Diamonds for the order, made of pure platinum, were taken from the royal treasury, but the rubies turned out to be synthetic

It was the highest award in the USSR, intended only for supreme military leaders. But Stalin, who ordered its creation, did not suspect that the Moscow jeweler Ivan Kazennov, a master of the highest qualification, who inserted precious stones into the order, deceived him. And then he revealed this secret only before his death.

In the summer of 1943, when it had already become clear that the USSR was victorious over Nazi Germany, Stalin decided to create a special award specifically for top military leaders. The task was given to several medallist artists at once. Colonel Nikolai Neyelov, an employee of the rear headquarters of the Red Army, was the first to make a sketch of a new award, which was first called "For Loyalty to the Motherland". However, his project was not approved. Preference was given to the sketch of Anatoly Kuznetsov, who was already the author of the Order of the Patriotic War. His project was a five-pointed star with a central round medallion, on which bas-reliefs of Lenin and Stalin were placed.

The project was shown to Stalin. But he ordered instead of the bas-reliefs to place the image of the Kremlin's Spasskaya Tower. In October, Kuznetsov presented the leader with seven new sketches, of which Stalin chose one with the inscription "Victory", instructing him to use platinum instead of gold, to enlarge the dimensions of the Spasskaya Tower, and to make the background blue. After that, an order was received to make a trial copy of the order.

Master's Courage

The order was received by the Moscow Jewelry and Watch Factory (this was the first order that was not made at the Mint). But immediately difficulties arose. There were no problems with platinum, diamonds were taken from the royal fund, but the necessary rubies for the rays of the red star were not found. Master of the highest qualification Ivan Kazennov collected them from all over Moscow, but all the gems were of different sizes and differed in color. What to do? The master was seized with panic, because he knew about Stalin's order - to use only materials of domestic origin for the order. But where can I get the rubies needed for the order? Deadlines were tight, and there was no time left to search for them.

Then, at his own risk, Kazennov decided to use synthetic rubies for the order. He did not tell anyone about this, and revealed the secret only before his death to his student many years after Stalin's death.

Then the first order "Victory" was shown to the leader, and he liked it. Stalin ordered to make a total of 20 pieces of this award. And on November 8, 1943, a decree was issued by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on the establishment of the order. It was intended as a reward "to the senior officers of the Red Army for the successful conduct of an operation on the scale of one or several fronts, as a result of which the situation radically changed in favor of the Soviet Armed Forces."

For the manufacture of the first copy of the most beautiful and expensive order in the USSR, 170 diamonds with a total weight of 16 carats and 300 grams of pure platinum were used, as well as rubies, which, as we already wrote, were synthetic. Jewelry was allocated by special order of the Council of People's Commissars. It was also the largest order in the USSR in size - the distance between the opposite rays of the star was 72 mm. It had to be worn on the left rather than the right side of the chest on a red ribbon with stripes of green, blue, burgundy, light blue, orange and black.

Marshal Zhukov received two Orders of Victory

First Cavaliers

However, no one was immediately awarded a new order. Only on April 10, 1944, the names of the first three of his gentlemen became known: the commander of the 1st Ukrainian Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Zhukov, No. 2 - Chief of the General Staff, Marshal Alexander Vasilevsky and No. 3 - Supreme Commander-in-Chief Marshal Joseph Stalin. The award was timed to coincide with the liberation of right-bank Ukraine.

Many were awarded in 1945, when Germany was defeated: Marshals Rokossovsky, Konev, Malinovsky, Tolbukhin, Govorov, Timoshenko, as well as General of the Army Antonov. Zhukov and Vasilevsky in the same year were awarded this order for the second time. In June 1945, Stalin himself was awarded the Order of Victory for the second time, and following the results of the war with Japan, Marshal Meretskov received the award.

Awards for foreigners

The Order of Victory was also awarded to some leaders of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition: Commander-in-Chief of the Yugoslav People's Liberation Army Tito, Commander-in-Chief of the Polish Army General Rola-Zhymersky, British Field Marshal Montgomery and American General Eisenhower. The order was also given to the Romanian king Mihai I.

Romania, as you know, fought on the side of Nazi Germany, however, when the Red Army approached its borders, Mihai arrested the dictator Antonescu, announced Romania's withdrawal from the war and stopped all hostilities against the allies. It was for this - "a courageous act of a decisive turn in Romania's policy towards a break with Nazi Germany and an alliance with the United Nations", as stated in the decree, that Stalin decided to reward him.

The new, seventeenth in a row, cavalier of the order appeared only 30 years later. They became "our dear" Leonid Ilyich, who loved to decorate himself with awards. The Order of Victory was presented to the Secretary General in February 1978, on the eve of the 60th anniversary of the Soviet Army. Although Brezhnev, of course, did not have merits that would correspond to the status of this high award. However, it was precisely for this that he was deprived of it after his death.

Kalinin presents the Order of Victory to Stalin

Where are they now?

There are few such expensive and beautiful orders in the world. According to the memoirs of Eisenhower's adjutant, when he was awarded the Order of Victory, he counted the diamonds for a long time and practically and declared that they cost at least 18 thousand dollars (in then prices). However, American experts could not determine the cost of rubies, since they had never seen such large stones, and they did not pick them out of the order and check whether they were synthetic.

At the present time, the order is worth at least a million dollars (according to other estimates, at least four million). According to rumors, it was for this amount that King Mihai I sold it to the American billionaire Rockefeller. However, the king himself never admitted to the act of sale. But when he arrived in Moscow to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Victory, he was not wearing this order, although all the other awards of the king were on his luxurious uniform.

Today, the whereabouts of all other Orders of Victory are known. The awards presented to Soviet military leaders, as well as to the Polish marshal, are in the Central Museum of the Armed Forces. And the awards presented to foreigners are in the museums of their countries.

The Order "Victory" is the main among the Soviet military awards, for the entire time of its existence, it was awarded only 20 times. There are even fewer cavaliers - 17 (counting those subsequently deprived of the order), but the name of most of them is known to anyone familiar with the history of the twentieth century from the school curriculum. After the death of the former king of Romania, Mihai, in 2017, not a single holder of this order remained alive. In addition to being exceptionally rare, the Order of Victory is an incredibly expensive piece of jewelry. It is made of platinum and adorned with 174 diamonds weighing 14.5 carats. Without exaggeration, this is the most beautiful and largest Soviet order.

History of appearance

Already in the first year of bloody battles with the Nazis, it became clear to understand that the Soviet army lacked ways to motivate and encourage fighters, first of all, awards for those who distinguished themselves on the battlefield.

Soldiers and officers of the Red Army were awarded several pre-war awards: the Order of the Red Banner and the Red Star (1930), medals and "For Military Merit".

Warriors who showed "remarkable courage, stamina and courage" in battles with the Nazis could also be awarded title of Hero of the USSR- with the presentation of a and the Gold Star medal (1934).

In May-June 1942, almost simultaneously appeared (two degrees) and the military orders of Suvorov (three degrees), Kutuzov (three degrees) and Alexander Nevsky. That year, for the first time, medals were awarded for the defense of Stalingrad, Leningrad, Odessa, Sevastopol, Moscow, the Caucasus and the Soviet Arctic. In October 1943, the Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky (three degrees) was established, it was the only military order that privates and soldiers could receive.

On November 8, 1943, the list of military awards was replenished Order of Victory for commanders and Order of Glory for the soldiers. The Order of Glory of three degrees on a ribbon of St. George's colors became the Soviet successor - the most massive and democratic military award in Tsarist Russia.

On March 3, 1944, the Order of Ushakov was also established to reward sailors and officers of the Navy.

History of the Order of Victory

The Order of Victory was originally conceived as an elite award - the highest military order of the Soviet Union. It could only be received by senior military leaders and only for the successful conduct of major military operations that could change the balance of power at the front in favor of the Red Army. The awarding of this order is made only by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

Total 22 orders "Victory" were made, while signs with numbers XXI and XXII were never awarded. During the existence of the Order of Victory, only 20 awards, including three people became his gentlemen twice -.

The highest award of the USSR was awarded to five foreign citizens- General Dwight Eisenhower (USA), Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery (Great Britain), King Mihai I of Romania, Marshal Michal Rola-Zhymerski (Poland) and Marshal Joseph Broz Tito (Yugoslavia).

In 1945, the awarding of the Order of Victory was discontinued. However, 33 years later, on February 20, 1978, a unique award was presented to the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU Leonid Brezhnev. True, later the decision to award Brezhnev was canceled.

On May 9, 2000, a memorial plaque with the names of all holders of the Order of Victory was opened in the Moscow Kremlin.

Memorial plaque in the Kremlin with the names of holders of the Order of Victory

Creation of the Order of Victory

August 30, 1943 Supreme Commander Joseph Stalin personally heard General A.V. Khrulev on issues related to the state of the rear of the Red Army. Among other things, he was presented projects of the military order "For fidelity to the Motherland".

In general, having approved the statute and sketches of the future award in the form of a five-pointed star, Stalin ordered that it be generously decorated with precious stones and given the short name "Victory".

Artist Aleksandr Kuznetsov, who was also the author of the Order of the Patriotic War, prepared about a dozen design drawings for the new award.

On October 8, 1943, evaluating the sketches with the portraits of Lenin, Stalin and the coat of arms of the USSR in the center, the leader ordered: “ We have the Spasskaya Tower. This is a symbol of both Moscow and the whole country. Here is the Spasskaya Tower and should be placed in the center of the order!»

Stalin chose the final version with the inscription "Victory", but advised to enlarge the image of the Spasskaya Tower and the Kremlin wall, impose them on a blue background, and also reduce the shtrals (shine) between the rays of the five-pointed star that formed the basis of the order.

finalized sketch handed over to the management of the Moscow Jewelry and Watch Factory with an order to produce as soon as possible trial copy of the order from platinum, diamonds and rubies.

On November 5, 1943, a sample of the order, created by master jeweler I.F. Kazyonnov, was approved by Stalin.

Three days later, on November 8, 1943, on the day of the celebration of the 26th anniversary of October, Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR M.I. Kalinin signed Decree on the establishment of a new, highest military award - the Order of Victory.

The production of the state award was entrusted not to the Mint, but to the jewelry enterprise - Moscow Jewelry and Watch Factory, which today is known as the Moscow Experimental Jewelry Factory.

At that time, it was considered the best jewelry factory in the USSR, since after the revolution the best jewelers of the country worked there, the master Kazennov, who was in charge of production, once worked at Faberge.

In addition, the team of craftsmen who worked on the Order of Victory had already dealt with a state order - in 1940 they made.

In total, it was planned to make 30 signs of the order, by order of the Council of People's Commissars, Glavyuvelirtorg was allocated for this purpose 5,400 diamonds and 9 kilograms of pure platinum.

Order "Victory" Zhukov, stored in the Museum of the Armed Forces of the USSR

Diamonds in platinum

"Victory" is the most beautiful and largest Soviet order. According to the description attached to the decree on the establishment of the Order of Victory, it is a convex five-pointed ruby ​​star 72 mm in size between the ends of the opposite vertices of the rays.

On the reverse side of the order there is a threaded pin with a nut for attaching the order to clothing. Unlike most Soviet orders, there is no mint mark on the reverse of the Order of Victory. Order badges from V to XXII were guaranteed to have the corresponding mark (number) on the reverse.

The orders were made in batches of five pieces, the first (numbers II, III and IV) was made in April 1944, the second - on May 11, 1944, the last one was made after the Second World War.

Each of twenty two copies has its own unique features due to piece production, hand finishing, as well as the use of different grades of diamonds. Starting from orders No. 12-13 diamond carat has become higher, but the quality of all stones is approximately equal.

Inventory of the orders "Victory", located in the Order's pantry of the Financial Department of the USSR PVS on January 1, 1985

Badge with registration number I, which was subsequently handed over to Zhukov, was still being made in pilot production. In view of this, it differs significantly from all the others.

First of all, the fact that it went to finish not 174 diamonds, as stipulated by the technical regulations, and 169 - five less. Visually, it is almost imperceptible, but at the top of each of the five inner corners (at the base of the rays of the star) one full-fledged diamond is interspersed, the rest of the series has two very small stones of a simplified cut.

In addition, badge No. I is distinguished by the peculiar readings of the hands of the clock on the Spasskaya Tower in the center of the order.

Description of the order "Victory" No. I - 169 diamonds instead of the prescribed 174.

Commanders of Victory

The first awarding of the Order of Victory took place on April 10, 1944. Badge No. I (according to some sources, with engraving No. VI), received by the commander of the 1st Ukrainian Front Georgy Zhukov.

Under his leadership, in March-April 1944, the troops carried out a successful offensive Proskurov-Chernivtsi operation and reached the foothills of the Carpathians. Marshal Zhukov was awarded with the wording "For the liberation of the Right-Bank Ukraine."

Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Zhukov

“Order “Victory” No. VI Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Zhukov. A badge with the same number was awarded to Marshal Vasilevsky

Zhukov shared success with the Chief of the General Staff Marshal of the Soviet Union Alexander Vasilevsky, he became the second holder of the Order of Victory. In his autobiographical book, The Work of a Lifetime, he later wrote:

“The day of April 10, when Odessa celebrated the expulsion of the German-Romanian fascists, is doubly memorable to me. On that day, I became aware that I was awarded the highest military order "Victory". I received this order for number 2, and number 1 stood on the one awarded to Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov.

The award wording read:For the skillful fulfillment of the tasks of the Supreme High Command for the management of large-scale military operations, as a result of which outstanding successes were achieved in the defeat of the Nazi invaders.

The first to congratulate me on the phone, even before the publication of the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, was the Supreme Commander. He said that I am being rewarded not only for the liberation of Donbass and Ukraine, but also for the upcoming liberation of Crimea, to which I should now turn my attention, not forgetting at the same time about the 3rd Ukrainian Front ".

Order "Victory" No. VI Marshal of the Soviet Union Alexander Vasilevsky

On May 31, 1944, Nikolai Shvernik, First Deputy Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, solemnly awarded Zhukov and Vasilevsky the Order of Victory.

In the typewritten protocol of the Kremlin presentation of awards, next to the line “Zhukov Georgy Konstantinovich”, it is handwritten: “ №1 “, and next to the next one - “Vasilevsky Alexander Mikhailovich” - “ №6 «.

Records of the award on May 31, 1944 to Georgy Zhukov of the Order of Victory No. I, and to Alexander Vasilevsky - the Order of Victory No. VI.

Subsequently, around the orders "Victory" Zhukov and Vasilevsky began confusion and confusion, their description in the documents did not match the originals, this will be discussed in detail below.

Order "Victory" No. 3 (No. V) went to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief Marshal of the Soviet Union Joseph Stalin.

The leader felt his involvement in the "liberation of the Right-Bank Ukraine" and decided to amuse himself with a new order with diamonds. The presentation took place on August 5, 1944.

Order "Victory" No. V in the case of Joseph Stalin

The next award took place almost a year later, on March 30, 1945.. Three Soviet military leaders immediately became holders of the Order of Victory, this was preceded by the liberation of the territory of the USSR from fascist invaders and successful offensive operations in Poland.

1st Belorussian Front, led by Georgy Zhukov, together with the 1st Ukrainian Front under the command Ivan Konev, carried out a successful Vistula-Oder operation, during which they liberated Warsaw, surrounded and defeated Army Group A of General Harpe and Field Marshal Scherner.

Meanwhile, the commander of the 2nd Belorussian Front Konstantin Rokossovsky, fighting in Western Belarus and eastern Poland, broke through to the Baltic Sea and launched an offensive to the northeast, capturing the cities of Gdynia and Danzig. This allowed the Red Army to capture a bridgehead on the left bank of the Oder, from which they subsequently launched an offensive against Berlin.

Marshal Konev was awarded "For the liberation of Poland and the crossing of the Oder", he received the order "Victory" No. X.

Marshal of the Soviet Union Ivan Konev

Order "Victory" of Marshal Konev No. XV, received instead of damaged No. X

Marshal Rokossovsky(by the way, this is the only marshal of two countries in the history of the USSR - the USSR and Poland) "For the liberation of Poland" was awarded order "Victory" No. IX.

Order "Victory" No. IX Konstantin Rokossovsky

BUT Marshal Zhukov gave another star with diamonds "For the skillful fulfillment of the tasks of the Supreme High Command for the leadership of large-scale military operations, as a result of which outstanding success was achieved in the defeat of the Nazi forces."

He received the Order of Victory №VIII.

"Order" Victory "No. VIII Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Zhukov - commander of the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front

Thus four times Hero of the Soviet Union and future Minister of Defense of the USSR Twice became a Knight of the Order of Victory.

On the left is Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Zhukov, Commander-in-Chief of the Occupation Forces in Germany, in full dress uniform of the 1945 model, on the right is in full dress uniform with two Orders of Victory (No. I and No. VIII)

On April 19, 1945, twice a holder of the Order of Victory became Alexander Vasilevsky."For planning combat operations and coordinating the actions of the fronts" Marshal was awarded order "Victory" №XI.

The next award ceremony took place on April 26, 1945. Commander of the 2nd Ukrainian Front Rodion Malinovsky was awarded "For the liberation of the territory of Austria and Hungary." The Marshal of the Soviet Union, who headed the USSR Ministry of Defense in 1957-1967, was given the “Victory” №III.

Marshal of the Soviet Union Rodion Malinovsky

Together with Malinovsky "For the liberation of the territory of Austria and Hungary" was awarded the Order №II and commander of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union Fedor Tolbukhin.

Order "Victory" without a number in a case by Fyodor Tolbukhin

The Order of Victory was presented to Marshals Konev, Zhukov, Rokossovsky, Malinovsky and Tolbukhin on May 24, 1945 in the Kremlin.

On May 31, 1945, the commander of the Leningrad Front was awarded the highest military order. Leonid Govorov. Marshal was awarded "For the defeat of German troops near Leningrad and in the Baltic states." Presentation of the badge №XIII took place on June 20, 1945.

Order Victory №XIII Leonid Govorov

Inventory sheet-description for the Order "Victory" No. XIII. Information about the presence of 162 diamonds is not correct, the actual number is 174

On June 4, 1945, two military leaders received the Order of Victory at once with the wording "For planning military operations and coordinating the actions of the fronts." Representative of the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander, Marshal of the Soviet Union Semyon Timoshenko got a sign №XIIII.

Marshal of the Soviet Union Semyon Timoshenko

Order "Victory" №X I I I I Marshal of the Soviet Union Semyon Timoshenko

Chief of the General Staff Alexey Antonov received an order №XII. Antonov became the only one of all Soviet holders of the Order of Victory with the rank of army general, and the only Soviet holder of the order who was not awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Order Victory №XII Alexei Antonov

June 26, 1945 Joseph Stalin was awarded the second Order of Victory ( №X) - "For the victory over Germany." True, the award itself took place only five years later - on April 28, 1950.

Order "Victory" №X in the case of Joseph Stalin

The commander of the Far Eastern Front became the last of the Soviet military leaders to be awarded the Order of Victory. Kirill Meretskov. On September 8, 1945, the Marshal of the Soviet Union was awarded the highest military award ( №XVIII) "For the successful leadership of the troops in".

Order "Victory" №XVIII Kirill Meretskov

Foreign cavaliers

After the end of World War II, the highest order of the USSR was awarded to five foreign citizens: American General Dwight Eisenhower, British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, King Michael I of Romania, Marshal Michal Rola-Zhymerski and Marshal Yugoslavia Josef Broz Tito.

On June 5, 1945, by decision of Joseph Stalin, "for outstanding success in conducting military operations on a large scale, as a result of which the victory of the United Nations over Nazi Germany was achieved," two commanders of the allied forces were awarded: General of the US Army Dwight Eisenhower (#IV) and British field marshal Bernard Montgomery (No. VII).

Eisenhower, who later became the 34th President of the United States, was noted for the preparation and implementation of Operation Overlord (the Allied landing in Normandy), the liberation of France, Belgium, the Netherlands and the successful offensive in West Germany.

What rocks the Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces in Western Europe, Bernard Montgomery, the Soviet government appreciated the victory he won in 1942 near El Alamein, where the Afrika Korps under the command of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel was defeated.

Orders to both commanders Marshal Zhukov handed over in German Frankfurt am Main on June 10, 1945.

Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Zhukov presents the Order of Victory to General of the US Army Eisenhower

Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Zhukov presenting the Order of Victory to British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery

Marshal Zhukov after awarding the Order of Victory to Montgomery and Eisenhower

The third foreign citizen awarded the Order of Victory was King Mihai I of Romania.

Romania declared war on the USSR on June 22, 1941, being in alliance with the Third Reich. The Romanians set themselves the task of returning Bessarabia and Bukovina, which the USSR annexed in the summer of 1940. In addition, Romania wanted to take Transnistria (the territory from the Dniester to the Southern Bug) from the Soviets.

At the beginning of 1943, six Romanian divisions, with a total number of 65 thousand people, continued to fight in the Kuban. In September 1943, these troops fled to the Crimea, but in the spring of 1944 they were driven out by the Red Army. In total, up to 200 thousand Romanians died in the war against the Soviet Union.

On August 23, 1944, a coup d'etat took place in Romania, and the Romanian army went over to the side of the USSR. When the Soviet army approached the Romanian border, King Mihai I, united with the anti-fascist opposition, ordered the arrest of the dictator Ion Antonescu and pro-German generals, and then declared war on Hitler.

The young monarch was nicknamed in Moscow "King of the Komsomol", and on July 6, 1945, Mihai was awarded the Soviet Order of Victory "for the courageous act of decisively turning Romanian policy towards a break with Nazi Germany and an alliance with the United Nations at a time when it was not yet decided the defeat of Germany is clear.

Michael's award №XVI) was presented by Marshal of the Soviet Union Fyodor Tolbukhin, who at that time commanded the southern group of troops of the Soviet Army.

August 9, 1945 "For outstanding services in organizing the armed forces of Poland and for the successful conduct of military operations of the Polish Army in decisive battles against the common enemy - Nazi Germany" was awarded the Supreme Commander of the Polish Army General Michal Zymerski. Order of Victory №XVII was presented on November 14, 1945 by the USSR Ambassador to Poland V. Z. Lebedev.

The last of the foreigners to be awarded the Order of Victory was the Supreme Commander of the Yugoslav People's Liberation Army Marshal of Yugoslavia Josip Broz Tito. On September 9, 1945, he was awarded "For outstanding success in conducting military operations on a large scale, contributing to the victory of the United Nations over Nazi Germany." "Victory" №XIX On September 29, 1945, the USSR Ambassador to Yugoslavia I. V. Sadchikov presented it.

Joseph Stalin highly appreciated Tito, even allowing the Yugoslav communist to watch the parades from the podium of the Mausoleum. Tito's heightened ambitions and his desire to become a regional leader without regard to Moscow caused discontent in the Kremlin, which led to a cooling of relations. The Soviet press referred to the authorities of Yugoslavia as "Tito's fascist clique". Josip Broz Tito led the country until his death in 1980.

"Victory" Brezhnev

The last to be awarded a unique order was the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Chairman of the USSR Defense Council, Marshal of the Soviet Union.

A working note has been preserved, where the Secretary General sketched out a plan of affairs; he not only emphasized the forthcoming presentation of the coveted order, but also highlighted it in red ink.

Naturally, the presentation of the highest military order to the Soviet leader did not meet his statute, however award order was formulated correctly: "For the great contribution to the victory of the Soviet people and its Armed Forces in the Great Patriotic War, outstanding services in strengthening the country's defense capability..."

The Order of Victory No. XX is presented to the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU by M.A. Suslov

Awarding Brezhnev was the 20th in a row, the same number adorns the order that he got. There is an opinion that the Secretary General was awarded the award of Marshal Govorov, who died in 1955, but this is not so. Both of these copies are kept in the Moscow Kremlin Museums - both Govorovsky No. XIII and Brezhnev №XX.

Marshal of the Soviet Union and Commander of the Order of Victory Leonid Brezhnev (1906–1982)

On the "Victory" of the Secretary General of the Central Committee of the CPSU, the pin was replaced cupronickel pin- for the convenience of attaching to a uniform or jacket. During the war, awards were presented in a box, since the order with a screw fastening is quite difficult to attach to clothing.

The appearance of the pin attachment was precisely dictated by the fact that at the solemn ceremony to quickly attach the order to the tunic. By the way, the Order of Victory with a pin fastening is an invention of Field Marshal Montgomery.

Order "Victory" No. XX, which was awarded to Leonid Brezhnev

Order "Victory" No. XX, which was awarded to Leonid Brezhnev

On November 10, 1982, the 75-year-old Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR died. A month after the funeral, December 14, 1982, all Brezhnev awards, including the Order of Victory, were transferred to his widow.

Four years later, on November 26, 1986, Head of the Department of Awards of the Presidium of the Supreme Council Rosa Eldarova accompanied by the former head of Brezhnev's security, KGB General A.Ya. Ryabenko went to the state dacha "Zarechye-6" to convince the widow of the Secretary General Viktoria Petrovna to voluntarily transfer her husband's awards for storage to the Order storeroom. She agreed. Later in her book, Eldarova wrote:

« Even under V.V. Kuznetsov, I repeatedly raised the question of the need to remove from this family, at least, the Order of Victory and the marshal and general stars ... I answered [the widow] that she had the right to leave all awards, except for marshal stars and the Order of Victory, but better not to tempt grandchildren and great-grandchildren ... and is it necessary to break the integrity of the awards of the “great” person».

The inventory of Brezhnev's awards takes 12 pages. Marshal of the Soviet Union, Hero of Socialist Labor and four times Hero of the Soviet Union managed to collect 111 insignia (!): one order "Victory", five gold stars of the hero, 16 orders and 18 medals of the USSR, two marshal's stars, as well as 34 gold medals of the Hero, transferred to him as duplicates. In addition, foreign comrades who visited the USSR awarded Brezhnev 42 orders and 29 medals from other countries.

Already during perestroika, September 21, 1989, the decree on awarding Brezhnev with the Order of Victory was canceled as contrary to the statute of the order. Thus, the order "Victory" number XX, assigned to Brezhnev, de jure became an undelivered copy.

Secret of the First Order

The fate of the Order of Victory No. 1 is shrouded in a real mystery, the holder of which should be the Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Zhukov. However, it is known that the very first order was not numbered and, perhaps, under No. 1 we mean not the award itself, but the serial number of the award and the entry in the order book.

According to documents in Museums and funds, it turns out that Zhukov was awarded the Order No. VI. But the order under this number is assigned to Marshal Vasilevsky, who was awarded ... simultaneously with Zhukov.

On May 31, 1944, Nikolai Shvernik, First Deputy Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, solemnly presented Marshals Zhukov and Vasilevsky with the Order of Victory.

In the typewritten protocol of the Kremlin presentation of awards, next to the line “ZHUKOV Georgy Konstantinovich”, the following is handwritten: “1)”, and next to the next - “VASILEVSKY Alexander Mikhailovich”, the same hand is attributed: “6)”

Kirill Tsyplenkov in the article “Victory Changes Owner” claims that these figures correspond to the numbers from the inventory sheets of descriptions of the two Orders of Victory attached to the copy of the protocol, which were issued by the head of the Secret Department N.F. Obukhov.

On the basis of these three documents, the accounting department of the Financial and Economic Sector of the PVS Administration wrote off valuables from the account. The records of the two corresponding operations dated June 9, 1944 indicate the names of those awarded, the registration numbers of the Orders of Victory awarded and the amount of their value: No. 1 Zhukov G.K. - 17.090–30»; « No. 6 Vasilevsky - 13.377–33».

Straightaway after Zhukov's funeral, held on June 21, 1974 on Red Square, his awards were transferred to the Commandant's Office of the Mausoleum V.I. Lenin.

On June 24, 1974, Major Barkhatov, the head of the security shift of the Commandant's Office of the Mausoleum, delivered a package with orders and medals of the marshal to the Secret Section of the PVS Secretariat.

In January 1976, the Main Political Directorate of the Soviet Army and Navy applied to the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet with a request to transfer the awards of Marshal Zhukov (including two Orders of Victory) for exhibiting in Central Museum of the Armed Forces of the USSR.

July 24, 1980 transfer orders of Zhukov - No. I and No. VIII- allowed. This is reflected in the Marshal's record card: "2 Orders of Victory (No. 1 and No. 8) and the Marshal's Star were transferred to the Central Museum of the Armed Forces of the USSR on 24-VII-80."

However, a week later, on August 1, 1980, the place of the order with No. I was suddenly taken by the order No. VI. This is displayed in act of receipt of orders "Victory" Zhukov and for permanent storage in the Central Museum of the Armed Forces of the USSR, signed by the head of the museum, Colonel B.D. Ozhgibesov:

“Received from the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR through the Main Political Directorate of the Soviet Army and Navy, two Orders of Victory, which belonged to Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov, accepted into the fund and credited under the following inventory numbers:

• Order of Victory. On the reverse side of the badge is engraved “VI”, inv. No. 91830/6/14118.
• Order of Victory. On the reverse side of the badge is engraved "VIII", inv. №>91831/6/14119".

It seems unlikely that museum workers could accidentally confuse the unique order No. 1 with 169 diamonds (see above) with the “regular” No. 6, which has 174 diamonds.

Description of the order "Victory" No. I - 169 diamonds instead of the prescribed 174

But a fact is a fact, and the Central Museum of the Armed Forces of the USSR now exhibits Order "Victory" Zhukov under No. VI and VIII.

The daughter of the famous military leader Era Georgievna Zhukova looks at her father in the Museum of the Order of Victory

Order of "Victory" Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Zhukov

“Order “Victory” No. VI Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Zhukov. A badge with the same number was awarded to Marshal Vasilevsky

"Order" Victory "No. VIII of the commander of the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front Georgy Zhukov

Reward from someone else's tunic for Stalin

Another incident occurred with the award of the Marshal of the Soviet Union Ivan Konev. On June 25, 1945, the day after the Victory Parade and the reception in the Kremlin that followed, the military leader was forced to exchange the Order of Victory recently awarded to him for a new one, since the sign “ mount fell off».

From left to right: Marshals of the Soviet Union and holders of the Order of Victory L.A. Govorov, I.S. Konev, K.K. Rokossovsky and A.M. Vasilevsky on the podium of the Mausoleum during the Victory Parade on June 24, 1945

The relevant act, signed by the head of the Financial Sector and the head of the Secret Section, states: “Instead of the damaged order of VICTORY, another order was issued for No. 15 comrade. KONEV, and the Order of VICTORY No. 10 was handed over for repairs ".

Act of acceptance from Marshal of the Soviet Union I.S. Konev of the Order of Victory No. X and the issuance of the Order of Victory No. XV to him

Specialists of the Moscow Jewelry and Watch Factory quickly repaired the award by soldering the screw pin, and the very next day, June 26, 1945, the second-hand Order of Victory №X was prepared for handing himself Comrade Stalin.

However, the leader refused to accept an award from someone else's tunic. He descended to her only five years later.

Together with the Order of Victory by Konev, Stalin was awarded two Orders of Lenin, the Gold Star medal of the Hero of the Soviet Union, a certificate of conferring the title of Generalissimo, an order book for the Order of Victory and a book of the Hero of the Soviet Union.

The fate of the orders "Victory"

As already mentioned, a total of 22 Orders of Victory were made, only 20 were awarded, and even fewer cavaliers - 17. Georgy Zhukov, Alexander Vasilevsky and Joseph Stalin became knights twice, badges with numbers XXI and XXII were never awarded. Rewarding Brezhnev was cancelled.

According to Soviet laws, if a front-line order bearer died before 1977, his relatives were required to surrender all orders to the state, except for the October Revolution and the Patriotic War. After the death of holders of the Order of Victory, the award, according to the statute, was to be deposited in Order pantry of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

On February 15, 1977, the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Council was signed, establishing that all awards of the deceased gentlemen remain in the family for storage as a memory in relation to civil law on the order of inheritance.

The ability to transfer awards for display and storage in museums now depended on consent of heirs. However, by this time all the Soviet holders of the Order of Victory were already dead, and their awards took their place in museums.

Until 1977, the Order of Victory after the death of a cavalier had to surrender to the state

The collection of the Moscow Kremlin Museums contains nine Orders of Victory

Five orders of "Victory" are in the Museum of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation

Two Orders of Victory are kept in the Museum of the Gokhran of Russia and one in the Hermitage

Now the collection of the Moscow Kremlin Museums contains nine "Pobeda": two Stalinist, one each of the Order of Meretskov, Konev, Timoshenko, Govorov, Antonov, Rokossovsky, Tolbukhin and Brezhnev.

Five orders are in the Museum of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation: two Zhukovs, two Vasilevskys and one Malinovsky. At the same time, copies of orders are exhibited in the Victory Hall of this museum, the orders themselves are in storerooms.

Two orders are kept in the Museum of the Gokhran of Russia: owned by Tymoshenko - in the funds, and one of the undelivered copies - in the "Diamond Fund".

More one undelivered "Victory" is in the Hermitage.

Total 17 awards, that is, all orders awarded to citizens of the USSR are with the state.

Reference of the head of the department of awards of the PVS of the USSR R.A. Eldarova about the locations of all 22 Orders of Victory. May 1985

The heirs of foreign cavaliers could not comply with the laws of the USSR, continuing to own the priceless Orders of Victory.

Orders awarded Field Marshal Montgomery, General Eisenhower and Marshal Tito, transferred to the museums of their countries:

• • • Eisenhower's award is located at the 34th President's Memorial Library in his hometown of Abilene, Kansas;
    • “Field Marshal Montgomery's victory is on display at the Imperial War Museum in London (UK);
    • the Order of Marshal Tito is stored in the Museum of the History of Yugoslavia in Belgrade (Serbia).

"Victory" Polish Marshal Rol-Zhymersky stayed in the family. According to Maria Sarycheva, a researcher in the sector of phaleristics and Russian artistic metal of the 12th-17th centuries of the Armory Chamber of the Moscow Kremlin, in 2007 the heirs tried to sell the order. Now his fate is not known.

Covered in darkness and the fate of the order "Victory", which belonged to King Mihai I of Romania. To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Victory in 2005, he came to Moscow without him. There were persistent rumors among collectors that Michael I sold the order to John Rockefeller for $700,000, who, in turn, put it up for auction, where it was bought by an unknown collector for $2 million.

To dispel speculation, the king's press office issued a statement in 2015:

“The rumors about the sale of the Order of Victory have no basis. The award is kept in the estate of Verhois (Switzerland), and the king cherishes it very much..

However, the royal "Victory" was never shown to the public. She was not seen at the funeral of Michael I, who died in December 2017.

The 115th anniversary of the birth of Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov has come (November 19). And today you can meet such disputes between military and civilian historians - Zhukov: a genius or a villain? There are many points of view about Zhukov, about the style of his work and command and control: "the butcher" - did not spare the soldier, walked over the corpses; He won all his victories “on the ready”, when other military leaders had prepared all the victories before him; Zhukov's military talent is a propaganda myth; Zhukov won the war - this is a lie, it was won by a soldier. Well, and so on. But Zhukov is such a titan that he is not afraid of any, the most ridiculous judgments.

THROUGH THE FIRES OF THE BATTLE

Georgy Konstantinovich was born in the village of Strelkovka, Kaluga Region. He graduated from three classes of the parochial school with a certificate of merit. Furrier then in Moscow, at the same time he completed a two-year course at the city school.

Since August 7, 1915 in the army. As a cavalry non-commissioned officer in the summer of 1916, he was sent to the Southwestern Front in the 10th Novgorod Dragoon Regiment. For the capture of a German officer, he is awarded the St. George Cross of the 4th degree. shell-shocked. For a wound in battle, he receives the St. George Cross of the 3rd degree.

The revolution liquidated the cavalry and the army in general. Severely ill with typhus, Zhukov returns to his village. But already in the summer of 1918 he entered the Red Army. The following year he becomes a member of the RCP(b). Red Army soldier Georgy Zhukov fought on the Eastern, Western, Southern fronts against the Ural Cossacks, near Tsaritsyn, with the troops of Denikin and Wrangel.

In the summer of 1919, he participated in battles with the Cossacks in the area of ​​the Shipovo station, in the battles for Uralsk, for Vladimirovka, for Nikolaevsk. In the autumn of 1919, between Zaplavny and Srednyaya Akhtuba, he was seriously wounded by grenade fragments. It is being treated. He graduated from the Ryazan cavalry courses and in the fall of 1920 was appointed commander of a platoon, then a squadron. A year later, he participates in the suppression of a peasant uprising in the Tambov region (the so-called "Antonovshchina").

It seems mystical and difficult to comprehend that death could overtake Zhukov at any moment during the six years spent in more than 60 large and small battles. Each fight could be the last. And Zhukov's further military service is not replete with calmness and serenity. Here are her main milestones.

Since May 1923, Zhukov has commanded the 39th regiment of the 7th Samara Cavalry Division. A year later, he graduated from the Higher Cavalry School. Then - the courses of the highest commanding staff of the Red Army. In 1930 he received the 2nd brigade of the 7th Samara Cavalry Division, commanded by Rokossovsky. Then he served in the Belarusian Military District under the command of I.P. Uborevich.

During the period of repressions of 1937-1938, both military leaders will be arrested. Konstantin Konstantinovich will go through all the circles of hell, but will not break, and Jerome Petrovich will be shot. It was at that time that a meeting of the party organization of the 6th Cavalry Corps was held, at which the statements of some political workers and commanders were examined about the "enemy methods of commander Zhukov in educating cadres" and that he "was in close relations with the enemies of the people." However, the party activists made a decision: "Let's limit ourselves to discussing the issue and take note of Comrade Zhukov's explanation."

Fate or Providence seemed to carefully guard their chosen one for some higher purpose. In the summer of 1939, Zhukov defeated the grouping of Japanese troops under General Kamatsubara on the Khalkhin Gol River. For this operation, the commander was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. A year later, he is already the commander of the troops of the Kyiv Special Military District.

When attesting the command staff of the Red Army, he receives the rank of army general. In this capacity, he holds two brilliant command and staff games under the general title "Offensive operation of the front with a breakthrough of fortified areas", demonstrating outstanding operational and tactical skills. Why is Stalin nominated for the post of Chief of the General Staff.

WHO WAS IN THE BATTLE, THAT PAIN AND RAGE FULLY KNOWN

The relationship between the leader and the commander has never been cloudless. Here is what the Kremlin guard A.T. Rybin writes about this in his book “Next to Stalin”:

“Not a single historian has yet been able to reveal the secret of their relationship, which, although democratic, was at the same time complex and mysterious. While one of the theorists will be able to unravel them, let's try to use the experience of a person who knew both well. The commandant of the nearby dacha, Orlov, served under Stalin from 1937 to 1953. So, he had the right to note the most important thing in the character of the leader:

- He did not like conciliatory judgments like: As you say, so we will do.

In such cases, he usually said:

I don't need such advisers.

Having learned this, I sometimes argued with him, defending my point of view, Stalin grumbled in puzzlement:

- Okay, I'll think about it.

He could not stand it when they entered him, bending or going forward with their heels. It was necessary to go to him with a firm step. If necessary, at any time. The office never closed. Now we add the following judgment of Orlov:

Stalin respected Zhukov for his frankness and patriotism. He was Stalin's most honored guest.

Together with the gift of a military leader, this was apparently already enough for Stalin to restrain his natural anger at Zhukov’s unheard-of trick on December 4, endured the whole day of the fifth, and only at exactly midnight on the HF carefully asked:

- Comrade Zhukov, how is Moscow?

“Comrade Stalin, we will not surrender Moscow,” assured Georgy Konstantinovich.

"Then I'll go and rest for two hours."

- Can...

Yes, Stalin managed then to refrain from indignation, but he still did not forget the insult. That is why such a commander was awarded only a medal for the most difficult operation of the entire war.

And for the first time, Stalin and Zhukov became white-hot already on the seventh day of the war. Here is how Mikoyan recalls that conflict:

“Stalin called the People's Commissariat of Defense Marshal Timoshenko. However, he could not say anything specific about the situation in the Western direction. Alarmed by such a course of affairs, Stalin suggested that we all go to the People's Commissariat and deal with the situation on the spot. Timoshenko, Zhukov and Vatutin were in the People's Commissar's office. Stalin kept calm, asking where the command of the front was, what kind of connection he had with him. Zhukov reported that the connection was lost and it was not possible to restore it for the whole day. We talked quietly for about half an hour. Then Stalin exploded: what kind of General Staff, what kind of chief of the General Staff, who is so confused that he has no connection with the troops, does not represent anyone and does not command anyone. Since there is no communication, the General Staff is powerless to lead. Zhukov, of course, was no less worried about the state of affairs than Stalin, and such a shout from Stalin was insulting to him. This courageous man could not stand it, burst into tears like a woman, and quickly went into another room. Molotov followed him. We were all dejected."

Here it is necessary to make a reservation: the cunning Anastas Ivanovich and the straightforward Georgy Konstantinovich never sympathized with each other, if not to say that they were secretly at enmity.

I will give another testimony of the writer N.A. Zenkovich, who talked on this topic with V.M. Molotov:

The price of a second stroke of the pen of Marshal Zhukov when accepting the surrender of Germany is a great feat of the people and the army.
"The Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. in photographs and film documents. T. 5. M., 1989

“The quarrel broke out the hardest, with swearing and threats. Stalin swore at Timoshenko, Zhukov and Vatutin, called them mediocrity, nonentities, company clerks, footcloths. Nervous tension also affected the military. Timoshenko and Zhukov also said in the heat of the moment a lot of insulting things against the leader. In the end, the whitened Zhukov sent Stalin to his mother and demanded to leave the office immediately and not interfere with them studying the situation and making decisions. Amazed by such impudence of the military, Beria tried to stand up for the leader, but Stalin, without saying goodbye to anyone, headed for the exit.

It was then that on the steps of the Ministry of Defense, Joseph Vissarionovich pronounced his famous: “Lenin left us a great legacy, and we, his heirs, are all about it! complex, sometimes difficult, and even completely impossible assignments. And almost never the commander did not let the leader down.

Georgy Konstantinovich was a member of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, Deputy Supreme Commander, First Deputy People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR. He commanded the fronts: Reserve, Leningrad, Western (at the same time he was commander in chief of the Western direction), 1st Ukrainian, 1st Belorussian. In 1942 alone, Zhukov personally carried out four major offensive operations: Moscow, Rzhev-Vyazemskaya, First and Second Rzhev-Sychevskaya.

In addition to the operational activities of the commander, Zhukov, according to the version put forward by him and Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky in his memoirs, is also a co-author (together with Vasilevsky) of the key Soviet military plan of 1942 - the plan for the strategic operation "Uranus" to defeat the German troops near Stalingrad. True, this plan, which, according to the memoirs of Zhukov and Vasilevsky, bears their and Stalin's signatures, has not yet been published, despite the expiration of the statute of limitations.

And here is the time for the recognition of the great commander:

“War is an extremely difficult test for the whole people. These are mass casualties, blood, disability for life. This is a heavy psychological impact on all people bearing the burdens of war. This is gold for those who trade in weapons of war. In war there are no absolute heroes, absolutely courageous military leaders. Heroes are those who, in moments of difficult circumstances, managed to pull themselves together, overcome fear and not succumb to a panic mood. Our work will have to be continued by young people. It is very important that they learn from our failures and our successes. The science of winning is not a simple science. But the one who learns, who strives to win, who fights for the cause, in the rightness of which he believes, will always win. I have learned this from many lessons in my own life.”

Revelation is worth a lot. In any case, it sheds some light on the desire of Georgy Konstantinovich to pass off as reality many of his good wishes, left to us in his main work, Memoirs and Reflections. The simplest example. Zhukov writes:

“On the morning of June 22, People's Commissar S.K. Timoshenko, N.F. Vatutin and I were in the office of the People's Commissar of Defense. At 03:07, the commander of the Black Sea, Admiral F.S. Oktyabrsky, called me on HF and said: The Fleet VNOS system reports on the approach from the sea of ​​a large number of unknown aircraft. At 03:30, the chief of staff of the Western District, General V.E. Klimovskikh, reported on a German raid on the cities of Belarus. Three minutes later, the chief of staff of the Kyiv district, General M.A. Purkaev, reported on an air raid on the cities of Ukraine. The People's Commissar ordered me to call I.V. Stalin. I'm calling. Nobody answers the phone. I call continuously. Finally, I hear the sleepy voice of the guard general on duty:

– Who is speaking?

- Chief of the General Staff Zhukov. Please urgently connect me with Comrade Stalin.

- What? Now? - the head of security was amazed. Comrade Stalin is sleeping.

- Wake up immediately, the Germans are bombing our cities!

About three minutes later I.V. Stalin approached the apparatus. I reported the situation and asked permission to start retaliatory hostilities."

In this long quotation from the memoirs of the greatest commander, only geographical names and surnames of people are accurate. Everything else is a tragic untruth, which, with the light hand of the commander, became the basis for all further distortions and outright insinuations in the description of the beginning of the war.

As early as 18 hours 27 minutes on June 21, 1941, Vyacheslav Molotov delivered to the Kremlin absolutely accurate information about the exact time of the Nazi attack! This is now an indisputable historical fact! As well as the fact that in his memoirs Georgy Konstantinovich bypassed almost all his failures, miscalculations, imperfections, including the assault on the famous Seelow Heights, leaving only personal ups and downs, which, of course, were the vast majority.

During 1943, Zhukov coordinated the actions of the fronts in Operation Iskra during the breakthrough of the Leningrad blockade. On January 18, he was awarded the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union - the first Marshal of the USSR since the beginning of the war. Since March 17, Zhukov has been in the Belgorod direction of the emerging Kursk Bulge. Since July 5, he has been coordinating the actions of the Western, Bryansk, Steppe and Voronezh fronts. After Vatutin's death, Stalin ordered Zhukov to lead the 1st Ukrainian Front. In March-April 1944, Georgy Konstantinovich carried out an offensive Proskurov-Chernivtsi operation and went to the foothills of the Carpathians.

On April 10, 1944, the marshal was awarded the highest military award - the Order of Victory, number 1. In the summer of 1944, Zhukov coordinated the actions of the 1st and 2nd Belorussian fronts in Operation Bagration. At the final stage of the war, the 1st Belorussian Front, led by Marshal Zhukov, together with the 1st Ukrainian Front under the command of Ivan Stepanovich Konev, carried out the Vistula-Oder operation, during which the Soviet troops liberated Warsaw, defeated Army Group A of General J. Harpe and Field Marshal F. Scherner. For this, Zhukov received the second Order of Victory, number 5.

The 1st Belorussian Front (1 million 28 thousand 900 people) lost 77 thousand 342 people (7.5%), at the same time the 1st Ukrainian Front (1 million 83 thousand 800 people) lost 115 thousand 783 people (10.7%). So not always Zhukov "did not spare the soldiers." On May 8, 1945, in Karlshorst (Berlin), Georgy Konstantinovich accepted the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany from Hitler's Field Marshal Wilhelm von Keitel and was appointed commander of a group of Soviet troops in Germany.

However, the greatest trust placed by the leader in the first Soviet commander was the reception of the Victory Parade of the Soviet Union over Germany in the Great Patriotic War, which took place in Moscow on Red Square. Marshal Konstantin Konstantinovich Rokossovsky commanded the parade. This is not even a royal or royal gift - it is an inscription on the tablets of Eternity. Only great leaders can do such actions.

Military exercises in 1940. Georgy Zhukov in 60 battles has already formed as a commander.

On September 7, 1945, the Victory Parade of the Allied Forces in World War II took place in Berlin at the Brandenburg Gate. Marshal Zhukov hosted the parade from the Soviet Union. And these were his most important military leadership heights.

THE CITIZEN WAS NOT FORGIVEN THAT I DID NOT PAY PARTICIPATION FEES

In peaceful life, Georgy Konstantinovich somehow immediately outlined many and rather complex problems. Accustomed for the long 1418 days of the war to be everywhere and everywhere "king, god and chief military commander", the marshal did not immediately fit into the Kremlin's court coordinates. So, in the summer of 1946, a meeting of the Main Military Council was held, at which the "case of Marshal Zhukov was examined based on the materials of the interrogation of A.A. Novikov."

From the statement of Air Chief Marshal A.A. Novikov, written in the name of I.V. Stalin:

“Regarding Zhukov, I first of all want to say that he is an exceptionally power-hungry and narcissistic person, loves fame, honor and servility before him very much and cannot tolerate objections. Zhukov likes to know everything that is happening at the top, and at his request, when Zhukov was at the front, to the extent that I was able to find out, I supplied him with relevant information about what was being done at Headquarters. In this meanness in front of you, I recognize my heavy guilt. So, there were cases when, after visiting the Stavka, I told Zhukov about Stalin's moods, when and for what Stalin scolded me and others, what kind of conversations I heard there, etc. Zhukov very cunningly, subtly and in a cautious manner, in conversations with me, as well as with other persons, tried to belittle the leading role in the war of the Supreme High Command, and at the same time, Zhukov, without hesitation, sticks out his role in the war as a commander and even declares that all the main plans for military operations are developed by him.

Georgy Konstantinovich was accused of inflating his "victorious merits." Stalin personally formulated claims to "his own right hand":

“He took credit for the development of operations to which he had nothing to do.”

Evidence was given in abundance. However, it should be noted: at that meeting, all the top military leaders, with the exception of the head of the Main Personnel Directorate F.I. Golikov, spoke out in support of Zhukov. Nevertheless, members of the Politburo unanimously accused the "Marshal of Victory" of "Bonapartism." It is possible that the top party bosses thus "paid off" for the marshal's obstinacy and personal disrespect for them.

In June 1946, an investigation was launched into the so-called Zhukov trophy case. Its basis was the denunciation of adjutant Zhukov Semochkin. Allegedly, Zhukov was hostile to Comrade Stalin. He spoke non-party to the Allies in Frankfurt. Sold the car to the writer Slavin. He was greedy and appropriated trophy values: furs, paintings, carpets, chandeliers, gold, jewelry, sets, etc. He spent many thousands of public money for personal needs. Gathered a large collection of hunting rifles. Never personally paid party dues.

Of course, Zhukov, in a letter to the Central Committee of the CPSU (b) and Comrade A. A. Zhdanov, rejects most of these slanderous statements. He's writing:

“I ask the Central Committee to take into account the fact that I made some mistakes during the war without malicious intent, and in fact I have never been a bad servant of the Party, the Motherland and the great Stalin. I always honestly and conscientiously carried out all the instructions of Comrade. Stalin. I admit that I am very guilty that I did not hand over all this junk that I did not need somewhere to the warehouse, hoping that no one needed it. I take a strong Bolshevik oath not to make such mistakes and stupidities. I am sure that the Motherland, the great leader comrade, will still need me. Stalin and the party. Please leave me in the party. I will correct the mistakes made and will not allow the high rank of a member of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks to be soiled. 01/12/1948. Member of the CPSU (b) Zhukov.

Removed from the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces, Zhukov for some time commanded the troops of the Odessa, then the Ural military districts. His every move was followed. Somehow, on New Year's Eve, General Vladimir Kryukov and his wife Lidia Ruslanova and General Konstantin Telegin and his wife came to the disgraced Georgy Konstantinovich. The singer, having crossed the threshold of the commander's house, took out two shot black grouse from the bag and said loudly:

"I wish you, our Great Conqueror, that all your enemies look exactly like these two birds."

After the death of Stalin, Beria did everything so that the disgraced marshal became the first deputy minister of defense N.A. Bulganin. They say that Georgy Konstantinovich warned his benefactor that he would soon be "tied up", but Lavrenty Pavlovich was too confident in his strength. Zhukov was also part of the group that arrested Beria.

Zhukov cannot stand among the elite tsarist generals, since all his life he was not surrounded by highly educated officers, but in a faceless mass of obedient, ready to betray, slander, and condemn at the first call of the party. But, Zhukov was and will remain the greatest commander of all times and peoples, and no revelations, current or future, can belittle his contribution to the achievement of Victory. But that is precisely why I cannot understand and forgive the truly great Zhukov for the fact that he (in the last days, hours of the war) took the Seelow Heights head-on, the most powerful center of resistance built by the Germans, putting hundreds of thousands of our soldiers there.

In 1954, Zhukov personally conducted an exercise using nuclear weapons at the Totsk test site. At least 45,000 soldiers were heavily exposed to radioactive radiation. No one knows how many civilians were injured. And having become the Minister of Defense, Georgy Konstantinovich was almost the first order to increase the salaries of military personnel. For "the suppression of the Hungarian fascist rebellion" and in connection with the 60th anniversary of his birth, he was awarded the fourth Gold Star medal. But a year later, the "maize plant" dismissed the "Marshal of Victory".

In the already mentioned memoirs, Zhukov still managed to make a very clumsy curtsy to L.I. Brezhnev, thereby giving rise to a flurry of sarcastic anecdotes, such as:

- Comrade Stalin, it's time to start the operation "Bagration"!

- Wait, comrade Zhukov, it will be necessary to consult with comrade Brezhnev!

“Afanasy Pavlantievich, tell us about Zhukov. Is it true that the generals and marshals considered him Stalin's favorite?

- Maybe someone thought so, like the same Konev, who all his life tried to compete with his savior. After all, if Zhukov had not taken Konev as his deputy, Stalin would have slapped Ivan for sure. No, Stalin had no favorites. He simply valued people according to their merits. And Zhukov, no matter what they say about him now, has always been the first among equals. I can't put anyone next to him. Everything was present in him: talent, cruelty, and a fierce thirst for power. There were no others like this in our army. Perhaps there never was. And never will be again."

The only marshal, four times Hero of the Soviet Union, the only holder of two Orders of Victory, the only Russian commander who has the largest number of military awards, whose name is most immortalized, he adequately closes the row: Macedonian, Hannibal, Caesar, Genghis Khan, Tamerlane, Napoleon, Suvorov, Kutuzov. In any case, the 20th century does not know another commander of this magnitude. And God willing, such military talents will never be needed again.

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Established by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of November 8, 1943. The Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of August 18, 1944 approved the sample and description of the ribbon of the Order of Victory, as well as the procedure for wearing the bar with the ribbon of the Order.

Order status.

Order "Victory" is the highest military order. It is awarded to senior officers of the Red Army for the successful conduct of such combat operations on the scale of one or more fronts, as a result of which the situation is radically changing in favor of the Red Army.

For those awarded with the Order "Victory", a memorial plaque is established, as a sign of special distinction, to include the names of holders of the Order "Victory" on it. The memorial plaque is installed in the Grand Kremlin Palace. The awarding of this order is made only by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

The Order "Victory" is worn on the left side of the chest 12-14 cm above the waist.

Description of the order.

The Badge of the Order "Victory" is a convex five-pointed ruby ​​star bordered with diamonds. In the gaps between the ends of the star, diverging rays studded with diamonds. The middle of the star is a circle covered with blue enamel, bordered by a laurel-oak wreath. In the center of the circle is a golden image of the Kremlin wall with Lenin's mausoleum and the Spasskaya Tower in the center. Above the image is the inscription in white enamel letters "USSR". At the bottom of the circle on a red enamel ribbon is the inscription in white enamel letters "VICTORY".

The badge of the order is made of platinum. Platinum, gold, silver, enamel, five artificial rubies in the rays of a star and 174 small diamonds are used in the decoration of the order.

The size of the star between opposite peaks is 72 mm. The diameter of the circle with the image of the Spasskaya Tower is 31 mm. The total weight of the order is 78 g. The content of platinum in the order is 47 g, gold - 2 g, silver - 19 g. The weight of each of the five rubies is 5 carats. The total weight of the diamonds on the sign is 16 carats.

On the reverse side, the badge has a threaded pin with a nut for attaching the order to clothing.

Ribbon for the order "Victory" silk moire. In the middle of the tape there is a red stripe 15 mm wide. On the sides, closer to the edges, stripes of green, blue, burgundy and light blue. The ribbon is bordered with orange and black stripes. The total width of the tape is 46 mm. Height - 8 mm. The ribbon of the Order "Victory" is worn on the left side of the chest, on a separate bar, 1 cm higher than other order ribbons.

History of the Order.

The Order "Victory" is the highest military order of the USSR. This military order was established simultaneously with the soldier's Order of Glory.

One of the first, in July 1943, the project of the order called "For Loyalty to the Motherland" was submitted for consideration by the officer of the rear headquarters of the Soviet Army, Colonel Neelov N.S. However, Stalin did not approve of this project and work on the creation of a sketch of this award was continued. Among the many variants of the Order "Victory" submitted for the competition, preference was given to the sketch of the artist AI Kuznetsov, who was also the author of the Order of the Patriotic War. Initially, in the center of the sign, Kuznetsov planned to mark the bust profile bas-reliefs of Lenin and Stalin (as was the case in Neelov's previous project), then the option of placing the Order of the State Emblem of the USSR in the center was considered. In the final version, it was decided to replace the image of the coat of arms in the center of the sign with the image of the Spasskaya Tower of the Kremlin.

Order No. 1 was awarded to the commander of the 1st Ukrainian Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union Zhukov G.K. April 10, 1944 for the liberation of right-bank Ukraine. The second order "Victory" Zhukov received, being the commander of the 1st Belorussian Front, on March 30, 1945 (for the capture of Berlin).

In addition to him, this award was awarded (in the order of awarding) marshals:

• Chief of the General Staff (later commander of the 3rd Belorussian Front) Vasilevsky A.M. (April 10, 1944 and April 19, 1945) - for the liberation of the right-bank Ukraine and for the capture of Koenigsberg and the liberation of East Prussia.
• Supreme Commander-in-Chief Stalin I.V. (July 29, 1944 and June 26, 1945) - for the liberation of right-bank Ukraine and the victory over Germany.
• Commander of the 2nd Belorussian Front Rokossovsky K.K. (March 30, 1945) - for the liberation of Poland.
• Commander of the 1st Ukrainian Front Konev I.S. (March 30, 1945) - for the liberation of Poland and the crossing of the Oder.
• Commander of the 2nd Ukrainian Front Malinovsky R.Ya. (April 26, 1945) - for the liberation of the territories of Hungary and Austria.
• Commander of the 3rd Ukrainian Front Tolbukhin F.I. (April 26, 1945) - for the liberation of the territories of Hungary and Austria.
• Commander of the Leningrad Front Govorov L.A. (May 31, 1945) - for the liberation of the Baltic states.
• Representative of the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander Timoshenko S.K. (June 4, 1945) - for planning combat operations and coordinating fronts throughout the war.
• Chief of the General Staff Antonov A.I. (General of the Army) (June 4, 1945) - for planning combat operations and coordinating the actions of the fronts throughout the war.
• Commander of the Far Eastern Front Meretskov K.A. (September 8, 1945) - following the results of the war with Japan.

Among foreign citizens this order was awarded to:

• Army General D. Eisenhower (June 5, 1945).
• Field Marshal B. L. Montgomery, Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Armed Forces in Western Europe (June 5, 1945).
• King of Romania Mihai I (July 6, 1945).
• Supreme Commander of the Polish Army (on the territory of the USSR), General M. Rola-Zhymersky (August 9, 1945).
• Supreme Commander of the Yugoslav People's Liberation Army Marshal Iosif-Broz Tito (September 9, 1945).
  On February 20, 1978, the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU, Marshal of the Soviet Union was awarded the Order of Victory
• Brezhnev L.I. After Brezhnev's death, the award was cancelled.

Thus, it is clear that only 12 Soviet military leaders (Zhukov, Vasilevsky and Stalin - twice) and 5 foreign citizens became holders of the Order of Victory.

All badges of the order awarded to Soviet military leaders, as well as the badge of the order awarded to Marshal Rola-Zhymersky, are in the Diamond Fund of Russia. Eisenhower's award is in his memorial museum in Abilene, Kansas. Marshal Tito's award is on display at the 25 May Museum in Belgrade. Field Marshal Montgomery's award is on display at the Imperial War Museum in London. Only one Order of Victory, previously owned by King Michael I, is in a private collection. According to some reports, it was auctioned by one of the relatives of the dictator Ceausescu.

In total, the Order of Victory made 20 awards (one of which was subsequently canceled).

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 is the Order "Victory"? Below we will give an approximate price for some rooms:

The estimated value of the order in 1945 was 3,750 pounds, at the moment it can be more than $ 100,000.

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.

Established by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of November 8, 1943. The Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of August 18, 1944 approved the sample and description of the ribbon of the Order of Victory, as well as the procedure for wearing the bar with the ribbon of the Order.

The Order "Victory" is the highest military order of the USSR, which was awarded to senior officers of the Red Army for the successful conduct of such military operations on the scale of one or more fronts, as a result of which the situation radically changed in favor of the Red Army.

It was created according to the sketches of the artist Alexander Kuznetsov.

Order of Glory

Established by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of November 8, 1943. Subsequently, the Statute of the Order was partially amended by Decrees of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of February 26 and December 16, 1947 and August 8, 1957.

The Order of Glory is a military order of the USSR. They were awarded to the privates and sergeants of the Red Army, and in aviation and to persons with the rank of junior lieutenant, who showed glorious feats of courage, courage and fearlessness in the battles for the Soviet Motherland.

The statute of the Order of Glory indicated the feats for which this distinction could be awarded. It could be obtained, for example, by the one who first broke into the enemy’s location, who in battle saved the banner of his unit or captured the enemy’s, who, risking his life, saved the commander in battle, who shot down a fascist aircraft from a personal weapon (rifle or machine gun) or destroyed up to 50 enemy soldiers, etc.

The Order of Glory had three degrees: I, II and III. The highest degree of the order was the I degree. The award was made sequentially: first the third, then the second and, finally, the first degree.

The sign of the order was created according to the sketches of the chief artist of the CDKA Nikolai Moskalev. It is a five-pointed star with a relief image of the Kremlin with the Spasskaya Tower in the center. The Order of Glory is worn on the left side of the chest, in the presence of other orders of the USSR it is located after the Order of the Badge of Honor in order of seniority.

The badge of the order of the 1st degree is made of gold, the badge of the order of the 2nd degree is made of silver, with gilding, the badge of the order of the 3rd degree is completely silver, without gilding.

The order is worn on a pentagonal block covered with a St. George ribbon (orange with three black longitudinal stripes).

The right to award the Order of Glory of the III degree was presented to the commanders of divisions and corps, the II degree - to the commanders of armies and fronts, the I degree was awarded only by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

The first full knights of the Order of Glory by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of July 22, 1944 were the soldiers of the 3rd Belorussian Front - sapper corporal Mitrofan Pitenin and scout senior sergeant Konstantin Shevchenko. Orders of Glory, 1st class for No. 1 and No. 2, were awarded to the soldiers of the Leningrad Front to the infantryman of the guard, senior sergeant Nikolai Zaletov and the scout of the guard, foreman Viktor Ivanov.

In January 1945, for the only time in the history of the existence of the award, the Order of Glory was awarded to the entire private and sergeant staff of a military unit. This honor for heroism in breaking through the enemy defenses on the Vistula River was awarded to the first rifle battalion of the 215th Red Banner Regiment of the 77th Guards Chernihiv Rifle Division.

In total, about 980 thousand people were awarded the Order of Glory of the III degree, about 46 thousand became holders of the Order of the II degree, 2656 soldiers were awarded Orders of Glory of three degrees (including those who were re-awarded).

Four women became full cavaliers of the Order of Glory: gunner-radio operator of the guards foreman Nadezhda Zhurkina-Kiek, machine gunner sergeant Danute Staniliene-Markauskienė, medical instructor foreman Matrena Necheporchukova-Nazdracheva and sniper of the 86th Tartu Rifle Division foreman Nina Petrova.

For subsequent special feats, four cavaliers of the three Orders of Glory were also awarded the highest distinction of the Motherland - the title of Hero of the Soviet Union: guard pilot junior lieutenant Ivan Drachenko, infantry foreman Pavel Dubinda, gunners senior sergeant Nikolai Kuznetsov and guard senior sergeant Andrey Aleshin.

On January 15, 1993, the law "On the status of Heroes of the Soviet Union, Heroes of the Russian Federation and full cavaliers of the Order of Glory" was adopted, according to which the rights of those awarded with these awards were equalized. Persons awarded these awards, as well as members of their families, received the right to certain benefits in housing conditions, in the treatment of wounds and illnesses, in the use of transport, etc.

The material was prepared on the basis of information from open sources