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, 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

Order of 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, 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 a corresponding inscription is erected, installed 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 by means of 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 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 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. 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 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 in 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 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 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. 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. Heroes were eleven commanders of the Red Army - participants in the civil war in the Spanish Republic. 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 S.A. Chernykh. 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 the 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 I.D. Papanin. 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 MM Gromov, 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 conferment of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union took place: it was awarded to 26 fighters and commanders who participated in the battles with the Japanese invaders 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 invaders on the Khalkhin Gol River on the territory of the Mongolian Republic, friendly to the Soviet Union, the title of Hero was awarded to 70 people (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, a mass conferment of the title of Hero, unique in its kind, took place: 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 the "G. Sedov" from the ice, 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 Timoshenko 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, who was 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 CPSU (b). 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 the 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 USSR PVS of August 6, 1941).

In total, in the first war year, only a few dozen people were awarded the title of Hero, and all of them - in the period from July to 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 attack and 1 from bomber aircraft 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 a river such 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:

1. Army commanders - to the Order of Suvorov, I degree.
2. Commanders of corps, divisions, brigades - to the Order of Suvorov II degree.
3. 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-mentioned 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 "Gold 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 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:

• Marshal of the Soviet Union A.M. Vasilevsky, Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet troops in the Far East;
• 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 were promulgated on rewarding the navigator of the fighter aviation regiment, Major Gulaev N.D. with 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.

The former head of the operational 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.

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 - over 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.

513 people became in the Navy of the GSS (including naval pilots and marines who fought on the shore).

There are over 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 - women are representatives of almost all branches of the armed forces, except for the border and internal. 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, Tuvans - 1 and others.

One of the Heroes of the Soviet Union, a participant in the Great Patriotic War, the Don Cossack K. Nedorubov, is also a full Knight of St. George: he received four soldier's 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 Gübner and Anelya Kzhivon.

Four pilots of the French air regiment "Normandie-Niemen", which 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 Guard, 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 awarded the title 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 exploits 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 was restored to the defender of the Brest Fortress, Major Gavrilov P.M., the hero of the French resistance, Lieutenant Vasily Porik (posthumously), the Yugoslav partisan, Lieutenant Huseyn-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 occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Victory, a regulation on Hero Cities appeared, according to which these cities (only five at that time) 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. For his 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 in the history 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 (in total, she destroyed 11 enemy aircraft 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. The last Hero of the Soviet Union was the diving specialist captain 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 the high rank before the war, 103 people were awarded the second Star for their 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:

According to the current legislation of the Russian Federation, the purchase and / or sale of medals, orders, documents of the USSR and Russia is prohibited, this is all described in Article 324. Acquisition or sale of official documents and state awards. You can read about this in more detail in which the law is disclosed in more detail, as well as those medals, orders and documents that do not apply to this ban are described.

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

Initially, the Heroes of the Soviet Union were awarded a diploma from the Central Executive Committee of the USSR and were separately awarded the Order of Lenin. Since 1936, the Order of Lenin was awarded simultaneously with the title.

On August 1, 1939, the medal "Hero of the Soviet Union" was established by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. Nobody has been awarded it.

October 16, 1939 the medal "Hero of the Soviet Union" was renamed " gold star medal". The drawing and description of the medal was approved. The drawing of the medal was developed by the artist I.I. Dubasov. All those who before October 16, 1939 were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union were awarded a new medal (several hundred people).

Description of the medal

The Gold Star medal is made of 900 gold and is a five-pointed star with dihedral rays on the front side. Beam length - 15 mm.

On the reverse side of the medal there is an embossed inscription "Hero of the USSR". In the upper beam of the star is the number of the medal.

Order ribbon - red, 20 mm wide.

Way of fastening and wearing

The medal is connected to a rectangular gilded silver block, which is covered with a red silk moire ribbon, with the help of an eyelet and a link. The block has a pin fastening.

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

From the 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.

From Regulations on the title of Hero of the Soviet Union May 14, 1973:

“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 with a corresponding inscription is erected , installed in his homeland, which is recorded in the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on the award. The 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.

(Until that time, according to the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of August 1, 1939, the second Order of Lenin was not awarded when awarded again.)

According to the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, three times the Heroes of the Soviet Union, in addition to three "Gold Stars" and a bust in their homeland, were awarded a bronze bust in the form of a column, installed in Moscow. However, this paragraph of the Decree was never implemented.

In 1988, the provision from 1973 was amended, and it was established that the Order of Lenin was awarded to the hero of the Soviet Union only upon the first award of the Gold Star medal.

For the first time the title of Hero of the Soviet Union On April 20, 1934, pilots were awarded: M. V. Vodopyanov, I. V. Doronin, N. P. Kamanin, S. A. Levanevsky, A. V. Lyapidevsky, V. S. Molokov and M. T. Slepnev who took part in the rescue of the crew of the Chelyuskin icebreaker. On June 19, 1934, M. I. Kalinin presented the awardees with the Order of Lenin and a special letter from the Central Executive Committee.

The first twice Heroes of the Soviet Union were S. I. Gritsevets and G. P. Kravchenko on August 29, 1939 for the battles at Khalkhin Gol. On February 22, 1939, for the battles in Spain, they were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union - for the first time. S. I. Gritsevets was awarded the second Gold Star medal for rescuing the commander of the 70th Fighter Aviation Regiment, Major V. M. Zabaluev. Pursuing Japanese planes over enemy territory, Gritsevets saw V. M. Zabaluev descending by parachute, whose plane was shot down. S. I. Gritsevets landed in difficult conditions and took out the major in his fighter. In the 22nd Aviation Regiment, commanded by G.P. Kravchenko, there were 11 Heroes of the Soviet Union.

For two weeks fighting at Lake Khasan 26 people received the titles of Heroes of the Soviet Union.

Per fighting at Khalkhin Gol 70 people were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, of which 21 soldiers received it posthumously. Among the Heroes of Khalkhin Gol is G.K. Zhukov, later four times Hero of the Soviet Union.

The first in the Great Patriotic War Pilots S. I. Zdorovtsev, M. P. Zhukov and P. T. Kharitonov, who rammed German bombers, were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on July 8, 1941.

85 Soviet pilots - Heroes of the Soviet Union - made rams in the air, of which Lieutenant A.S. Khlobystov - three rams, and Senior Lieutenant B.I. Kovzan - four.

In the ground forces, the commander of the 1st motorized rifle division of the 20th Army, Colonel Ya. R. Kreizer, became the first Hero of the Soviet Union. His division destroyed 3,000 enemy soldiers and officers and about 70 tanks in three days of defensive battles on the Berezina.

The first sailor - Hero of the Soviet Union - was senior sergeant V.P. Kislyakov, assistant platoon commander, who distinguished himself in July 1941 during the landing in the area of ​​​​Zapadnaya Litsa in the Arctic.

The first Hero of the Soviet Union from the partisans was posthumously T. P. Bumazhkov - 1st Secretary of the Oktyabrsky District Committee of the Polesye Region of the Communist Party of Belarus. During the Great Patriotic War, 190 partisans became Heroes of the Soviet Union, and the commanders of partisan formations S. A. Kovpak and A. F. Fedorov were twice heroes.

91 women became heroes of the Soviet Union during the Great Patriotic War, including the legendary partisans Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, Liza Chaikina, snipers Lyudmila Pavlichenko, Maria Polivanova and Natalya Kovshova, pilots Marina Chechneva and Evgenia Rudneva and others.

On the Soviet-German front, anti-fascists from many states fought shoulder to shoulder with Soviet soldiers against the enemy. More than twenty of them became Heroes of the Soviet Union. Among them are French pilots from the Normandie-Niemen regiment, Czech captain Otakar Yarosh and others.

On July 22, 1941, for the first time in the Great Patriotic War, the Gold Star medal was awarded again. Pilot Lieutenant Colonel S.P. Suprun, commander of the 401st Special Purpose Fighter Aviation Regiment, who died in an unequal battle with six enemy fighters on July 4, became her cavalier posthumously.

The first cavalier of three "Gold Stars" A fighter pilot, later Air Marshal A. I. Pokryshkin, who made more than 600 sorties, 156 air battles and shot down 59 enemy aircraft, became a Hero of the Soviet Union. Also, a fighter pilot, later Colonel-General of Aviation I.N. Kozhedub, who made 330 sorties and shot down 62 enemy aircraft, became a hero of the Soviet Union three times.

After the war, Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov became four times Hero of the Soviet Union.

For exploits in the Great Patriotic War, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the award of the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal was awarded to more than 11,600 people.

Gold Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union

Hero of the Soviet Union - an honorary title, the highest degree of distinction in the USSR for services to the state associated with the accomplishment of a heroic deed. Established by the Decree of the Central Executive Committee (CEC) of the USSR of April 16, 1934, assigned by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR (since March 1990 - by the President of the USSR).

The initial awarding of the Hero of the Soviet Union was marked by the presentation of the highest award of the USSR - the Order of Lenin and a special diploma of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR (since 1937 - diplomas of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR).

Diploma of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on conferring the title Hero of the Soviet Union

For a special distinction of citizens awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of August 1, 1939, a gold medal "Hero of the Soviet Union" was established, which has the shape of a five-pointed star with the inscription on the reverse: "Hero of the USSR". It was established that the medal was awarded together with the Order of Lenin. When conferring this high rank for the second and third time, the award was provided only with a medal, while the Order of Lenin was not awarded.

To commemorate the exploits of the twice Hero of the Soviet Union, as well as the Hero of the Soviet Union, who was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor, his bronze bust was installed in the homeland of the recipient.

Gold Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union and the Order of Lenin, awarded together with the award of the title

The Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of August 22, 1988 "On improving the procedure for awarding state awards of the USSR" stated that the repeated awarding of the Hero of the Soviet Union with the Gold Star medal was not carried out, and bronze busts were not installed during the lifetime of the heroes.

The first Heroes of the Soviet Union were seven polar pilots: A.V. Lyapidevsky, S.A. Levanevsky, V.S. Molokov, N.P. Kamanin, M.T. Slepnev, M.V. Vodopyanov, I.V. Doronin. They were awarded this honorary title for rescuing passengers and crew in distress on the Chelyuskin steamer on April 20, 1934. In the same year, test pilot M.M. became Hero of the Soviet Union for setting a world record in flight distance. Gromov, and two years later - pilots, and. In 1938, the first women pilots, V.S., were awarded the highest degree of distinction. Grizodubova, P.D. Osipenko and M.M. Raskov.

The first Heroes of the Soviet Union (from left to right): S.A. Levanevsky, V.S. Molokov, M.T. Slepnev, N.P. Kamanin, M.V. Vodopyanov, A.V. Lyapidevsky, I.V. Doronin. 1934

Among those awarded in the 1930s were many Arctic explorers. The most famous of them was the four polar explorers: the head of the research station "North Pole" (SP-1) I.D. Papanin, radio operator E.T. Krenkel, oceanographer P.P. Shirshov and astronomer-magnetologist E.K. Fedorov.

The first assignment of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for military exploits took place on December 31, 1936. This award was awarded to 11 commanders of the Red Army - participants in the Spanish Civil War. Among the internationalist soldiers of that time, Lieutenant S.I. became famous. Gritsevets and Major G.P. Kravchenko, who then received a second Gold Star in the battles at Khalkhin Gol (August 1939). They became the first twice Heroes of the Soviet Union.

By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of October 25, 1938, 22 commanders and 4 Red Army soldiers were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for military merit and military prowess.

In general, from April 1934 to April 1941, 626 people were awarded the highest degree of distinction. Including, for military exploits in the provision of international assistance in China - 14 people, Spain - 59 people, for heroism shown in the defense of the state border near Lake Khasan - 26, on the river. Khalkhin-Gol - 70, during the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939 - 1940. - 412 people, as well as 45 pilots and aviation navigators, scientists and researchers of the Arctic and the Far East, participants in high-latitude expeditions. During this period, five people were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union twice.

During the Great Patriotic War, the first - on July 8, 1941, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to the pilots of the 158th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the 7th Fighter Air Defense Corps M.P. Zhukov, S.I. Zdorovtsev, P.T. Kharitonov, who rammed fascist aircraft on the outskirts of Leningrad. During the first period of the war alone, over 600 people earned the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

The crushing blows of the Red Army against the Nazi troops were accompanied by examples of mass heroism and selflessness of the Soviet people. In February 1943, the name of Private A.M. Matrosova. All major military operations of the second period were accompanied by examples of courage and bravery. At this time, more than 3650 Soviet soldiers and 30 partisans and underground workers were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Over 7 thousand new Heroes of the Soviet Union came to their glory and immortality during the third period of the Great Patriotic War, and more than 2,800 of them were awarded a high title for their deeds committed during the final liberation of the Soviet land.

The courage of the Soviet soldiers, who distinguished themselves in carrying out the great international mission to liberate the peoples of Europe from Nazi slavery, deserved high appraisal.

The events of the apotheosis of war - the Berlin operation - are inscribed in the heroic chronicle with no less striking examples. The capture of the Seelow Heights, the crossing of the Oder and the Spree, fierce battles on the streets of Berlin and the assault on the Reichstag became new steps in the ascent to the mass heroism of Soviet soldiers. The selflessness of the Soviet people resulted in the feats of not only individuals, but also entire squads, crews and divisions (a platoon of the Guards Lieutenant P.N. Shironin, a feat of 68 participants under command, and many others). Families also became heroes: brother and sister Kosmodemyansky, brothers Ignatov, Kurzenkov, Lizyukov, Lukanin, Panichkin, Glinka, uncle and nephew Gorodovikov ...

Famous generals and prominent military leaders have been awarded the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union several times. He was awarded the Marshal of the Soviet Union four times. Twice - Marshals of the Soviet Union, P.K. Koshevoy, I.I. Yakubovsky, Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union, Air Chief Marshals -, P.S. Kutakhov, A.I. Koldunov, army generals -, A.P. Beloborodov, etc.

In total, over 11,600 people were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for the heroic deeds committed during the Great Patriotic War, 115 of them twice, and two later, Air Marshals A.I. Pokryshkin and I.N. Kozhedub - three times. The legendary commander of the 1st Cavalry Army during the Civil War, the Knight of St. George and Marshal of the Soviet Union was also awarded three Golden Stars. Marshal of Victory - Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov was first awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union in 1939 for leading the operation to encircle and destroy a group of Japanese troops in the area of ​​the Khalkhin Gol River, and was awarded the fourth Gold Star in December 1956.

Three times Heroes of the Soviet Union Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov (in the center), major generals of aviation A.I. Pokryshkin (left) and I.N. Kozhedub (right) on the territory of the Kremlin during the work of the session of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. Moscow, November 1957

Among the Heroes of the Soviet Union are representatives of more than 60 nationalities and nationalities of the USSR. Among them, 88 women. The title of Hero of the Soviet Union was also awarded to a number of foreign citizens who distinguished themselves in the fight against the Nazi invaders.

Heroes of the Soviet Union - representatives of more than 60 nationalities

Russians	8182	Lithuanians	15	Dungan	4	Balkarets	1
Ukrainians	2072	Tajiks	14	Lezgins	4	Veps	1
Belarusians	311	Latvians	13	Germans	4	Darginets	1
Tatars	161	Kyrgyz	12	French people	4	Hispanic	1
Jews	108	Komi	10	Chechens	3	Korean	1
Kazakhs	96	Udmurts	10	Yakuts	3	Koeman	1
Georgians	91	Karely	9	Altaians	2	Kurd	1
Armenians	90	Poles	9	Bulgarians	2	Moldavian	1
Uzbeks	69	Estonians	9	Greeks	2	Nanaets	1
Mordvins	61	Kalmyks	8	Karachays	2	Nogaets	1
Chuvash	44	Kabardians	7	Kumyks	2	Svan	1
Azerbaijanis	43	Adyghe	6	Laks	2	Tuvan	1
Bashkirs	39	Czechs	6	Khakasses	2	Gypsy	1
Ossetians	32	Abkhazians	5	Circassians	2	Evenk	1
Mari	18	Avars	5	Finns	2
Turkmens	18	Buryats	5	Assyrian	1

In the post-war years, the exploits of the Soviet people were associated with the development of the latest military equipment, peaceful penetration into space, the protection of state interests and borders, and the fulfillment of international duty. Among the test pilots who stood at the origins of the development of Soviet jet aviation were Heroes of the Soviet Union G.Ya. Bakhchivandzhi, M.I. Ivanov, M.L. Gallay, I.E. Fedorov, I.T. Ivashchenko, G.A. Sedov, G.K. Molosov and many others. From the biography of one of them, P.M. Stefanovsky, it is known that during his 30-year service in aviation, he mastered 317 types of aircraft and made 13.5 thousand flights.

The first Hero of the Soviet Union of the nuclear submarine fleet was the commander of the Leninsky Komsomol submarine, Captain 1st Rank L.G. Osipenko. For the conquest of the North Pole by the same submarine in the early 1960s, Rear Admiral A.I. Petelin, captain 2nd rank L.M. Zhiltsov, engineer-captain 2nd rank R.A. Timofeev was also awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of May 23, 1966, for the successful completion of a group transoceanic transition in a submerged position from Zapadnaya Litsa Bay (Murmansk region) to Krasheninnikov Bay (Kamchatka) through Cape Horn (South America), a group of Soviet submariners: Rear Admiral A .AND. Sorokin, captains of the 2nd rank V.T. Vinogradov, L.N. Stolyarov, N.V. Usenko, was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

On April 12, 1961, the whole world learned the name of a Soviet citizen officer who made an orbital flight around the Earth. Over the next quarter of a century, 60 Soviet cosmonauts went into space. All of them are Heroes of the Soviet Union, and more than half of them were awarded this title twice.

Meeting of the first Heroes of the Soviet Union with astronauts. Sitting: M.V. Vodopyanov, M.T. Slepnev, N.P. Kamanin, A.V. Lyapidevsky, V.S. Molokov. Standing: V.F. Bykovsky, G.S. Titov, Yu.A. Gagarin, V.V. Tereshkova, A.G. Nikolaev, P.R. Popovich

Selfless devotion to the Motherland and in peacetime put forward new Heroes of the Soviet Union from among the military. Among them, officers D.V. Leonov, I.I. Strelnikov and V.D. Bubenin, junior sergeant Yu.V. Babanskiy. Forever inscribed themselves in the heroic chronicle of the country and the soldiers who performed their international duty in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. Among them are Colonels V.L. Neverov and V.E. Pavlov, lieutenant colonel E.V. Vysotsky, Major A.Ya. Oparin, captain N.M. Akramov, Senior Lieutenant A.I. Demakov, guard private N.Ya. Anfinogenov and many others. In total, during the years of the war in Afghanistan, 86 servicemen were awarded the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Many military leaders in peacetime were awarded the highest degree of distinction for their great contribution to the construction and strengthening of the Armed Forces of the USSR, increasing the level of their combat readiness. Titles of Hero of the Soviet Union received: Marshals of the Soviet Union, P.F. Batitsky, S.K. Kurkotkin, V.I. Petrov, ; army generals A.L. Getman, A.A. Epishev, M.M. Zaitsev, E.F. Ivanovsky, P.I. Ivashutin, P.G. Lushev, Yu.P. Maksimov, I.G. Pavlovsky, I.N. Shkadov; fleet admirals G.M. Egorov, V.A. Kasatonov, V.N. Chernavin; Colonel General A.S. Zheltov and others.

After the collapse of the USSR, the title "Hero of the Soviet Union" was abolished. Instead, on March 20, 1992, the title "Hero of the Russian Federation" was established in Russia, also awarded for outstanding deeds. Currently, the Heroes of the Soviet Union have the same rights as the Heroes of the Russian Federation.

"To establish the highest degree of distinction - 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."

In April 1934, 85 years ago, the Decree of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR established the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. It was awarded for special merits or feats before the country and people. Until now, there are those among us who, not sparing their lives, defended the right of our great country to exist, defended it and accomplished a feat. And as long as we have the opportunity to talk with living heroes or talk about them, we should cherish this and use this opportunity.

The first heroes of the USSR - polar pilots

Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org

A special resolution of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR, and since 1937 - a resolution of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, established special rules for awarding and conferring the honorary status of Hero of the Soviet Union. It is interesting that initially there were no insignia that are familiar to us now, that is, such as the Golden Star or, were not provided. The recipient was given only a certificate of honor from the Central Executive Committee of the USSR, which contained a description of the feat and the name of the hero.

Nevertheless, with the very first award, a year before the official introduction of the title, an interesting incident occurred. All seven famous pilots who participated in the rescue of the crew of the Chelyuskin ship received the Order of Lenin. Especially for them, the provision on awarding was approved, according to which it was supposed to issue the Order of Lenin to all awarded the title of Hero. Moreover, they became Heroes back in 1934, when there was no official position and resolution. Pilots A. Lyapidevsky, M. Vodopyanov, V. Molokov, I. Doronin, M. Slepnev, N. Kamanin and S. Levanevsky became not only the first Heroes of the Soviet Union, they became truly national heroes. Thousands of young men and women, following their example, went to flying clubs and aircraft manufacturing to help the country conquer such an inaccessible sky.

The first female heroes. Source: https://www.pnp.ru

Participants in the Spanish Civil War were awarded next. The USSR then actively helped the Republicans, and 60 people were awarded. Among them appeared the first foreign soldiers who fought in the ranks of the Soviet units - the Italian Primo Gibelli and the Bulgarian Volkan Goranov.

There were also conflicts on the eastern borders of the USSR. The Japanese militarists tested the power of our country and tasted the Soviet bayonet on and. As a result of these battles, the Japanese were defeated, and the number of Heroes of the USSR increased by 70 people, and the first twice Heroes appeared. However, despite this, the Golden Star that we all know has not yet appeared.

Birth of a Star

On August 1, literally a month before the start of the armed Japanese provocation on the Khalkhin Gol River in September 1939, a special distinguishing sign for the Heroes of the Soviet Union was introduced by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR - the Gold Star medal. The decree of August 16, 1939 approved its appearance. The first awards with new medals were made after the end of the conflict with the Japanese on the Khalkhin Gol River. Then 421 soldiers of the Red Army received the Star for distinction during the Soviet-Finnish War.

Order of Lenin and Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union. Source: https://www.pinterest.ru

The medal is a gold five-pointed star with smooth dihedral rays on the front side. With the help of an eyelet and a ring, a golden star is connected to a gilded rectangular plate, which is covered with a red moiré ribbon. The plate has on the reverse side a threaded pin with a nut for attaching to clothing. On the reverse side of the medal there is an inscription "Hero of the USSR". All those heroes who received their honorary titles before the star was introduced received it, and those who did not have the Order of Lenin received it. Since that moment, a stable and unchanging tradition of honorary presentation of the highest award has appeared in our country. The star could be awarded several times, but the Order of Lenin was issued only at the first award. During subsequent awards, the numbers on the reverse side of the medal were not in a row, but corresponded to the serial numbers of the stars being produced. When the award was repeated in the homeland of the hero, a bronze bust was installed. And since 1967, the government of the USSR has established special benefits in everyday life for the awarded. Of course, most of the awards fall on the period of the Great Patriotic War.

Heroes of the Fatherland

Heroes are victorious. Source: https://pinterest.com

By the beginning, 626 people were listed as Heroes of the Soviet Union, among them were three women - Marina Raskova, Valentina Grizodubova and Polina Osipenko. Five people became Heroes twice. When the enemy attacked our homeland, all the people rose to its defense. The exploits of such heroes as Gastello, Maresyev, Matrosov are on everyone's lips ... Pilots, tankers, artillerymen, sappers and sailors - perhaps there was not a single branch of the army that would not have distinguished itself with a whole galaxy of its heroes. Numerous civilians and partisans have also received this high award. No wonder the period of the war accounts for 91% of all awards with the title of Hero in the entire history of the award. A total of 11,657 people received the medal during the war years, over 3,000 of them posthumously. Over 100 of them were awarded this title twice, and Georgy Zhukov, Ivan Kozhedub and Alexander Pokryshkin - three times.

44 people from the armies allied to us, including 4 French pilots, also became heroes. The 167th twice Red Banner Rifle Division distinguished itself. In its ranks, there were the most awarded the honorary title of hero - 108 people.

Astronaut heroes.

100 great awards Ionina Hope

MEDAL "GOLDEN STAR"

MEDAL "GOLDEN STAR"

In order to especially note the citizens who had already been awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on August 1, 1939 established a medal (as a distinction of this title), which at first was called the medal "Hero of the Soviet Union". A month and a half later, in accordance with the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of October 16, 1939, it became known as the Gold Star medal. The same decree approved the drawing and description of the new medal.

The chronicle of the 1930s did not preserve the names of those who invented and executed in sketches, and then in metal, a symbol embodying the highest degree of military distinction - the Gold Star medal of the Hero of the Soviet Union. The new award was a five-pointed star with polished dihedral rays on the front side (the length of the rays was 15 mm). The weight of the "Golden Star" was 21.5 grams. The reverse side of the medal was smooth, and bordered along the contour with a thin rim; in the center of it is an inscription in raised letters: "Hero of the USSR". The number of the medal was placed in the upper beam. With the help of an eyelet and a link, the Gold Star medal was attached to a rectangular gilded block covered with a red moire ribbon (ribbon width - 22 mm).

The first Heroes of the Soviet Union did not receive the Gold Star medal, since the title of Hero at that time did not yet have its external attributes. Subsequently, when the highest insignia of this title was already established, the participants of the world-famous epic to rescue the members of the Arctic expedition and the crew of the sunken Chelyuskin were the first to be awarded it. The first on the list for the Gold Star medal was S. Levanevsky, but during his lifetime the brave pilot never received a well-deserved award: while making a direct flight to the USA, he died near the North Pole.

In 1939-1940, the Gold Star medal was awarded to many Soviet soldiers who fought on the side of the Republican army of Spain, participated in the defeat of Japanese troops in the area of ​​​​Lake Khasan and the Khalkhin-Gol River, and also distinguished themselves in battles on the Karelian Isthmus during the Soviet Finnish armed conflict. In total, more than 600 people were awarded the Gold Star medal until 1941, and military pilots (S. Gritsevets, S. Denisov, G. Kravchenko, Ya. Smushkevich) and the outstanding polar scientist I. Papanin were awarded this medal twice.

The possibility of a second award of the Gold Star medal was already provided for in its charter. It said that the Hero of the Soviet Union, who performed a heroic feat for the second time, no less than that for which others who performed a similar feat are awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, are awarded the Order of Lenin, a diploma of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and the second Gold Star medal. To commemorate the exploits of such a hero, a bronze bust was erected with the image of the recipient and the corresponding inscription, which was installed in his homeland.

Two weeks after the start of World War II, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the award of the Gold Star medal was first awarded to fighter pilots M. Zhukov, S. Zdorovtsev and P. Kharitonov for their courage shown in heavy battles with enemy bombers rushing to Leningrad . And on July 22, 1941, the first in the Great Patriotic War, the second Gold Star medal was awarded to Lieutenant Colonel S.P. Suprun.

In total, during the years of World War II, more than 11,500 people were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Gold Star medal. This high award marked the feats of soldiers of the active army and navy, border guards and partisans, representatives of various peoples and nationalities of the Soviet Union. Five Heroes of the Soviet Union were awarded the Gold Star medal three times. In August 1944, the feats of the Hero of the Soviet Union, pilot A.I. Pokryshkin - the only pilot, at the mere appearance of which German radio waves exploded over the battlefield with alarm: “Attention! Attention! In the air - Pokryshkin. The tactics of air combat developed by him were reported personally to Reichsmarschall G. Goering; a real hunt was organized for a pilot who knew how to shoot down 3-4 Messerschmitts or Junkers in one battle ...

In August 1945, another outstanding Soviet ace, I.N. Kozhedub. Three medals "Gold Star" marked the merits of S.M. Budyonny - the legendary commander of the First Cavalry Army. "Three times awarded the Gold Star medal, a second bronze bust is being built, which is already being installed in Moscow."

In the postwar years, the family of Heroes of the Soviet Union, awarded the Gold Star medal, continued to grow continuously. In April 1961, the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal were awarded to the first cosmonaut of the planet, Yu.A. Gagarin. Among the Heroes of the Soviet Union there are many representatives of other states. Among them, for example, the Czechs O. Yarosh, who distinguished himself in battles with the Nazis, V. Remek, a participant in the international space experiment, the Polish cosmonaut-researcher M. Germashevsky, the German anti-fascist F. Schmenkel, the French pilots of the famous Normandie-Niemen air regiment, and others .

The Gold Star medal was awarded not only to individuals who accomplished a heroic deed and were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. In accordance with Soviet law, this award, along with the Order of Lenin and a diploma of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, was awarded to a city awarded the highest degree of distinction - the title of Hero City, and a fortress awarded the highest degree of distinction - Hero Fortress.

At various times, the Hero Cities of Leningrad (1945), Stalingrad (1945), Odessa (1945), Sevastopol (1945), Moscow (1965), Kyiv (1965), Novorossiysk (1973), Kerch ( 1973), Minsk (1974), Tula (1976), Murmansk (1985), Smolensk (1985) and the hero-fortress Brest (1965), whose population and garrison showed courage and heroism in their defense. In these hero cities and the Brest Fortress there are obelisks depicting the Order of Lenin, the Gold Star medal and the text of the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on awarding them an honorary title.

This text is an introductory piece.

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