Medal "Gold Star. The value and significance of the medal "Hero of the Soviet Union" at different times

In the photo: A.I. Pokryshkin, G.K. Zhukov, I.N. Kozhedub. Early 1950s

By the beginning of the war, 626 people had received the high rank. Most of the Heroes Soviet Union appeared during the Great Patriotic War - 11 thousand 657 people (3051 of them posthumously), including twice Heroes 107 (7 of them posthumously).

These were representatives different peoples multinational Soviet Union: Russians - 8160; Ukrainians - 2069; Belarusians - 309; Tatars - 161; Jews - 131; Azerbaijanis - 97; Kazakhs - 96; Georgians - 90; Armenians - 145; Uzbeks - 69; Mordvins - 61; Dagestanis - 57; Chuvash - 44; Bashkirs - 39; Ossetians - 37; Mari - 18, Turkmen - 18; Lithuanians - 15; Tajiks - 14; Latvians - 13; Kyrgyz - 12; Udmurts - 10; Karelians - 9; Estonians - 8; Meskhetian Turks - 8; Kalmyks - 8; Buryats - 8; Kabardians - 7; Chechens - 7; Kumyks - 6; Adyghe - 6; Crimean Tatars - 6; Abkhazians - 5; Yakuts - 3; Moldovans - 2; Tuvans - 1.

In total, during the existence of the USSR, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to 12,776 people (excluding 72 deprived of the title for discrediting acts and 13 canceled Decrees as unfounded), including twice - 154 (9 posthumously), three times - 3 (the legendary pilot became the first -fighter A.I. Pokryshkin) and four times - 2. In the total number of Heroes of the Soviet Union, 95 women. Among the Heroes of the Soviet Union, 44 people are citizens of foreign countries.

The first Heroes of the Soviet Union were polar pilots Anatoly Lyapidevsky (medal No. 1), Sigismund Levanevsky, Vasily Molokov, Nikolai Kamanin, Mauritius Slepnev, Mikhail Vodopyanov, Ivan Doronin for rescuing passengers in distress and members of the crew of the Chelyuskin steamer.

All of the above information I firmly remember from school.

We were brought up by teachers in such a way that the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was something transcendent for everyone.

The title of Hero of Socialist Labor also, of course, inspired respect. But still not like that. Although I already knew that "a medal for a battle, a medal for labor is poured from one metal." Perhaps also because in our village Doroshovka, in the Vinnitsa region, lived the Hero of Socialist Labor - combine operator Ivan Gnidyuk. Over time, his surname even somehow leveled off, and people simply said: Ivan the Hero. With his brother, also a combine operator Theodosius, we were neighbors. And I even knew that the younger one also wanted to become a Hero, but in the end he had to be content with only the Order of Lenin. And in our Yampolsky district, Hero of Socialist Labor Ekaterina Zakharchuk worked as a sugar beet grower. I was already frankly proud of this circumstance and even lied to the boys that I was in a distant family relationship with the heroine. Although, if you dig, then perhaps it was so.

In those distant years of my childhood, Heroes of the Soviet Union did not appear in the country often. But if they did appear, then every time it happened as an out of the ordinary event. For example, the flight of Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin. Or the launches of other cosmonauts: German Titov, Andriyan Nikolaev, Pavel Popovich, Valentina Tereshkova, Valery Bykovsky joyfully and festively added heroes to the country. And our great joy was aroused on this occasion. Each space flight then became a national holiday. I also remember my other childhood amazement associated with this high rank. So, in early 1960, military personnel Soviet army Ziganshin, Poplavsky, Fedotov and Kryuchkovsky spent 49 days in the open ocean on a fragile barge. First they ate the belt, cutting it finely into noodles. Then we welded a strap from the radio. Then they boiled tarpaulin boots on ocean water, lost almost a kilogram in weight every day. Ziganshin, who weighed 70 kilograms, lost up to 40!

In these extremely extreme conditions, Soviet soldiers were able not only to survive, but also to maintain human dignity. What then strongly the Americans who saved our soldiers admired.

They probably thought that in situations like this, people should eat each other, or what? Our newspapers and radio daily called the guys heroes, but they were never given a high title. It was not clear: why? And no one explained it to me then. But four years later, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser suddenly became a Hero of the Soviet Union.

Much later I will hear the song of Volodya Vysotsky (whose kind attitude towards me will be bestowed by a generous life): “I will lose the true faith - / It hurts me for our USSR: / Take away the order from Nasser - / Nasser does not fit the order! / You can even use foul language from the podium , / Distribute gifts at random, / Call Nasser our brother, / But giving a Hero is quit! / Why is there no gold in the country? !

With all the most complex twists public life the great power of the USSR, its main award has always retained among the people that high status, genuine respect, which were laid in it by the founding fathers in 1934. The title of Hero of the Soviet Union was the highest degree of distinction and was awarded for personal or collective services to the Soviet state and society associated with the accomplishment of a truly heroic feat. It was, as they would say now, a unique brand, belonging exclusively to the Soviet Union. The heroic title was awarded only by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. Yes, at the same time, unfortunately, during the years of World War II, it also happened that heroic ranks came to units and formations according to the order from above, regardless of the actual combat situation. I encountered this when I was writing a story about the father of Muslim Magomayev. Senior Sergeant Magomed Magomayev was posthumously nominated for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (the commander of his regiment, Colonel Pokhlebaev, told me about this), but the award did not take place, because not a single Star of the Hero was “lowered” on the entire 301st Rifle Division.

But in another case, such a centralized planning of heroism is now seen as more than justified. It is known that for crossing the Dnieper in the Smolensk region and below, and in the future equal to the Dnieper rivers in terms of difficulty of overcoming the commanders of units and formations, whose subordinates took water barriers, they were automatically presented with the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Specifically, for crossing the Dnieper, 2438 soldiers were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, which is more than the total number of those awarded in the entire previous history of the award. Such a massive, unprecedented awarding happened the only time in the history of the war.

There were other unfortunate misunderstandings during that war. The famous military writer Vladimir Karpov told me: “I regularly delivered “tongues” with my comrades. We, as in other branches of the military, had our own unwritten laws and even norms, according to which those who distinguished themselves were presented for certain awards. Pilots, for example, for 15-20 downed aircraft were supposed to be awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. And scouts - for twenty "languages". I had a special case, because I come from the penalty boxes. Therefore, the regiment commander, wishing that I would still be awarded the highest honorary title, and so that there would be no doubts in the authorities, presented award material when I had participated in the capture of 45 “languages”. Moreover, I myself did not know about all this, just as I did not know the course of commander's thoughts. One day he called me to headquarters. It was unusually gloomy. Silently handed me award list, across which was inscribed with a red pencil: “Who do you think you represent ?!”

Nothing, Volodya, do not be upset, - he said, and the jaws ran on his emaciated face. “The truth, brother, will always prevail. There is it on earth, there is ...

Omitting the countless details of that epic heroism, I note that thanks to Kortunov and a member of the Military Council of the 39th Army, Major General Vasily Romanovich Boyko, I nevertheless received a high rank.

If we return to the statistics with which I began my personal ode to the heroes, then I still have to admit: despite the most severe selection of candidates for Heroes, people, to put it mildly, unworthy of such a high rank also penetrated there. Take the same Khrushchev. He not only presented the highest award of the country to Nasser, but also “assigned” the title of Hero of Socialist Labor to his beloved three times in a row, and at the end of his career he also became a Hero of the Soviet Union! Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev was four times Hero of the USSR! Only one more person had so many Stars - Grand Marshal Georgy Zhukov.

However, even with such an award "voluntarism", in the absolute and overwhelming majority, the Heroes of the Soviet Union were examples not only of exceptional courage and selflessness, but also of the highest human morality.

As for "marriage", among the Heroes it was negligible - 0.6 percent. The socialist society, with all its shortcomings, nevertheless managed to grow in its midst a unique, unparalleled in the world, heroic elite, for which, in principle, there were no impossible tasks (this, by the way, is an almost unstudied phenomenon that is still waiting for their researchers).

... It so happened that before the cadet epaulettes, I did not have a chance to meet “live” with at least one Hero of the Soviet Union. I saw them only in the movies, on TV and in inaccessible presidiums. I tell you - that title was rare. And in the Lvov political school Colonel Ivan Revkov read to us about the tank business. On May 7, 1944, during the assault on Sapun Mountain, the crew of his tank, at that time the commander of the platoon of the guards, Lieutenant Revkov, the charge of the guards, senior sergeant Khanov, the radio operator Minin, and the driver of the guard, senior sergeant Vodolazkin, went on the attack. After two of the platoon's tanks were knocked out, Revkov's car fought alone. The crew fought for a day, repulsing the attacks of German machine gunners and tanks. The driver-mechanic Vodolzakin was wounded, but did not leave the battle. By the end of the day, 3 tanks, 4 cannons, 6 firing points, 6 heavy machine guns and 145 killed enemy soldiers and officers remained in front of the positions of four tankers. Two days later, Revkov's crew destroyed 4 more German tanks, 6 cannons, a six-barreled mortar, 12 firing points, 18 heavy machine guns, smashed 3 pillboxes and 5 bunkers, 4 vehicles and 15 wagons with cargo, destroyed 180 enemy soldiers and officers. By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated March 24, 1945, Guards Lieutenant Revkov Ivan Ivanovich was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal. Senior Sergeant Vodolazkin, the tank driver of the Guards, was awarded the same title. The charging senior sergeant Khanov was awarded the Order of Lenin, and the radio operator Minin was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.

It is difficult to find a person more distant from technology than the author of these lines. But for two years I studied tank business with such zeal, as if I was going to command an armored vehicle upon graduation. As a result, I passed the exam on the equipment of the tank and its driving with excellent marks. And he was not alone in his diligence. All my classmates (and I am with them!) are still proud of the fact that Colonel Revkov, Hero of the Soviet Union, taught us the tank business. Not every cadet had such an honor. By the way, if you, the reader, find an article on Hero Revkov on Wikipedia, you will also read my grateful memories of Ivan Ivanovich there.

Further long-term work in the "Red Star" allowed me to admire many Soviet national Heroes in print. Some even make friends. Which, to be honest, I'm still frankly proud of.

And the highest degree of possible naivety to believe that they all happened to be on my way, but had no effect on me. I wrote about the Heroes of the Soviet Union E. Antonov, R. Aushev, S. Akhromeev, G. Baidukov, P. Batitsky, A. Beloborodov, G. Beregovoy, V. Varennikov, E. Vysotsky, P. Grachev, A. Grechko, V Grizodubova, B. Gromov, V. Dzhanibekov, G. Zhukov, K. Zaslonov, R. Ibarruri, M. Kalashnikov, V. Karpov, I. Kozhedub, A. Koldunov, D. Lelyushenko, A. Matrosov, A. Snesareva , G. Titov, D. Ustinov, A. Fedorov, V. Chkalov. Two Afghan Heroes (out of 85), Lieutenant Colonel Nikolai Kovalev (posthumously) and Sergeant Igor Chmurov, I first introduced to Soviet readers. Then this high rank was assigned to fighters "across the river", that is, in Afghanistan, exclusively by closed decrees of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. Therefore, in order to publish the heroic deed of a soldier or officer, special permission was required from the Chief of the General Staff of the USSR Armed Forces. Not always, and not to everyone it was issued.

Whenever I got to know people who had accomplished heroic deeds, or only with their biographies, I always wanted to find in their characters, behavior, or even in their appearance some special features, those very exclusivities that I had reverently seen in my childhood. all heroes. But, as a rule, I was convinced: there is nothing so special that would distinguish them from us, mere mortals, in them. No exaltation, no romantic elation, no uniqueness. Not a single person with the Star of the Hero even once boasted about it in my presence. Maybe, in fact, as it is sung in that song: “When the country orders to be a hero, everyone becomes a hero in our country”? No, of course, this is a poetic exaggeration. However, you must admit, the reader, a very significant exaggeration.

In the summer of 1984, in the same Zvezdochka, my large material “The Heroic Village” was published, which I also have some reason to be proud of. The thing is that even during the Great Patriotic War, this settlement had a different name - Prognoi, in everyday life - Purulent. And then his natives: Visovin Konstantin Gavrilovich, Dubinda Pavel Khristoforovich, Ovodovsky Grigory Yakovlevich, Tansky Nikolai Georgievich became Heroes of the Soviet Union. Dubinda - in addition, also a full holder of the Order of Glory. Already in peacetime, they were joined by fellow villagers, two Heroes of Socialist Labor - the harpooner of the whaling flotilla "Glory" Nikolai Nikolaevich Gnilyak and the captain-director of the fishing trawler "Krylov" (in the Baltic) Vasily Vasilyevich Mikhasko. In their honor, the Prognoi were renamed into Heroic.

The last Soviet person to be awarded the Gold Star medal of the Hero of the Soviet Union was diving specialist Captain 3rd Rank Leonid Mikhailovich Solodkov.

He participated in a complex experiment simulating prolonged work at a depth of 500 meters under water. At the celebrations during the presentation of the award, an unfortunate incident happened, which perfectly characterizes the bad time that fell to our common lot. Having accepted the box with the Golden Star from the hands of Air Marshal E. Shaposhnikov, the officer almost whispered: “Thank you” instead of “I serve the Soviet Union!”, 57 years proudly pronounced before him in this case. On January 16, 1992, the USSR did not legally exist for 22 days.

And on March 20, 1992, the title "Hero of Russian Federation". At the same time, the Heroes of the Soviet Union retained the same rights as the Heroes of Russia. It is noteworthy that four Heroes of the Soviet Union also received the title of Hero of Russia: cosmonauts Sergey Krikalev and Valery Polyakov, polar explorer Artur Chilingarov and colonel Russian Army Nikolai Maidanov (posthumously).

In all former Soviet republics, with the exception of the three Baltic states, heroic titles have also been established. There are also in Cuba, China, Mozambique, Nepal. In Vietnam, the title of Hero is awarded exclusively to military people. Similar awards are entirely copied from the Hero of the Soviet Union. A good legacy from a vanished great country...

Mikhail Zakharchuk - retired colonel (http://www.stoletie.ru/territoriya_istorii/geroicheskaja_elita_438.htm)

The Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded:
- the highest award of the USSR - the Order of Lenin;
- badge of special distinction - the medal "Gold Star";
- Diploma of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

In honor of the Hero of the Soviet Union, who was awarded the 2nd Gold Star medal, a bronze bust of the Hero with a corresponding inscription was erected, which was installed in his homeland.

The medal "Gold Star" of the Hero of the Soviet Union was worn on the left side of the chest over the USSR. The Gold Star medal is a five-pointed star with smooth dihedral rays on the front side. The reverse side of the medal has a smooth surface and is limited in silhouette by a protruding narrow rim. On the reverse side in the center of the medal there is an inscription in raised letters "Hero of the USSR".

This USSR medal is made of 950 gold. The medallion is made of silver. As of September 18, 1975, the gold content in the medal is 20.521 ± 0.903 grams, the silver content is 12.186 ± 0.927 grams. The weight of the medal in the absence of a block is 21.5 grams. The total weight of the medal is 34.264± 1.5 g.

The title of Hero of the Soviet Union was established by the Decree of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR of April 16, 1934. The resolution established that "Heroes of the Soviet Union are issued a distinctive diploma." Other attributes and insignia were not introduced to the Heroes of the Soviet Union at that time.

The regulation on the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was established on July 29, 1936. It introduced the procedure for awarding the Heroes of the Soviet Union, in addition to the diploma of the Central Executive Committee, also the Order of Lenin - the highest award of the USSR. Received it retroactively and those to whom the title of Hero was awarded before the release of this Decree, there were 11 of them. From this stage, all Heroes of the Soviet Union received almost until the collapse of the USSR in 1991.

On August 1, 1939, the medal "Hero of the Soviet Union" was established, which is awarded simultaneously with the title of Hero of the Soviet Union and the Order of Lenin. The issuance of the “Gold Star” medals was carried out similarly to those persons who were awarded the title before the establishment of this medal.

On July 21, 1942, all the fighters of the tank destroyer unit from the 1075th regiment of the 316th rifle division under Major General Panfilov became Heroes. 27 soldiers, led by political instructor Klochkov, at the cost of their lives stopped the advanced tank units of the Germans at the Dubosekovo junction, rushing to the Volokolamsk highway. All of them were awarded the title posthumously, but then five of them were alive and received the Golden Stars.

On May 18, 1943, all soldiers of the platoon of Lieutenant Shironin P.N. were awarded the title of GSS. from the 78th Guards Rifle Regiment of the 25th Guards Rifle Division, General Shafarenko P.M. From March 2, 1943, for five days, the platoon, reinforced by a 45-mm gun, defended the railway crossing near the village of Taranovka, south of Kharkov, and repeated the feat of the Panfilovites. The enemy lost 11 armored vehicles and up to a hundred soldiers. When other units came to the rescue of the "Shironintsy", only six heroes survived, including the seriously wounded commander. All 25 platoon fighters were awarded the title of GSS.

On April 2, 1945, the last for the Great Patriotic War, the assignment of the title of the GSS to all personnel of one unit took place. On March 28, 1944, during the liberation of the city of Nikolaev, a heroic feat was performed by 67 soldiers of the landing detachment (55 sailors and 12 soldiers), led by Senior Lieutenant Olshansky K.F. and his deputy for political affairs, Captain Golovlev A.F. The landing force was landed in the port of Nikolaev to facilitate the capture of the city by the advancing units. Against the paratroopers, the Germans threw 3 infantry battalions with the support of 4 tanks and artillery. Before the approach of the main forces, 55 out of 67 people died, but the paratroopers managed to destroy about 700 Nazis, 2 tanks and 4 guns. All the dead and surviving paratroopers were awarded the title of GSS. In addition to the paratroopers, the conductor also fought in the detachment, but the title of Hero was awarded to him only after 20 years.

The former head of the operations department of the General Staff of the Soviet Army, Marshal Shtemenko, cites the following data: for exploits during the Great Patriotic War, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (as of September 1, 1948) was awarded to 11,603 people, 98 people were awarded this honor twice, and three times - three.

GSS Guard Captain Nedorubov K.I. (1889-1978) - commander of the squadron of the people's militia of the 41st Guards Cavalry Regiment of the 11th Guards Cavalry Division of the 5th Guards Cavalry Corps of the North Caucasian Front. Member of the 1st World and Civil War. Full St. George Cavalier. He wore the Golden Star of the Hero along with the St. George Crosses.

Of all those awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union during the Great Patriotic War and the war with Japan, the largest number were soldiers of the ground forces - over 8 thousand (1800 artillerymen, 1142 tankmen, 650 sappers, more than 290 signalmen and 52 rear soldiers). It must be said that in 1944 decrees were promulgated on rewarding the navigator of the fighter regiment, Major Gulaev N.D. the third "Gold Star", and a number of pilots the second "Gold Star", but none of them received awards because of the brawl they arranged in a Moscow restaurant on the eve of receiving awards. These decrees have been annulled.
The number of Heroes of the Air Force soldiers is about 2400 people.
In the Navy, 513 people received the title of Hero (including naval pilots and marines who fought on the coast).
From among the border guards, fighters of internal troops and security forces - over 150 Heroes of the Soviet Union.
The titles of the GSS were awarded to 234 partisans.
There are more than 90 representatives of the weaker sex among the Heroes of the Soviet Union. More than half of them were awarded the title of GSS posthumously.
Of all the Heroes of the Soviet Union, 35% were privates and sergeants (soldiers, sailors, sergeants and foremen), 61% were officers and 3.3% (380 people) were generals, admirals and marshals.
By national composition the bulk of the Heroes were Russians - 7998 people; Ukrainians - 2021 people, Belarusians - 299, Tatars - 161, Jews - 107, Kazakhs - 96, Georgians - 90, Armenians - 89, Uzbeks - 67, Mordvins - 63, Chuvashs - 45, Azerbaijanis - 43, Bashkirs - 38, Ossetians - 31, Mari - 18, Turkmen - 16, Lithuanians - 15, Tajiks - 15, Latvians - 12, Kyrgyz - 12, Komi - 10, Udmurts - 10, Estonians -9, Karelians - 8, Kalmyks - 8, Kabardians - 6 , Adyghes - 6, Abkhazians - 4, Yakuts - 2, Moldavians - 2, Tuvinian - 1, etc.

Since August 1939, the highest distinctive state award of the USSR has been the star of the Hero of the Soviet Union, which was awarded to those who were awarded this high title. The title itself has existed since 1936, but without insignia, only a letter from the Central Executive Committee was attached to it. The first Heroes of the Soviet Union received, in addition to the diploma, the Order of Lenin, which was enshrined in the Decree of the Central Executive Committee. In 1939, a decree was issued, according to which a medal was established - the star of the Hero of the Soviet Union. After its approval appearance in October 1939 it received a new name. Now the award has become known as the "Gold Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union."

Award procedure

In 1939, the Regulations on this title itself changed. Now there is an opportunity to receive such an award repeatedly. The second star of the Hero of the Soviet Union gave the right to fellow countrymen of the distinguished person to erect his bronze bust in the area where he was born. Three times the Hero, along with the third Golden Star, received a bronze bust in Moscow, near the Palace of Soviets. And now the Order of Lenin was not awarded to the heroes. Four times the Hero, this Decree did not provide, and therefore there was no indication of this, however, the star of the Hero of the Soviet Union was subsequently awarded four times to Marshal Georgy Zhukov and Leonid Brezhnev. In total, during the existence of the USSR, 12,776 people were awarded this title. Of these, one hundred and fifty-four are those to whom the star of the Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded twice, and Semyon Budyonny, Alexander Pokryshkin and Ivan Kozhedub - three times. Among the Heroes are forty-four foreign citizens and ninety-five women.

The "Gold Star" of the Hero of the Soviet Union was most often awarded during World War II - the Great Patriotic War. Almost ninety percent of the Heroes accomplished their feats on the fronts. Eleven thousand, six hundred and fifty-seven Heroes received their Gold Star, only more than three thousand of them posthumously. The medal "Gold Star" of the Hero of the Soviet Union was taken to Poland and Czechoslovakia - ten times, to France - four times (the air regiment "Normandie-Neman" distinguished itself). One hundred and seven people received this title twice. Of the more than eleven thousand Heroes, ninety are women. Now about a hundred people live in the capital who have received such a medal - the "Gold Star" of the Hero of the Soviet Union. And in addition to the benefits due to them, at the present time about fifty thousand rubles are paid each month.

Position

What was the hero to do who received the star of the Soviet Union - the main of its stars? This was supposed to be a real feat or a special, outstanding merit either in war or in peacetime. Who are these people who proudly wore a medal of amazing beauty, created by the architect Miron Ivanovich Merzhanov? However, the medal was not worn immediately, but the exploits were noted even before its creation. The provision for conferring this title in 1934 spoke of personal or collective merits to the country, of a heroic deed, and the red star of the Hero of the Soviet Union turned into gold. The first, second and third awards came with a separate numbering, and after the war, since it prevented the completion of the grandiose Palace of Soviets, all the bronze busts of the three Heroes were installed directly in the Kremlin.

In 1973, a new version of the Regulations of 1936 was approved by a separate decree of the Presidium of the USSR Armed Forces. In particular, it says that the second star of the Hero of the Soviet Union and the Order of Lenin, when awarded, will be combined with the establishment of a bronze bust in the homeland of the Hero. The third star of the Hero for new exploits brings the second Order of Lenin, where the Star is a sign of special distinction, and the order is the highest award. The Hero also receives a diploma from the Presidium of the USSR Armed Forces. This medal is worn on the left side, above all orders and medals of the USSR. However, the high title of the Hero could also be deprived, which happened more than once. Only the Supreme Council, its Presidium, had the right to do this.

First Heroes

The first star of the Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to polar pilot Anatoly Lyapidevsky in April 1934, or rather, it was only a title so far, and medal No. 1 was awarded later. He was not the only one - the Chelyuskin epic prompted the idea of establishing such an award, because the feat of the rescuers - polar pilots - was unparalleled. At the same time, Sigismund Levanevsky, Vasily Molokov, Nikolai Kamanin, Mauritius Slepnev, Mikhail Vodopyanov, Ivan Doronin became the Heroes of the country. Did these wonderful pilots think that each of them was waiting for the star of the Hero of the Soviet Union? Photos of that time show that no, this is not what the heroes were thinking about. This feat was too hard for them.

They still rescued the crew members and passengers of the sunken steamer "Chelyuskin", which was covered with ice. In fact, the enterprise itself was excellent bungling. After the icebreaker Sibiryakov crossed the seas for the first time in history in 1932 and managed to keep within one navigation, some irresponsible comrades decided that an ordinary steamer could do it. I couldn't. But the pilots accomplished a feat by taking people off a drifting ice floe in the unthinkable conditions of the Far North. Seven high-class pilots, of whom there were so few in the country at that time, risked their lives for the sake of fellow citizens.

In the footsteps

For military merits, the Order of the Gold Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union was received by internationalist soldiers who fought in Spain. The award ceremony took place on New Year's Eve 1937. Among the sixty people awarded the Gold Star were Volkan Goranov from Bulgaria and Primo Gibelli from Italy. In 1938, new military exploits were committed - on Lake Khasan and on Khalkhin Gol, and ninety-six people received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Most of them are pilots. And the pilot was the first woman to receive the order. The Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union in 1938 was awarded to pilot Valentina Grizodubova. And the only woman twice a Hero is Svetlana Savitskaya, an astronaut.

The youngest Hero of the Soviet Union was - posthumously - the partisan Valentin Kotik, who, before his fourteen years, managed to blow up six German echelons, scout out a lot of information that was extremely important for the partisans, and receive many awards, the number of which far from every adult had even in the army. And as soon as he was fourteen, there was a fight, where, protecting his comrades, Valya Kotik received a mortal wound. The oldest among the Heroes was a peasant born under serfdom, also a partisan - Matvey Kuzmin, who died heroically at the age of eighty-three, repeating the feat of Ivan Susanin. There is a monument in Moscow, and people who go down the metro to the Partizanskaya station see it every day: an elderly, bearded, calm and confident man.

More facts

Among the heroic defenders of the Motherland in the Great Patriotic War, 8160 people were Russians, three hundred and nine Belarusians, two thousand and sixty-nine Ukrainians, one hundred and sixty-one Tatars, one hundred and thirty-one Jews, seven Ingush and Chechens. Post-war Heroes of the Soviet Union brought the war in Afghanistan. There are eighty-five of them, and twenty-eight of them received the Gold Star posthumously. Everyone remembers Bondarchuk's famous film "9th Company". This is about them, when for twelve hours the height with our paratroopers was attacked without a break by many times more numerous Mujahideen, but they did not succeed in capturing this bridgehead. Then six were killed, twenty-eight fighters were wounded, nine were seriously wounded. And private Alexander Melnikov and junior sergeant Vyacheslav Alexandrov became posthumously Heroes of the Soviet Union.

But not all heroes appear in wars, there is always a place for heroism in civilian life. Thirty-five Soviet cosmonauts received the Gold Star, four of them twice. Moreover, Georgy Beregovoy earned the first star of the Hero during the war, where he made one hundred and eighty-six sorties, storming the enemy efficiently and efficiently. Twice more Heroes - Svetlana Savitskaya, Alexey Eliseev and Vladimir Shatalov. The last twice Hero of the Soviet Union was the brigade commander, tanker Azi Aslanov, who died back in 1945. The second Gold Star found the Hero posthumously in 1991. And in December 1991, the captain of the third rank, diver Leonid Solodkov, received the most recent star for courage and unparalleled resourcefulness in overcoming a dangerous situation (a very complex underwater experiment was carried out). The Soviet Union no longer existed at the time of the award.

Three destinies twice Heroes

In 1939, hostilities began on Khalkin Gol (a river in Mongolia), which, in terms of the number of troops and equipment thrown into battle, were quite equivalent to some battles of the Great Patriotic War. Then the Heroes appeared twice - the wonderful aces pilots Yakov Smushkevich, Grigory Kravchenko and Sergey Grinevets, who earned the first such awards in battles in the territories of China and Spain. Grinevets did not have time to receive any of his Gold Stars: he died from an absurd accident, having already safely landed the plane in the most difficult meteorological conditions, and his friend, who landed next, lost control of the plane. He died in September, and the first, most recently established medals were awarded in November.

Yakov Smushkevich in Spain was called "General Douglas", the fame of him thundered from both sides of the front. He managed to get both Gold Stars: and for Spanish war, and for Khalkin Gol. In 1941, Smushkevich was the commander of the Air Force, and so he started the war. But already in October he was convicted and shot. And Grigory Kravchenko received the first title of Hero and the Order of Lenin in February, and the second - in August 1939. He was a truly fearless and exceptionally skillful ace. He participated in all the wars and conflicts waged by the Soviet Union, and he always won. But even from real heroes, it happens that luck turns away. In February 1943, having shot down another Focke-Wulf, Kravchenko drove his downed and on fire La-5 home, but fell short. Leaving the plane, pulling the parachute ring, I realized that it would not open: the lanyard of the knapsack was interrupted by a fragment. And so the very first twice Hero of the Soviet Union died.

Finnish war

The "small" war with a small country gave the Soviet Union four hundred and twelve Heroes (by the way, this is more than for the great battle near Moscow). Of course, courage and heroism in the war with Finland was needed enormously: machine guns had to run in the snow up to the waist. Our losses were very, simply disproportionately large, with all the superiority in technology and fighting qualities of the troops. But the victory was won, and the high command was sure that this experience of warfare was certainly valuable and would certainly come in handy. A shower of awards then poured on the Soviet army, new appointments, new titles. The people were convinced that a very formidable enemy had been defeated, moreover, "with one left", and now it was within their power to turn anyone into a ram's horn. The summer of 1941 showed all the harm of such hatred moods, especially on the eve of a huge war.

And the heroes in the Soviet-Finnish war were real! This is Grigory Hayrapetyan, who with a small unit captured the enemy's trench with two pillboxes and held these positions for two days with continuous counterattacks; this is Alexander Andriyanov, who not only completed the most difficult combat missions, but also kept his own fighters in almost in full force; this is the elusive and fearless scout Kesar Andreev, who died in open battle and was awarded the Gold Star of the Hero posthumously. This is Ivan Alyaev, twice wounded and refusing to leave the battlefield. This is the artillery hero Semyon Alpeev, the legendary brigade commander Stepan Chernyak ... And another twice Hero of the Soviet Union - ace pilot Sergei Denisov, who received the first award for courage in battles in Spain, and now suppressed enemy resistance on the Mannerheim line. All those who received awards from the hands of the "all-Union headman" Mikhail Kalinin for their exploits on the Soviet-Finnish border are, of course, real heroes.

Stars for experience

Anniversary or, as the people aptly expressed it, "Danish" awards with the Golden Star began after Stalin's death. Georgy Zhukov was the first to receive his fourth Hero award for his sixtieth birthday. Andrey Grechko, Sergey Gorshkov, Kliment Voroshilov went through the whole war, but they were not called Heroes, but they received two Gold Stars in peacetime.

Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev received his first star during the war on the Fourth Ukrainian Front. Apparently he liked it. He received three more Gold Stars of the Hero and one - of Socialist Labor, already being the General Secretary. Konstantin Chernenko was afraid not to live to be seventy-five, when he could get the third star (he was not worried in vain, it happened), so he received it on his seventy-threeth birthday - a slightly non-circular anniversary.

Before the revolution

The same order, destroyed by Lenin and Stalin, existed in the pre-revolutionary Russian Empire (unlike the Soviet Union - absolutely officially). The law clearly stipulated what rank is required to have and how much time of impeccable service in order to receive this or that order. Even the names of pre-revolutionary awards clearly denoted social types.

The Order of St. Vladimir of the third degree ("Vladimir in the buttonhole") is an official or military man under thirty years old, an enviable groom or a promising careerist; the order of St. Anne of the second degree ("Anna on the neck") - a man of about fifty, already quite accomplished; and if two stars - this is the highest rank, before which one is supposed to be shy. The only difference is that not one of the tsarist officials claimed even the smallest share of heroism.

In Russian federation

The Gold Star of the Hero of Russia, established in 1992 by Boris Yeltsin, is no different from the previous star, except for the fastening block - it has become tricolor, like a flag. This title is awarded only to citizens of Russia and only once. Star No. 1 went to cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev for a particularly long flight (orbital station "Mir"), and the second such award was awarded posthumously to the relatives of the Hero, Major General Sulambek Oskanov, who did not eject from the damaged MiG-29 so that the plane would not fall on the city .

As of 2013, there were nine hundred and eighty-three Heroes of Russia. Of these, fifteen are women. Four hundred and sixty Heroes were posthumously awarded. Most of them are participants in the Chechen campaigns: three hundred and four of the second war and one hundred and seventy-five of the first. Another seventy-five people participated in other operations against terrorism. One hundred and twenty-two Heroes are testers of underwater and aviation equipment. One hundred and eight did not receive their due awards in the Great Patriotic War, and this was corrected. Forty-one astronauts. Twenty-two lifeguards. Fourteen scouts. Fifteen weapon designers. And twenty-six participants in the October events in 1993.

By a decree of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR of April 16, 1934, the highest degree of distinction was established - the award for personal or collective services to the state associated with the accomplishment of a heroic deed, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

By a decree of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR of July 29, 1936, the Regulations on the title of Hero of the Soviet Union were approved.

By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of August 1, 1939, in order to distinguish citizens awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union and performing new heroic deeds, to establish the Gold Star medal, which has the shape of a five-pointed star.

Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of May 14, 1973 approved the Regulations on the title of Hero of the Soviet Union in a new edition

Regulations on the medal

Title of Hero of the Soviet Union(GSS) is the highest degree of distinction and is awarded for personal or collective services to the Soviet state and society associated with the accomplishment of a heroic deed.

The title of Hero of the Soviet Union is awarded by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

The Hero of the Soviet Union is awarded:

the highest award of the USSR - the Order of Lenin;
badge of special distinction - the medal "Gold Star";
Diploma of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

A Hero of the Soviet Union who has accomplished a heroic feat for the second time, no less than the one for which others who have accomplished a similar feat are awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, is awarded the Order of Lenin and the second Gold Star medal, and in commemoration of his exploits a bronze bust of the Hero is erected with the appropriate inscription, installed in his homeland, which is recorded in the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on the award.

A Hero of the Soviet Union, who was awarded two Gold Star medals, for new heroic deeds similar to those previously accomplished, can be again awarded the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal.

When a Hero of the Soviet Union is awarded the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal, he is simultaneously presented with a letter of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR along with the order and medal.

In the event that the Hero of the Soviet Union is awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor, then in commemoration of his heroic and labor deeds, a bronze bust of the Hero with an appropriate inscription is erected in his homeland, which is recorded in the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on conferring the title of Hero of Socialist Labor.

Heroes of the Soviet Union enjoy the benefits established by law.

Medal "Gold Star" The Hero of the Soviet Union is worn on the left side of the chest above the orders and medals of the USSR.

Deprivation of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union can only be done by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR

Description of the medal

The Gold Star medal is a five-pointed star with smooth dihedral rays on the front side. The distance from the center of the star to the top of the beam is 15 mm. The distance between opposite ends of the star is 30 mm.

The reverse side of the medal has a smooth surface and is limited along the contour by a protruding thin rim. On the reverse side in the center of the medal there is an inscription in raised letters "Hero of the USSR". The size of the letters is 4 by 2 mm. In the upper beam is the number of the medal with a height of 1 mm.

The medal is connected with an eyelet and a ring to a gilded metal block, which is a rectangular plate 15 mm high and 19.5 mm wide, with frames in the upper and lower parts. There are slits along the base of the shoe; its inner part is covered with a red silk moiré ribbon 20 mm wide. The box has a threaded pin with a nut on the reverse side for attaching the medal to clothing.

The medal is made of 950 gold. The medallion is made of silver. As of September 18, 1975, the gold content in the medal is 20.521 ± 0.903 g, the silver content is 12.186 ± 0.927 g. The weight of the medal without a block is 21.5 g. The total weight of the medal is 34.264 ± 1.5 g

History of the medal

The title of Hero of the Soviet Union is the highest distinction of the Soviet period, the most honorary title in the Soviet award hierarchy. However, it would be wrong to call this title rare: there were much more Heroes of the Soviet Union than holders of any degree of any "military" order.

The title of Hero of the Soviet Union is the first such award in the world. Although in some countries there was the concept of "national hero", but it was not an official award. After the end of World War II, in a number of socialist countries, by analogy with the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, national highest degrees of distinction were established: "Hero of the MPR" (Mongolian People's Republic), "Hero of Czechoslovakia" (Czechoslovak Soviet Socialist Republic), "Hero of the NRB" ( People's Republic of Bulgaria), "Hero of Syria" and others.

The title of Hero of the Soviet Union was established by the Decree of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR of April 16, 1934. The resolution established that "The Heroes of the Soviet Union are issued a special diploma." No other attributes and insignia were introduced to the Heroes of the Soviet Union at that time.

The regulation on the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was first established on July 29, 1936. It introduced the procedure for awarding the Heroes of the Soviet Union, in addition to the diploma of the Central Executive Committee, also the Order of Lenin - the highest award of the USSR. From that moment on, all Heroes of the Soviet Union received the Order of Lenin until the abolition of the USSR in 1991. Those who received the title of Hero before the release of this Decree also received it retroactively - there were only 11 of them.

The need for a special insignia for the GSS appeared three years later, when there were already 122 Heroes of the Soviet Union (two of them - pilots Levanevsky S.A. and Chkalov V.P. had died by that time, and 19 titles were awarded posthumously).

On August 1, 1939, the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR "On additional insignia for the Heroes of the Soviet Union" was issued. Articles 1 and 2 of the Decree read: “For the purpose of special distinction of citizens awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, the medal “Hero of the Soviet Union” is established, which is awarded simultaneously with the award of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union and the presentation of the Order of Lenin.” Article 3 of the Decree made a major change to the Regulations on the title of Hero of the Soviet Union of 1936, according to which the title of Hero of the Soviet Union could only be awarded once: “A Hero of the Soviet Union who accomplished a secondary heroic deed ... was awarded the second medal “Hero of the Soviet Union”, and ... a bronze bust is being built in the homeland of the Hero. The presentation of the second Order of Lenin during the second award was not envisaged.

The issuance of the Gold Star medals was carried out in the order of conferring the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, including those persons who were awarded the title before the establishment of the Gold Star medal, while the medal number corresponded to the number of the certificate of the Central Executive Committee or the Presidium of the Supreme Council.

The regulation on the title of Hero of the Soviet Union in the new edition appeared on May 14, 1973, some changes were made to it by the Decree of July 18, 1980. It stated that the title of Hero of the Soviet Union "is awarded for personal or collective services to the Soviet state and society associated with the accomplishment of a heroic deed." What was new in it was that with the repeated and subsequent awards of the Hero of the Soviet Union with the Gold Star medal, he was awarded the Order of Lenin each time. In addition, the previous restriction on the number of awards of the Golden Star to one person (three times) was removed, thanks to which Brezhnev was able to become Hero of the Soviet Union four times (Zhukov became Hero of the Soviet Union four times in 1956, bypassing the then Decree of 1.8.39).

In 1988, this provision was changed, and the procedure for awarding the Order of Lenin to the Hero of the Soviet Union was established only at the first presentation of the Gold Star medal. There is evidence that after the war, the Heroes of the Soviet Union began to receive a copy of the Gold Star medal made of non-precious metals for everyday wear.

The title of Hero of the Soviet Union was first awarded on April 20, 1934 by the Decree of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR for the rescue of the polar expedition and the crew of the icebreaker "Chelyuskin" to the brave Soviet aviators Vodopyanov M.V., Doronin I.V., Kamanin N.P., Levanevsky S.A. , Lyapidevsky A.V., Molokov V.S. and Slepnev M.T. . All of them received special letters from the CEC. In addition, they were awarded the Order of Lenin, which was not provided for by the Decree on the establishment of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Diploma No. 1 was awarded to Lyapidevsky A.V. With the introduction of a special insignia, Lyapidevsky was awarded the "Gold Star" No. 1 (Order of Lenin No. 515). During the Great Patriotic War, Colonel (since 1946 - Major General) Lyapidevsky headed an aircraft factory. He was also awarded two Orders of Lenin, the Order of the Red Banner, Orders of the Patriotic War I and II degrees, two Orders of the Red Star and the Order of the Red Banner of Labor. He died in 1983.

The eighth rank of the GSS in 1934 was awarded to the outstanding pilot Gromov M.M., who made a record non-stop flight over a distance of 12411 km in 75 hours. Members of his crew received only orders.

The next GSS in 1936 were the pilots Chkalov V.P., Baidukov G.F., Belyakov A.V., who made a non-stop flight from Moscow to the Far East.

On December 31, 1936, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded for the first time for military exploits. Eleven commanders of the Red Army, participants in the civil war in the Spanish Republic, became heroes. It is noteworthy that all of them were also pilots, and three of them were foreigners by origin: the Italian Primo Gibelli, the German Ernst Schacht and the Bulgarian Zahari Zahariev. Among the eleven "Spanish" Heroes was the lieutenant of the 61st Fighter Squadron Chernykh S.A. In Spain, he was the first Soviet pilot to shoot down the latest Messerschmitt Bf 109B fighter. On June 22, 1941, he commanded the 9th mixed air division. On the first day of the war, the division suffered huge losses (out of 409 aircraft of the division, 347 were destroyed). Chernykh was accused of criminal inactivity and shot on June 27 . Hero of the Soviet Union Rychagov P.V. received the title of GSS also for participation in Spanish events. His combat path is interesting. In the summer of 1938, during a conflict with the Japanese at Lake Khasan Rychagov, he commanded the Air Force of the Primorsky Group of the Far Eastern Front. In 1939 he was appointed commander of the Air Force of the 9th Army. Participated in battles in the Soviet-Finnish war, then was appointed to the Air Force Main Directorate. In June 1941, Rychagov was accused of treason and shot along with his wife Maria in the village of Barbysh near Kuibyshev on October 28, 1941.

For the first time in the USSR, three of the eleven "Spanish" Heroes were awarded the title of GSS posthumously. Among the three Heroes awarded the high title posthumously was Lieutenant of the Red Army Air Force Karp Ivanovich Kovtun. November 13, 1936 in an air battle over Madrid, Kovtun was shot down. The wounded pilot jumped out with a parachute, however, the wind carried him to the positions of the Francoists. On November 15, a box with the hero's body was parachuted onto the airfield where Kovtun's unit was based. In the box was a note "Gift from General Franco." The hero-pilot was buried in a rural cemetery 12 km from Madrid, indicating on the gravestone the Spanish pseudonym Kovtun - "Yan".

In June 1937, the title of Hero was awarded to a group of people for organizing and carrying out the delivery by aircraft to the North Pole of the crew of the world's first polar drifting weather station. The heroes were the leader of the landing Academician Shmidt O.Yu., the head of the polar aviation of the USSR Shevelev M.M., the head of the organized station Papanin I.D. and 5 pilots, including the famous Mazuruk I.P. and Babushkin M.S.

After 2 months, two more Heroes appeared - pilots Yumashev A.B. and Danilin S.A. - members of the crew of Gromov M.M., who made a record-breaking flight from Moscow to the USA via the North Pole.

In the summer of 1937, the rank of the GSS was first awarded to a group of tankers led by brigade commander D.G. Pavlov. for participation in the battles in Spain. Among them were lieutenants Skleznev G.M. and Bilibin K., who were awarded the title posthumously.

During the war in Spain (1936 - 1939), the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to 59 of its participants. Among them were two military advisers: pilot commander Smushkevich Ya.V. and infantryman captain Rodimtsev A.I. (both of them later became twice Heroes of the Soviet Union). One of the "Spanish" Heroes - Pavlov D.G., after 3 years was already an army general, commander of the Western (Belarusian) military district, and a year later he was shot on Stalin's orders, placing all the blame on him for the failures of the Red Army in the summer of 1941 of the year.

In March 1938, the ice drift of the crew of the "North Pole" station, which had been engaged in scientific research for 274 days, ended. Three crew members (in addition to Papanin N.D.): Krenkel E.T., Shirshov P.P., and Fedorov E.K. also awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. They were the first to receive the Certificates of Heroes not on behalf of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR, but from the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, elected shortly before.

Soon the famous pilot Kokkinaki V.K. became the Hero. for testing aircraft and setting world flight altitude records. At the same time, several Heroes appeared who were awarded the title for fighting in China against the Japanese invaders. The first of them was also a pilot, the commander of the aviation group F.P. Polynin.

By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of October 25, 1938, the first mass conferral of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union took place: it was awarded to 26 fighters and commanders - participants in the battles with the Japanese interventionists who invaded the territory of the USSR in the region of Lake Khasan near Vladivostok. For the first time, not only the officers of the Red Army, but also ordinary Red Army soldiers (four out of twenty-six) became Heroes.

By decree of November 2, 1938, for the first time, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to women. Pilots Grizodubova V.S., Osipenko P.D. and Raskov M.M. were awarded for a non-stop flight from Moscow to the Far East on a Rodina aircraft over a distance of 5908 km. Two of them soon died in plane crashes. Osipenko died a year later, knocking out one of the first Heroes of the Soviet Union, pilot brigade commander A. Serov, and Raskova died in 1942, having managed to form the world's first women's aviation regiment before her death.

In 1939, another mass conferment of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union took place. For the military exploits shown in the battles with the Japanese interventionists on the Khalkhin Gol River on the territory of the Mongolian Republic, friendly to the Soviet Union, 70 people were awarded the title of Hero (20 of them posthumously). Among the Heroes of Khalkhin Gol there were 14 infantrymen and combined arms commanders, 27 pilots, 26 tankmen and 3 gunners; 14 out of 70 belonged to the junior command staff (i.e. sergeants), and only 1 was a simple Red Army soldier (Lazarev Evgeny Kuzmich), the rest were commanders. For differences in the battles at Khalkhin Gol, among other heroes, commander Zhukov G.K. and commander of the second rank Stern G.M. (he was shot without trial or investigation in the autumn of 1941). In addition, for Khalkhin Gol, three more soldiers for the first time became twice Heroes of the Soviet Union. All three of the first two heroes were pilots: Major Gritsevets S.I. (Awarded the title of GSS by Decrees of February 22, 1939 and August 29, 1939), Colonel Kravchenko G.P. (Decrees of February 22, 1939 and August 29, 1939), as well as commander Smushkevich Ya.V. (Decrees of June 21, 1937 and November 17, 1939). None of these three twice heroes lived to see the end of the Great Patriotic War.

Gritsevets shot down 12 enemy aircraft in the sky of Khalkhin Gol. He died in a plane crash on September 16, 1939 (less than a month after the award). Kravchenko, who commanded the 22nd IAP (fighter aviation regiment) at Khalkhin Gol and shot down 7 Japanese aircraft during the conflict, in 1940 became the youngest Lieutenant General of the Red Army (at 28 years old). He fought well on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War, commanded an air division, but died on February 23, 1943, jumping out of a downed plane and failing to use a parachute (his exhaust cable was broken by shrapnel). Smushkevich was arrested in the spring of 1941, stripped of all awards, and shot in the fall of 1941 (together with Stern and another former Hero, pilot Rychagov P.V., awarded the title for the war in Spain).

The heroes of Khalkhin Gol were the first to receive the newly introduced insignia - the Gold Star medal.

At the beginning of 1940, the title of Hero was massively conferred, unique in its kind: the Golden Stars were awarded to all 15 crew members of the Georgy Sedov icebreaking steamer, which had been drifting in the ice of the Arctic Ocean for 812 days since 1937! Later, the assignment of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union to the entire crew of the ship or to the entire personnel of the unit was never repeated, apart from three cases of awarding consolidated detachments during the Great Patriotic War (see below). In addition, the head of the rescue expedition on the icebreaker "I. Stalin" to remove from the ice "G. Sedov”, Hero of the Soviet Union Papanin I.D. became Twice Hero, and it is not entirely clear why: his activities as a boss were not at all associated with a risk to his life. Papanin was the only one of the five "pre-war" twice Heroes who was not a pilot.

As a result of the Soviet-Finnish war (winter 1939-1940), 412 people were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Among those awarded for the "Finnish" war were the commander of the troops of the North-Western Front, the commander of the 1st rank Tymoshenko S.K. and commander of the 1st rank Kulik G.M., two years later deprived of this rank after the failures of the Red Army in the Crimea. Pilot Major General Denisov S.P. for battles in Finland he received the second "Gold Star", becoming the last of the five "pre-war" Twice Heroes.

By the end of 1940, another Hero of the Soviet Union appeared - the Spaniard Ramon Mercader, awarded this title for the murder in Mexico of the "worst enemy of communism" Trotsky L.D., the former Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the RSFSR and a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks. Mercader was awarded the title by a secret Decree under a false name, since after the murder he carried out, he was arrested and held in a Mexican prison. Only twenty years later, after leaving prison, he was able to receive his "Gold Star". He became the last Hero of the Soviet Union in the pre-war period.

In total, before the start of World War II, the title of Hero was awarded to 626 people (including 3 women). By June 22, 1941, five became twice Heroes: military pilots Gritsevets S.I. (02/22/1939 and 08/29/1939), Denisov S.P. (07/04/1937 and 03/21/1940), Kravchenko G.P. (02/22/1939 and 08/29/1939), Smushkevich Ya.V. (06/21/1937 and 11/17/1939) and polar explorer I. D. Papanin (06/27/1937 and 02/03/1940). Before the war, part of the Heroes died, including Chkalov, Osipenko, Serov, and twice GSS Gritsevets. Another twice Hero - Smushkevich - was under investigation as an "enemy of the people."

The vast majority of Heroes of the Soviet Union appeared during the Great Patriotic War: 11,635 people (92% of the total number of people awarded this title).

During the Great Patriotic War, fighter pilots, junior lieutenants M.P. Zhukov, S.I. Zdorovtsev, were the first to be awarded the title of GSS. and Kharitonov P.T., who distinguished themselves in air battles with enemy bombers rushing towards Leningrad. On June 27, these pilots on their I-16 fighters used ramming strikes against enemy Ju-88 bombers. The title of GSS was awarded to them by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of July 8, 1941.

Commander of the 46th Fighter Regiment (IAP) of the 14th Mixed Aviation Division (SMAD), Senior Lieutenant Ivanov I.I. performed a ramming of an enemy aircraft in the first minutes of the war. Having taken off on alarm, Ivanov entered into battle with enemy aircraft in the Lutsk region. Having used up ammunition, he damaged the tail of the German bomber He-111 with the propeller of his I-16. The enemy plane crashed, but Ivanov also died. The low altitude prevented him from using a parachute. The title of GSS was posthumously awarded to the brave pilot by Decree of August 2, 1941. However, the primacy of the ram strike in the Great Patriotic War belongs to Kokorev D.V. from the 124th IAP (9th SMAD). On his MiG-3 fighter, he rammed a Ju-88 bomber near the city of Zambrow at 04:15, while Ivanov rammed at 04:25. In total, on the first day of the war, the Red Army Air Force pilots fired 15 (!) Rams. Of these, only one Ivanov became a Hero of the Soviet Union.

On July 4, 1941, the commander of the 401st Special Fighter Aviation Regiment, GSS Lieutenant Colonel Suprun S.P., covering a group of bombers, single-handedly engaged in battle with six enemy fighters, was mortally wounded and died, having managed to land a damaged fighter. By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of July 22, 1941, for courage and heroism shown in air battles with superior enemy aircraft, Suprun S.P. the first during the Great Patriotic War was awarded the second medal "Gold Star" (posthumously).

By decree of August 13, 1941, ten bomber pilots who participated in the first raids on Berlin and other German cities were awarded the title of GSS. Five of them belonged to naval aviation - Colonel Preobrazhensky E.N., captains Grechishnikov V.A., Efremov A.Ya., Plotkin M.N. and Khokhlov P.I. Another five officers represented long-range aviation - majors Shchelkunov V.I. and Malygin V.I., captains Tikhonov V.G. and Kryukov N.V., Lieutenant Lakhonin V.I.

The first Hero of the Soviet Union in the ground forces was the commander of the 1st Moscow Motorized Rifle Division, Colonel Kreizer Ya.G. (Decree of July 15, 1941) for organizing defense along the Berezina River.

In the Navy, the title of Hero was for the first time awarded to a sailor of the Northern Fleet, squad leader Senior Sergeant V.P. Kislyakov, who distinguished himself during the landing in Motovsky Bay in the Arctic in July 1941. The title of GSS was awarded to him by the Decree of the PVS of the USSR of 14 (according to other sources 13) August 1941,.

Among the border guards, the first Heroes were the fighters who entered the battle on the Prut River on June 22, 1941: Lieutenant Konstantinov A.K., Sergeant Buzytskov I.D., Junior Sergeant Mikhalkov V.F. They were awarded the title of GSS by Decree of August 26, 1941.

The first Hero-partisan was the Belarusian secretary of the district committee of the party Bumazhkov T.P. - commander and commissar of the partisan detachment "Red October" (Decree of the PVS of the USSR of August 6, 1941).

In total, only a few dozen people were awarded the title of Hero in the first war year, and all of them were awarded between July and October 1941. Then the Germans approached Moscow, and the issues of rewarding the soldiers were forgotten for a long time.

The assignment of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union resumed in the winter of 1942 after the expulsion of the Germans from the Moscow region. By decree of February 16, 1942, the 18-year-old partisan Zoya Anatolyevna Kosmodemyanskaya was awarded the highest degree of distinction of the USSR (posthumously). She became the first of 87 women - Heroes of the Soviet Union during the war years.

By decree of July 21, 1942, all 28 heroes - "Panfilovites", participants in the defense of Moscow (see below) became Heroes. In total, according to the results of the battle near Moscow, more than 100 people became Heroes.

In June of the same year, the first twice Hero of the Soviet Union appeared, both times awarded a high rank during the war. They became the commander of the 2nd Guards Red Banner Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Northern Fleet, Lieutenant Colonel Safonov B.F. (Decrees of September 16, 1941 and June 14, 1942, posthumously). He was also the first twice Hero in the Navy since the establishment of the title of Hero. Safonov died on May 30, 1942 while protecting an Allied convoy en route to Murmansk. During his short combat path, Safonov made about 300 sorties, shot down 25 personally and in a group of 14 enemy aircraft.

The next twice Hero of the Soviet Union during the war years was a bomber pilot, squadron commander Captain A.I. Molodchiy. (Decrees of October 22, 1941 and December 31, 1942).

In general, in 1942, the awarding of the title of Hero went almost as sparingly as in 1941, not counting the above-mentioned awards to the participants in the Moscow battle.

In 1943, the participants of the Battle of Stalingrad became the first Heroes.

In 1943, 9 people were awarded the title twice Hero. Of these, 8 were pilots: 5 from fighter, 2 from assault and 1 from bomber aviation and were awarded one Decree of August 24, 1943. Of these eight pilots, two received the first "Gold Star" in 1942, and six received both "Gold Stars" for several months in 1943. Among these six was Pokryshkin A.I., who a year later became the first three times Hero of the Soviet Union in history.

During the offensive operations of the Soviet Army in the second half of 1943, military units had to overcome many water obstacles with battles. In this regard, the directive of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command of September 9, 1943 is curious. In particular, it said:

“For forcing such a river as the Desna in the Bogdanovo region (Smolensk region) and below, and rivers equal to the Desna in terms of forcing difficulty, submit for awards:

Army commanders - to the Order of Suvorov, I degree.
Commanders of corps, divisions, brigades - to the Order of Suvorov II degree.
Regiment commanders, commanders of engineering, sapper and pontoon battalions - to the Order of Suvorov III degree.

For forcing a river such as the Dnieper River in the Smolensk region and below, and rivers equal to the Dnieper in terms of difficulty of forcing the above commanders of formations and units to submit to the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

In October, the Red Army carried out the crossing of the Dnieper, an offensive operation of 1943. For the crossing of the Dnieper and the courage and heroism shown at the same time, 2438 people received the title of Hero (47 generals and marshals, 1123 officers, 1268 sergeants and privates). This amounted to almost a quarter of all Heroes of the Soviet Union during the war. One of the 2438 was awarded the second "Gold Star" - the commander of the rifle division Fesin I.I., who became the first in history twice Hero not from the Air Force.

In the same year, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded for the first time to a person who was neither a soldier of the Red Army nor a citizen of the USSR. They became Lieutenant Otakar Yarosh, who fought in the 1st Czechoslovak infantry battalion (see below).

In 1944, the number of Heroes of the Soviet Union increased by more than 3 thousand people, mostly infantrymen.

The first three times Hero of the Soviet Union was the commander of the fighter aviation division, Colonel Pokryshkin A.I. (Decree of August 19, 1944). The commander of the fighter squadron V.D. Lavrinenkov attached his second Star of the Hero to his tunic in the summer of 1944. (awarded by Decrees of May 1, 1943 and July 1, 1944).

A decree of April 2, 1944 announced the awarding of the youngest Hero of the Soviet Union during World War II (posthumously). They became 17-year-old partisan Lenya Golikov, who died in battle a few months before the Decree.

Back in 1941, during the defense of Kyiv, the commissar of the 206th rifle division, regimental commissar Oktyabrsky I.F., died heroically, personally leading the counterattack. Upon learning of her husband's death, Maria Vasilievna Oktyabrskaya vowed to take revenge on the Nazis. She entered a tank school, became a tank driver and fought heroically against the enemy. In 1944, Oktyabrskaya M.V. posthumously awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union.

In 1945, the awarding of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union continued during the hostilities and then for several months after Victory Day following the results of the war. So, before May 9, 1945, 28 appeared, and after May 9 - 38 twice Heroes. At the same time, two of the twice Heroes were awarded the third "Gold Star": the commander of the 1st Belorussian Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union Zhukov G.K. (Decree of June 1, 1945) for the capture of Berlin and the deputy commander of the air regiment, Major Kozhedub I.N. (Decree of August 18, 1945), as the most productive fighter pilot of the Soviet Air Force, who shot down 62 enemy aircraft.

In the history of the Great Patriotic War, there were unique cases when the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to the entire personnel of the unit. Personally, I know of only three such awards.

By decree of July 21, 1942, all the fighters of the tank destroyer unit from the 1075th regiment of the 316th rifle division of Major General Panfilov became Heroes. 27 fighters, led by political instructor Klochkov, at the cost of their lives stopped the advanced tank units of the Germans at the Dubosekovo junction, rushing to the Volokolamsk highway. All of them were awarded the title posthumously, but later five of them were alive and received the Golden Stars.

By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of May 18, 1943, all soldiers of the platoon of Lieutenant Shironin P.N. were awarded the title of GSS. from the 78th Guards Rifle Regiment of the 25th Guards Rifle Division, General Shafarenko P.M. For five days, starting from March 2, 1943, the platoon, reinforced by a 45-mm gun, defended the railway crossing near the village of Taranovka south of Kharkov and repeated the feat of the legendary "Panfilovites". The enemy lost 11 armored vehicles and up to a hundred soldiers. When other units approached the "Shironintsy" for help, only six heroes survived, including the seriously wounded commander. All 25 platoon fighters, including Lieutenant Shironin, were awarded the title of GSS.

By a decree of April 2, 1945, the last in the history of the Great Patriotic War was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union to all personnel of one unit. During the liberation of the city of Nikolaev on March 28, 1944, 67 soldiers of the landing detachment (55 sailors and 12 army men), led by Senior Lieutenant Olshansky K.F., performed a heroic deed. and his deputy for political affairs, Captain Golovlev A.F. The landing force was landed in the port of Nikolaev to facilitate the capture of the city by the advancing troops. Against the paratroopers, the Germans threw three infantry battalions, supported by 4 tanks and artillery. Before the main forces approached, 55 out of 67 people died in the battle, but the paratroopers were able to destroy about 700 Nazis, 2 tanks and 4 guns. All the dead and surviving paratroopers were awarded the title of GSS,. In addition to the paratroopers, the conductor also fought in the detachment, however, the title of Hero was awarded to him only 20 years later.

For the liberation of the Czech Republic, the title of the GSS was awarded 88 times, for the liberation of Poland - 1667 times, for the Berlin operation - more than 600 times.

For exploits during the capture of Koenigsberg, about 200 people were awarded the title of GSS, and the commander of the 43rd Army, Lieutenant General Beloborodov A.P. and the pilot of the guard senior lieutenant Golovachev P.Ya. became Twice Heroes.

For exploits during the war with Japan, 93 people were awarded the title of GSS. Of these, 6 people became Twice Heroes:

commander in chief Soviet troops on the Far East Marshal of the Soviet Union A.M. Vasilevsky;
commander of the 6th Guards Tank Army, General Kravchenko A.G.;
commander of the 5th army, General Krylov N.I.;
Air Chief Marshal A. A. Novikov;
commander of the horse-mechanized group, General Pliev I.A.;
Senior Lieutenant of the Marine Corps Leonov V.N. .

In total, 11,626 soldiers were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for military exploits during the Great Patriotic War. 101 people were awarded two Gold Star medals. Three became Heroes three times: Zhukov G.K., Kozhedub I.N., Pokryshkin A.I.

It must be said that in 1944 Decrees on awarding the navigator of a fighter regiment, Major Gulaev N.D., were promulgated. the third "Gold Star", as well as a number of pilots with the second "Gold Star", but none of them received awards due to a brawl they arranged in a Moscow restaurant on the eve of receiving awards. These orders have been cancelled.

Among the twice Heroes were three Marshals of the Soviet Union (Vasilevsky A.M., Konev I.S., Rokossovsky K.K.), one Chief Marshal of Aviation Novikov A.I., (a year later demoted and spent 7 years in prison up to death of Stalin), 21 generals and 76 officers. There was not a single soldier and sergeant among the twice Heroes. Seven of the 101 double Heroes received the second Star posthumously.

Of all those awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union during the Great Patriotic War and the war with Japan the largest number were soldiers of the ground forces - more than 8 thousand (1800 artillerymen, 1142 tankers, 650 sappers, more than 290 signalmen and 52 rear fighters).

The number of Heroes - Air Force soldiers was significantly smaller - about 2400 people.

There were 513 people in the GSS Navy (including naval pilots and marines who fought on the coast).

There are more than 150 Heroes of the Soviet Union among the border guards, fighters of the internal troops and security forces.

The titles of the GSS were awarded to 234 partisans, including Kovpak S. A. and Fedorov A. F., who were awarded two Gold Star medals.

There are over 90 women among the Heroes of the Soviet Union. Among the Heroes are women representatives of almost all branches of the armed forces, except for the border and internal ones. Most of them were pilots - 29 people. During the war years, the 46th Guards Tamansky Order of the Red Banner and Suvorov, III degree air regiment, equipped with Po-2 light night bombers, became famous. The air regiment was staffed by female crews, and many female pilots were awarded Gold Stars. For example, I will name the commander of the regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Bershanskaya E.D., the commander of the squadron, Major Smirnova M.V., the navigator Pasko E., the pilot, Senior Lieutenant Meklin N.F. Many female heroes were underground partisans - 24 people. More than half of the women were awarded the title of GSS posthumously.

Among all the Heroes of the Soviet Union, 35% were privates and sergeants (soldiers, sailors, sergeants and foremen), 61% were officers and 3.3% (380 people) were generals, admirals and marshals.

By national composition, the majority of the Heroes were Russians - 7998 people; There were 2021 Ukrainians, Belarusians - 299, Tatars - 161, Jews - 107, Kazakhs - 96, Georgians - 90, Armenians - 89, Uzbeks - 67, Mordvins - 63, Chuvashs - 45, Azerbaijanis - 43, Bashkirs - 38, Ossetians - 31, Mari - 18, Turkmen - 16, Lithuanians - 15, Tajiks - 15, Latvians - 12, Kyrgyz - 12, Komi - 10, Udmurts - 10, Estonians -9, Karelians - 8, Kalmyks - 8, Kabardians - 6 , Adyghes - 6, Abkhazians - 4, Yakuts - 2, Moldavians - 2, Tuvinian - 1 and others.

One of the Heroes of the Soviet Union, participant of the Great Patriotic War Don Cossack K. Nedorubov, is also a full Knight of St. George: he received four soldiers' St. George's crosses during the First World War.

The titles of Hero of the Soviet Union and Hero of Socialist Labor were awarded to 11 people: Stalin I.V., Brezhnev L.I., Khrushchev N.S., Ustinov D.F., Voroshilov K.E., the famous pilot Grizodubova V.S. , Army General Tretiak I.M., 1st Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Belarus Masherov P.M., chairman of the collective farm Orlovsky K.P., director of the state farm Golovchenko V.I., mechanic Trainin P.A.

The title of Hero of the Soviet Union is worn by four full cavaliers of the Order of Glory: the artilleryman of the guard senior sergeant Aleshin A.V., the attack pilot junior lieutenant of aviation Drachenko I.G., the marine of the guard foreman Dubinda P.Kh., the artilleryman senior sergeant Kuznetsov N.I. . . The title of Hero of the Soviet Union is also worn by 80 holders of the Order of Glory, II degree, and 647 holders of the Order of Glory, III degree.

Five Heroes were subsequently awarded the Order of Labor Glory III degree: Captains Dementiev Yu.A. and Zheltoplyasov I.F., foremen Gusev V.V. and Tatarchenkov P.I., senior sergeant Chernoshein V.A. .

During the Great Patriotic War, more than 20 foreign citizens were awarded the title of GSS. The first of them was a soldier of the 1st Czechoslovak separate battalion, commander of the 1st company, second lieutenant (posthumously awarded the rank of captain) Otakar Yarosh. He was awarded the title of Hero on April 17, 1943 posthumously for a feat near the village of Sokolovo on the left bank of the Mzha River near Kharkov in early March 1943.

Another six Czechoslovak citizens became Heroes of the Soviet Union. In the battles for the city of Ovruch in November 1943, the commander of the Czechoslovak partisan detachment, Jan Nalepka, distinguished himself. On the outskirts of the station, he was mortally wounded, but continued to command the detachment. By decree of 2 May 1945, Nalepka was posthumously awarded the title of GSS. Gold Stars were also received by the commander of the Czechoslovak battalion of submachine gunners, Lieutenant Sohor A.A., the commanders of tank battalions of the tank brigade of the 1st Czechoslovak Corps Tessarzhik R.Ya. and Burshik I., 23-year-old tank officer Vaida S.N. (posthumously), . In November 1965, the title of Hero was awarded to the legendary commander of the 1st Czechoslovak separate battalion (and later the 1st Czechoslovak army corps), General of the Army Ludwig Svoboda.

Heroes of the Soviet Union were three soldiers of the Polish Army who fought against the Nazis as part of the 1st Polish Infantry Division. Tadeusz Kosciuszko (this division was formed in the summer of 1943 and was part of the 33rd Army). The names of Polish heroes are Vladislav Vysotsky, Juliusz Gubner and Anelya Kzhivon.

Four pilots of the French air regiment "Normandie-Niemen", who fought against German troops on the Soviet-German front, were awarded the Gold Star medals. Their names are: the Marquis Rolland de la Puap, his wingman Marcel Albert, Jacques Andre and Marcel Lefebvre.

The commander of the machine-gun company of the 35th Guards Division of the Guards, Captain Ruben Ruiz Ibarruri (son of the chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Spain, Dolores Ibarruri), distinguished himself in a battle with German tanks near the Kotluban station near the village of Samofalovka near Stalingrad. He was posthumously awarded the title of GSS.

Bulgarian general Vladimir Stoyanov-Zaimov, an anti-fascist who had republican views and was executed in 1942, became a hero of the Soviet Union. The title of Hero was awarded to him posthumously in 1972.

The German anti-fascist patriot Fritz Schmenkel, who fought against the Nazis in the Soviet partisan detachment and died in battle, also became a Hero of the Soviet Union. He was awarded the high rank posthumously on October 6, 1964.

It was extremely rare that the title of GSS was awarded from 1945 to 1953. In 1948, the second "Gold Star" was awarded to fighter pilot Lieutenant Colonel (later Air Marshal) Koldunov A.I. for 46 fascist planes shot down during the war.

Among the few post-war Heroes of the Soviet Union, one should name the pilots of the 64th Fighter Aviation Corps, who fought in the skies of North Korea in 1950-1953 against American and South Korean aces, test pilots of jet aircraft Stefanovsky P.M. and Fedotova I.E. (1948) and the head of the polar weather station "North Pole - 2" Samov M.M. (expedition 1950-1951). Such a high award to the scientist is explained by the extreme importance of the polar expedition: it explored the possibilities of reaching the shores of America under the ice of the Arctic and, unlike the "Papanin" expedition of 1937, was deeply classified.

The second, post-war wave of repression also affected many Heroes of the Soviet Union. Thrice Hero Zhukov G.K. in 1946 he was removed from his post as Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the USSR Armed Forces and sent to command the secondary Odessa Military District. Hero of the Soviet Union, Fleet Admiral Kuznetsov N.G., who spent the entire war as Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, was also removed from his post and demoted in rank in 1947. Heroes of the Soviet Union, Colonel-General Gordov V.N. and Major General (until 1942 - Marshal of the Soviet Union) Kulik G.I. in the early 1950s they were shot.

After Stalin's death, the first Heroes appeared in 1956, at the beginning of the Khrushchev "thaw". One of the first acts was the awarding in 1956 of the Minister of Defense of the USSR Marshal of the Soviet Union Zhukov G.K. the fourth "Gold Star". Here it is necessary to note several points. Firstly, he was formally awarded on the occasion of his 60th birthday, which the Regulations on the title of Hero of the Soviet Union did not provide for. Secondly, this Regulation determined the awarding of one person with only three "Gold Stars". Thirdly, he was awarded a month after the “mutiny” in Hungary, the suppression of which by the forces of the Soviet Army he personally organized, i.e. merit in the Hungarian events was the true reason for the award.

For the suppression of the rebellion in Hungary in 1956, the title of the GSS was awarded posthumously. So, for example, in the 7th Guards Airborne Division, out of four awarded, three received a high award posthumously.

In the same 1956, Marshal Voroshilov K.E. became a Hero of the Soviet Union. (Decree of February 3, 1956). In 1968, under Brezhnev, he received a second "Star" (Decree of February 22, 1968).

Marshal Budyonny S.M. Khrushchev made twice a Hero (Decrees of February 1, 1958 and April 24, 1963), and Brezhnev continued this tradition by awarding the 85-year-old Marshal with the third "Gold Star" in 1968 (Decree of February 22, 1968).

Khrushchev conferred the titles of GSS to Cuban leader Fidel Castro and Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, and a little later to the head of the Algerian government, Ahmed Ben Bella (who was overthrown by his own people a year later) and the communist leader of the GDR, Walter Ulbricht.

During the Khrushchev "thaw" for the feats committed during the war years, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to people branded under Stalin as "traitors to the Motherland" and "accomplices of the Nazis" only because they were captured. Justice has been restored to the defender Brest Fortress Major Gavrilov P.M., hero of the French resistance, Lieutenant Vasily Porik (posthumously), Yugoslav partisan Lieutenant Hussein-Zade M.G. (posthumously), holder of the Italian medal of the Resistance Poletaev F.A. (posthumously) and others. Former pilot Lieutenant Devyataev M.P. in 1945, he escaped from a Nazi concentration camp, stealing a bomber from an enemy airfield. For this feat, Stalin's investigators "awarded" him with a camp term as a "traitor", and in 1957 he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

In 1964, the scout Richard Sorge became a Hero (posthumously).

On the day of the twentieth anniversary of the victory, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of May 9, 1965, the title of GSS was posthumously awarded to Major General Rakhimov. He was the first general who emerged from among the Uzbek people. Cavalier of four orders of the Red Banner, Rakhimov S.U. commanded the 37th Guards Division and died on March 26, 1945 from a direct hit by a German shell in a divisional observation post.

Under Khrushchev, there were many cases of conferring the title of Hero for feats in peacetime. So, in 1957, the second "Gold Star" was received by test pilot Kokkinaki V.K. (Decree of September 17, 1957), awarded the first star of the Hero back in 1938 (Decree of July 17, 1938). In 1953 and 1960, his colleagues test pilots Anokhin S.N. became Heroes. and Mosolov G.K.

In 1962, three sailors from the Leninsky Komsomol nuclear submarine, which made a trip to the North Pole under the eternal ice, became Heroes at once: Rear Admiral Petemin A.I., Captain 2nd Rank Zhiltsov L.M. and captain-lieutenant Timofeev R.A.

Since 1961, the tradition of awarding the title of Hero to Soviet cosmonauts began. The first of them was cosmonaut No. 1 Yu.A. Gagarin. This tradition was maintained until the abolition of the USSR - it was cosmonauts who became the last Heroes of the Soviet Union in 1991 (see below).

In 1964, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to N.S. Khrushchev, First Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee. for his 70th birthday. To his three gold medals "Hammer and Sickle" of the Hero of Socialist Labor, the Gold Star medal was also added.

L.I. Brezhnev, who took his post. continued the awards. In 1965, on the 20th anniversary of the Victory, a regulation on Hero Cities appeared, according to which these cities (at that time only five) and the hero fortress Brest were awarded the Gold Star medal and the Order of Lenin.

In 1968, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Soviet Army, Voroshilov K.E. received the second "Gold Star", and Budyonny S.M. - third.

Under Brezhnev, Marshals Timoshenko S.K., Bagramyan I.Kh. became Heroes twice. and Grechko A.A., and Grechko received the first "Gold Star" also in peacetime - in 1958.

In 1978, the title of Hero was awarded to Minister of Defense Ustinov D.F. - a man who during the war years was at the head of the People's Commissariat for Armaments, but who had never been to the front. Behind labor activity during the war and peacetime, Ustinov, by the way, has already been twice awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor (in 1942 and 1961).

In 1969, the first cosmonauts appeared - twice Heroes, who received both "Stars" for space flights: Colonel Shatalov V.A. and candidate of technical sciences Eliseev A.S. Both "Gold Stars" were received by them within one year (Decrees of January 22, 1969 and October 22, 1969).

Two years later, they were both the first in the world to make a space flight for the third time, but the Golden Stars did not give them a third: perhaps because this flight was unsuccessful and was interrupted on the second day. In the future, the cosmonauts who made the third and even the fourth flight into space did not receive the third "Star", but were awarded the Order of Lenin.

Cosmonauts - citizens of socialist countries also became Heroes of the Soviet Union, and citizens of capitalist states who flew on Soviet technology were awarded only the Order of Friendship of Peoples.

In 1966, Brezhnev L.I., who already had the Hammer and Sickle gold medal, received the first Gold Star on his 60th birthday, and in 1976, 1978 and 1981, also on his birthdays, three more, becoming the first and only in history four times Hero of the Soviet Union and Hero of Socialist Labor.

Brezhnev's successors continued to award the title of Hero of the Soviet Union to cosmonauts, as well as to participants in the war in Afghanistan, which began under Brezhnev. At the same time, the future first vice-president of the Russian Federation Rutskoy A.V. became the Heroes from among the "Afghans". and the future Minister of Defense of Russia Grachev P.I.

One of the last GSS titles in the history of the USSR was awarded by the Decree of the President of the USSR of May 5, 1990. By his Decree, Mikhail Gorbachev posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union to Ekaterina Ivanovna Zelenko (Gold Star medal No. 11611, Order of Lenin No. 460051). On September 12, 1941, Senior Lieutenant Zelenko rammed a German Me-109 fighter in her Su-2 bomber. Zelenko died after destroying an enemy plane. It was the only ram in the history of aviation performed by a woman.

By the same Decree of May 5, 1990, the title of the GSS was awarded (posthumously) to the legendary submariner A.I. ), the most productive female fighter Lidia Vladimirovna Litvyak (she destroyed 11 enemy aircraft in total and died in an air battle on August 1, 1943), a member of the underground organization "Young Guard" Ivan Turkenich (an officer of the political department of the 99th Infantry Division, Captain Turkenich was mortally wounded in Poland on the outskirts of the Wisloka River on August 13, 1944) and others - only about 30 people.

After the "putsch" of 1991, there was an obscure posthumous awarding of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union to three participants in the events who attacked an armored personnel carrier leaving the White House. By decree of August 24, 1991, Dmitry Komar, Ilya Krichevsky and Vladimir Usov posthumously received the "Gold Stars" of the Hero with numbers 11658, 11659 and 11660. The incident is that they were awarded the highest degree of distinction of the state for attacking the troops of this very state, performing government order. In addition, an attack on retreating units can in no way be qualified as "committing a heroic deed", for which, according to the Regulations, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union should be awarded.

A.P. Artsebarsky became the last cosmonaut awarded the title of GSS. - commander of the Soyuz TM-13 spacecraft. Starting on May 18, 1991, Artsebarsky, together with Krikalev S.K. and the English cosmonaut H. Sharman docked with the Mir orbital station, spent more than 144 days in orbit, performed 6 spacewalks. He returned to Earth on October 10, 1991, together with Aubakirov T.O. and the Austrian F. Fiebeck. The title of Hero of Artsebar was awarded by the Decree of October 10, 1991.

One of the last assignments of a high rank took place by Decree of the President of the USSR No. UP-2719 of October 17, 1991. The title of the GSS was awarded to Lieutenant Colonel Burkov Valery Anatolyevich "for the heroism and courage shown in the performance of tasks to provide international assistance to the Republic of Afghanistan and selfless actions to protect the constitutional order of the USSR."

The last in the history of the Soviet Union, the assignment of the title of GSS took place in accordance with the Decree of December 24, 1991. Last Hero The Soviet Union became a diving specialist captain of the 3rd rank Leonid Mikhailovich Solodkov, who showed courage and heroism in carrying out a special task of the command to test new diving equipment.

Twice Heroes became 154 people. Of these, five were awarded a high rank even before the war, 103 people were awarded the second Star for exploits during the Great Patriotic War, 1 person (tank brigade commander Major General A.A. Aslanov) was awarded the second Star posthumously by Decree of June 21, 1991 , 1 person (Kokkinaki V.K.) was awarded for testing aviation equipment, 9 people became Heroes twice after the war in connection with various anniversaries, and 35 people received the high title twice of the GSS for conquering space.

In general, in the entire history of the existence of the USSR, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to 12,745 people.

Twice Heroes became 154 people.

Three people were awarded with three Gold Star medals: Marshal of the Soviet Union Budyonny S.M. (02/01/1958, 04/24/1963, 02/22/1968), Colonel-General of Aviation Kozhedub I.N. (02/04/1944, 08/19/1944, 08/18/1945) and Air Marshal Pokryshkin A.I. (24.05.1943, 24.08.1943, 19.08.1944).

Four Gold Star medals were awarded to two people: Marshal of the Soviet Union Brezhnev L.I. (12/18/1966, 12/18/1976, 12/19/1978, 12/18/1981) and Marshal of the Soviet Union Zhukov G.K. (08/29/1939, 07/29/1944, 06/01/1945, 12/01/1956).

You can find out about the features and varieties of medals on the website of the USSR Medals

Estimated value of the medal.

How much does the Gold Star medal cost? Below we will give an approximate price for some rooms.

By a decree of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR of July 29, 1936, the Regulations on the title of Hero of the Soviet Union were approved.

By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of August 1, 1939, in order to distinguish citizens awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union and performing new heroic deeds, establish the Gold Star medal, which has the shape of a five-pointed star.

By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of May 14, 1973, the Regulations on the title of Hero of the Soviet Union in a new edition were approved.

Regulations on the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

The title of Hero of the Soviet Union (GSS) is the highest degree of distinction and is awarded for personal or collective services to the Soviet state and society associated with the accomplishment of a heroic deed.

The title of Hero of the Soviet Union is awarded by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

The Hero of the Soviet Union is awarded:

the highest award of the USSR - the Order of Lenin;
badge of special distinction - the medal "Gold Star";
Diploma of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

A Hero of the Soviet Union, who was awarded two Gold Star medals, for new heroic deeds similar to those previously accomplished, can be again awarded the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal.

When a Hero of the Soviet Union is awarded the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal, he is simultaneously presented with the Order and Medal by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

Heroes of the Soviet Union enjoy the benefits established by law.

The medal "Gold Star" of the Hero of the Soviet Union is worn on the left side of the chest above the orders and medals of the USSR.

Deprivation of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union can only be done by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

Description of the medal.

The reverse side of the medal has a smooth surface and is limited along the contour by a protruding thin rim. On the reverse side in the center of the medal there is an inscription in raised letters “Hero of the USSR”. The size of the letters is 4 by 2 mm. In the upper beam is the number of the medal with a height of 1 mm.

The medal is made of 900 gold. The medallion is made of silver. As of September 18, 1975, the gold content in the medal is 20.521 ± 0.903 g, the silver content is 12.186 ± 0.927 g. The weight of the medal without a block is 21.5 g. The total weight of the medal is 34.264 ± 1.5 g.

From the history of the medal.

The title of Hero of the Soviet Union is the highest degree of distinction of the Soviet period, the most honorary title in the Soviet award hierarchy. However, it would be wrong to call this title rare: there were much more Heroes of the Soviet Union than knights of any degree of any “military” order.

The regulation on the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was first established on July 29, 1936. It introduced the procedure for awarding the Heroes of the Soviet Union, in addition to the diploma of the Central Executive Committee, also the Order of Lenin - the highest award of the USSR. From that moment on, all Heroes of the Soviet Union received the Order of Lenin, until the abolition of the USSR in 1991. Received it retroactively and those to whom the title of Hero was awarded before the release of this Decree - there were only 11 of them.

The need for a special insignia for the Heroes of the Soviet Union appeared three years later, when there were already 122 Heroes of the Soviet Union (two of them - pilots Levanevsky S.A. and Chkalov V.P. - had died by that time, and 19 titles were awarded posthumously).

On August 1, 1939, the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR “On additional insignia for the Heroes of the Soviet Union” was issued. Articles 1 and 2 of the Decree read: “For the purpose of special distinction of citizens awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, the medal “Hero of the Soviet Union” is established, which is awarded simultaneously with the award of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union and the award of the Order of Lenin.” Article 3 of the Decree made a major change to the Regulations on the title of Hero of the Soviet Union of 1936, according to which the title of Hero of the Soviet Union could be awarded only once: “A Hero of the Soviet Union who performed a secondary heroic deed ... was awarded the second medal “Hero of the Soviet Union”, and ... a bronze bust is being built in the homeland of the Hero. The presentation of the second Order of Lenin during the second award was not envisaged.

The issuance of the Gold Star medals was carried out in the order in which the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded, including to those persons who were awarded the title before the establishment of the Gold Star medal, while the medal number corresponded to the number of the certificate of the Central Executive Committee or the Presidium of the Supreme Council.

The regulation on the title of Hero of the Soviet Union in the new edition appeared on May 14, 1973, some changes were made to it by the Decree of July 18, 1980. It stated that the title of Hero of the Soviet Union "is awarded for personal or collective services to the Soviet state and society associated with the accomplishment of a heroic deed." What was new in it was that with the repeated and subsequent awards of the Hero of the Soviet Union with the Gold Star medal, he was awarded the Order of Lenin each time. In addition, the previous restriction on the number of awards of the Golden Star to one person (three times) was removed, thanks to which Brezhnev was able to become a Hero of the Soviet Union four times (Zhukov became a Hero four times in 1956, bypassing the then Decree of 1.8.39).

In 1988, this provision was changed, and the procedure for awarding the Order of Lenin to the Hero of the Soviet Union was established only at the first presentation of the Gold Star medal.

In total, in the entire history of the existence of the USSR, 12,745 people were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

About 150 people became Heroes twice (as of January 1, 1982 - 141 people).