combat mission by the unit or
  
  military unit.
• Distinguished by special successes during political and combat training, in the development of new military equipment.

History of the medal "For Military Merit"

The first of those who received this award from the hands of senior officials in the prewar years were the participants in the hostilities on Lake Hassan, who distinguished themselves from the encroachments of the Japanese military during the defense of these territories. Six months later, Soviet soldiers had to defend the Khalkhin-Gol River region, located in modern Mongolia, from the same Japanese who had occupied China at that time.

Before the start of World War II, medals "For Military Merit" were awarded in the amount of more than 21 thousand copies. Of course, during the Great Patriotic War, the list of heroes awarded this award began to multiply sharply. In the post-war history of the Soviet state, on the contrary, almost no one was awarded a medal until 1991. Until 1958, there was still a procedure for awarding a long service medal , but this year it was canceled. The only episode of military clashes, for which servicemen in more or less mass order were awarded this regalia, was the suppression of the rebellion in Hungary in 1956. By 1995, servicemen of the Union, and later of the Russian state, were awarded this medal more than five million times. However, there were cases when foreigners who received a good service to our state received regalia.

Appearance of the award

The medal has a disk shape with a diameter of 31-32 mm (in different years there were different options). On the front side there is a bordering with a side with a width of 1 millimeter. On the front side of the product the inscription "USSR" is depicted in a circle indented letters. Below the image of a rifle with a bayonet crossed with a saber complements the medal "For Military Merit". The product number is engraved on the reverse side. Apart from the number, the flip side is completely smooth. According to the regulations, the medal should be worn on the left side of the chest and should be located immediately after Ushakov’s medal.