On August 1, 1939, the medal "Hero of the Soviet Union" was established, but no one was awarded it. On October 16, 1939, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the medal "Hero of the Soviet Union" received a new name - "Gold Star". The same Decree approved the drawing and description of the medal, designed by the artist I. I. Dubasov. The medal was made of gold in the form of a five-pointed star. The rays of the star are two-sided. On the reverse side - the inscription "Hero of the USSR" and the number of the medal. The sash, introduced later, is red, 20 mm wide.

All those who before October 16, 1939 were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union were awarded a new medal. According to the Decrees of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, a bronze bust was to be erected in their homeland for those awarded with two Gold Star medals. Three times the Heroes of the Soviet Union, in addition to three "Golden 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 fulfilled, and not a single column appeared in Moscow, although Heroes of the Soviet Union were entered into the annals of the history of the Fatherland three times and even four times. It is impossible to say with certainty which of the Soviet soldiers on June 22, 1941 was the first to perform a feat, for which he was subsequently awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. It could be Major P. M. Gavrilov, who led the defense of the Brest Fortress, and the border guards of many outposts of the western borders of our country.

The border guards of the 5th outpost on the Prut River were among the first to fight the Nazis on the morning of June 22 and repelled 11 enemy attacks in two days. By the end of the third day, the surviving border guards were forced to retreat. However, at night a small group of our fighters made their way to the rear, destroyed the enemy guards and blew up the railway bridge. Three of them - Lieutenant A.K. Konstantinov, Junior Sergeant V.F. Mikhalkov and Sergeant I.D. Buzytskov - were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. The first Heroes could also be border guards - Lieutenants A.V. Lopatin and A.V. Ryzhikov. On June 24, 1941, the Pravda newspaper wrote about the battles on the border: “The Chekist soldiers covered themselves with immortal glory… They fought hand-to-hand, and only through their dead bodies could the enemy advance a span forward.”

The deputy political instructor of the 7th frontier post of the 90th frontier detachment, V.V. Petrov, after a five-hour battle, remained to cover the retreat of his comrades. He was seriously wounded, but continued to shoot. And when the cartridges ran out, he blew himself up and the Nazis surrounding him with the last grenade. The first in the Great Patriotic War the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was officially awarded (by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of July 8, 1941) to three pilots. Fighter pilot junior lieutenant S. I. Zdorovtsev fought the enemy until the cartridges ran out, and then rammed a German bomber with his plane, rushing towards Leningrad. Two days later his feat was repeated by the pilots M.P. Zhukov and P.T. Kharitonov. The first Hero of the Soviet Union in the ground forces was the commander of the 1st motorized rifle division of the 20th Army, Colonel Ya. G. Kreizer. On June 30, 1941, his division took up defensive positions on the eastern bank of the Berezina and in three days destroyed 3,000 enemy soldiers and officers and about 70 tanks. The first Hero-sailor was the assistant platoon commander, senior sergeant V.P. Kislyakov, who distinguished himself in July 1941 during the landing in the Zapadnaya Litsa area in the Arctic. On July 22, 1941, for the first time since the beginning of World War II, the second Gold Star medal was awarded. Pilot Lieutenant Colonel S.P. Suprun became her cavalier posthumously. He commanded the 401st Special Purpose Fighter Aviation Regiment and died on July 4 in an unequal battle with six enemy fighters.

Svetlana Savitskaya connected her fate with aviation from a young age. While still a student at the Moscow Aviation Institute, she became the absolute world champion in aerobatics on piston aircraft, later set three world records in group parachute jumps from the stratosphere and nine world records on jet aircraft.

On August 19, as a research cosmonaut, together with the crew commander twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Colonel L. I. Popov and flight engineer A. A. Serebrov, she flew into space on the Soyuz T-7 spacecraft, which docked with the orbital complex. S. Savitskaya conducted many scientific experiments. For her courage and heroism, Svetlana Savitskaya was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union and the title of Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR. She made her second space flight in July 1984 on the Soyuz T-12 spacecraft. Together with Vladimir Dzhanibekov, the crew commander, Svetlana Savitskaya worked in outer space on July 25 for 3 hours and 35 minutes, during which time she tested a new universal tool designed to perform complex technological operations in outer space. She cut and welded metal, soldered metal plates and sprayed coatings. The results of her experiments have found wide application not only in space flights, but also on earth - in the national economy. She became the first woman - twice Hero of the Soviet Union.

A brilliant galaxy of space explorers was headed by the world's first cosmonaut Yu. A. Gagarin. On April 12, 1961, he circled the Earth on the Vostok spacecraft in 1 hour and 48 minutes. “For the heroic feat - the first flight into space,” said the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of April 15, 1961, “who glorified our socialist Motherland, for the courage, bravery, fearlessness and selfless service to the Soviet people, the cause of communism, the cause of the progress of all mankind , confer the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the award of the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal to the world's first cosmonaut Major Gagarin Yuri Alekseevich and install a bronze bust of the Hero in the city of Moscow "

In August 1961, the second flight into space lasting 25 hours was made by pilot-cosmonaut Major G.S. Titov, who circled the Earth more than 17 times. He also became a Hero of the Soviet Union. In August 1962, cosmonauts A. G. Nikolaev and P. R. Popovich made the first group space flight, which lasted more than 70 hours. In July 1963, V. F. Bykovsky and V. V. Tereshkova carried out the second group flight into space. In October 1964, on the first multi-seat Voskhod spacecraft, the crew, consisting of the ship's commander, Colonel-Engineer V. M. Komarov, researcher K. P. Feoktistov, and physician B. B. Egorov, flew without space suits. In March 1965, for the first time, a man went out into outer space and spent 12 minutes there. This was our compatriot A. A. Leonov.

In October 1968, pilot-cosmonaut G. T. Beregovoy made the closest possible approach of the Soyuz-3 spacecraft, which he controlled, with the unmanned Soyuz-2 spacecraft, which had been put into orbit earlier. The first docking of ships in space was carried out by a space pilot V. A. Shatalov, who piloted the Soyuz-4 spacecraft, and the crew of the Soyuz-5 spacecraft, consisting of cosmonauts B. V. Volynov, A. S. Eliseev and E. V. Khrunov. On January 16, 1969, Eliseev and Khrunov transferred from the Soyuz-5 spacecraft to the Soyuz-4 spacecraft, being in outer space for 37 minutes. After the docking of the two ships, their joint flight lasted more than four and a half hours. Thus, the beginning of the replacement of the crews of spacecraft, orbital stations and rescue work in space was laid. In October 1969, three Soyuz spacecraft with seven cosmonauts on board were launched into near-Earth orbit at once. The flight was directed by V. A. Shatalov, and cosmonauts G. S. Shonin, A. V. Filipchenko, V. N. Kubasov, V. N. Volkov, A. S. Eliseev, and V. V. Gorbatko took part in the experiment. Cosmonauts V. A. Shatalov, A. S. Eliseev and N. N. Rukavishnikov on the Soyuz-10 spacecraft in April 1971 worked out methods of rendezvous and mooring to the orbital station, docked and undocked the spacecraft with it. In June 1971, a crew consisting of G. T. Dobrovolsky, V. N. Volkov and V. I. Patsaev was delivered to the orbital station. Their space watch at the Salyut-2 station lasted more than 23 days. The astronauts did an excellent job, but when they returned to Earth, they died due to a sudden depressurization of the ship.

The duration of space watches at orbital stations was constantly increasing, and the volume and complexity of work increased. In 1975, cosmonauts A. A. Gubarev and G. M. Grechko worked on board the Salyut-4 station for 30 days, and the following year, P. I. Klimuk and V. I. Sevastyanov spent more than two months at the station, having completed a large program of complex research and received a lot of data of great interest to geography, geology, meteorology, oceanology and other sciences. Yu. V. Romanenko and G. M. Grechko spent 96 days in space, V. V. Kovalenok and A. S. Ivanchenkov spent 140 days, and V. A. Lyakhov and V. V. Ryumin spent 175 days in space. In 1984, astronauts L. D. Kizim, O. Yu. Their space watch lasted 237 days. Space exploration is a grandiose, epochal undertaking of all mankind. Millions of people take part in it - workers, engineers, doctors, pilots, scientists, but at the tip of the cosmic spire are the pilots of starships. Most of the astronauts came from their winged family. Many of them, before joining the cosmonaut corps, were excellent pilots, navigators, testers.

The fate of the USSR pilot-cosmonaut G. T. Beregovoy is symbolic in this respect. He flew his first plane into the sky at the age of 16. At the age of 20 he received the first order, and at the age of 23 - the first "Gold Star" of the Hero. In the battles of the Great Patriotic War, he burned three times in an airplane, but got out of these alterations alive and again rose into the sky. At the age of 44, G. T. Beregovoy, an honored test pilot of the USSR, a colonel and a Hero of the Soviet Union, achieved admission to the cosmonaut corps, where they were accepted at the age of 30 years. And after 4 years he was once again awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for the courage and heroism shown during the space flight on October 26–30, 1968 on the Soyuz-3 spacecraft. Not only test pilots, submariners and cosmonauts replenished the family of Heroes of the Soviet Union. On June 21, 1965, Colonel of the Border Troops N.F. Karatsupa entered it. The name of this brave man became widely known back in the 1930s, when dozens of articles were written about the skillful and brave guard dogs, and books were dedicated to him. From 1933 to 1937, N.F. Karatsupa participated in 120 battles and detained 467 border violators. For long service on the border, Nikita Fedorovich was awarded four orders and several medals. The senior lieutenant of militia A. I. Popryadukhin also became a hero of the Soviet Union. In November 1973, four bandits hijacked a plane with passengers and crew. They wounded the flight mechanic and one of the passengers and demanded that no one approach the aircraft. To release the hostages, a capture group was sent, commanded by A. I. Popryadukhin. He managed to be the first to break into the cabin of the aircraft, called upon himself the fire of criminals and thereby paved the way for his comrades. The bandits were disarmed and captured. This was one of the first cases of air terrorism, which was skillfully and decisively suppressed by a small capture group, which subsequently was not always achieved even with the introduction of larger forces. The Afghan war of 1979-1989 occupies a special place in the history of our country. No matter how we feel about this war, no matter how we qualify it, we must not forget that the Soviet soldiers and officers thrown into its fire sincerely believed (especially in the early years of the war) that they were fulfilling a noble international mission of helping the fraternal people , and showed high fighting qualities in this situation. Several participants in the events were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Among them, the commander of the helicopter, Major V. V. Shcherbakov, who, at great risk, landed a car in the mountains and saved a group of comrades in distress. Helicopter pilot E.I. Zelnyakov became famous for breaking through enemy barrage fire dozens of times, accurately hitting targets and skillfully landing a car in hard-to-reach mountainous areas. The heroes were officer Vyacheslav Gainutdinov and deputy commander of a motorized rifle battalion, Major Gennady Kuchkin, commander of an airborne unit, Lieutenant Colonel Yu. V. Kuznetsov, company commander, Senior Lieutenant N. M. Akramov, Colonel General Yu. Pavlov, Lieutenant Colonel E. V. Vysotsky and others. During the post-war years, more than 250 people were awarded this high title. In the days of the war, not all feats received an immediate assessment, they could not always be accurately weighed and compared with other accomplishments. This applies not only to individual people, but also to large and important events, into the orbit of which tens of thousands of people were drawn. Characteristic in this regard is the example of a number of cities that have gained fame as bastions of courage and steadfastness. In honor of the heroic defense of Moscow, Leningrad, Stalingrad, Sevastopol and Odessa, medals were established already during the war years. The sixth medal - "For the Defense of Kyiv" - was established by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of June 21, 1961.

The term "hero cities" appeared at the end of the war. In 1945, in the May Day order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Moscow, Leningrad, Stalingrad, Sevastopol and Odessa were named after this name. And on May 8, 1965, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the Regulations on the honorary title "Hero City" were approved. And six cities, in honor of which the medals "For Defense" were minted, became hero cities, and the Orders of Lenin and the Gold Star medals appeared on their banners. They were awarded this title in connection with the 20th anniversary of the Victory over Nazi Germany. By decree of May 8, 1965, the title of "Fortress-Hero" was awarded to the Brest Fortress. Subsequently, the cities-heroes were recognized: Kerch and Novorossiysk (1973), Minsk (1974), Tula (1976), Smolensk and Murmansk (1985). Gold stars attached to the banners of the hero cities crowned the feat of thousands of Soviet patriots - soldiers, workers, militiamen, defending their native streets and lanes, squares and avenues with weapons in their hands. The memory of the heroes is immortalized in bronze and marble, in the names of cities, streets and squares. Among the memorials and monuments erected only in honor of the heroes of the battle for Moscow are the monuments to Marshal G.K. Zhukov and the legendary commander I.V. Panfilov, whose soldiers did not let the Nazis to Moscow. And in 1975, at the Dubosekovo junction near Moscow, a memorial was opened in honor of 28 Panfilov heroes.

Near the village of Petrishchevo there is a monument to Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, near the village of Palashkino - to General L.M. Dovator, in Moscow many streets are named after the Heroes of the Soviet Union. Twice Heroes of the Soviet Union erected bronze busts in their homeland. Monuments to the heroes have been erected in hundreds of cities and villages in Russia. Streets and squares, ships and schools are named after them. Only in one Kaliningrad region, the cities of Chernyakhovsk, Nesterov, Gusev, Ladushkin, Mamonov, Guryevsk, Kosmodemyansk, Romanov bear the names of the Heroes of the Soviet Union. Memorial museums are dedicated to the heroes of the Soviet Union: the house-museum of Yu. A. Gagarin in the city that bears his name, the house-museum "Young Guard" in Krasnodon, the house-museum of Marshal G. K. Zhukov in his homeland in the village of Zhukovo, Kaluga Region and a lot others. The Golden Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union is one of the most respected awards among the people. Given this, after the Soviet Union ceased to exist, on March 20, 1992, the title of “Hero of Russia” was established in Russia and the Gold Star medal was preserved.

The appearance of the highest degree of distinction of the USSR is directly related to the rescue of passengers and crew members of the Chelyuskin steamer.

Considering that in order to evacuate people who were on the wrecked ship, Soviet pilots carried out an operation that had no analogues in world history, the Soviet government also thought about the need to highlight this feat.

On April 16, 1934, the Central Executive Committee of the USSR, by a special decree, established "the highest degree of distinction - the assignment of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for personal or collective services to the state associated with the commission."

It should be especially noted that no insignia for the Heroes of the Soviet Union was originally intended. The assignment of the title was marked exclusively by the presentation of a special diploma of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR.

The first assignment of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union took place on April 20, 1934, when the pilots who participated in the rescue of the Chelyuskinites were awarded with it: Anatoly Lyapidevsky, Sigismund Levanevsky, Vasily Molokov, Nikolai Kamanin, Mauritius Slepnev, Mikhail Vodopyanov and Ivan Doronin.

Pilots in the USSR in the 1930s were held in high esteem. No wonder that the first 11 Heroes of the Soviet Union represented exactly aviation.

Initially, the Heroes of the Soviet Union received only a diploma. Photo: Public Domain

Order and medal

The tradition, along with the awarding of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, to present the Order of Lenin actually developed by itself. The fact is that the first 11 Heroes, along with the title, received the order, which was the highest award of the USSR.

In July 1936, this practice was legalized by the decision of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR - from now on, the Hero of the Soviet Union, along with the diploma, automatically received the Order of Lenin.

The number of Heroes grew - along with the "Stalin's falcons", the military who fought in Spain, as well as participants in the battles on Lake Khasan, were noted.

The more Heroes became, the more the need grew for the appearance of some kind of distinctive sign by which anyone could recognize an outstanding person.

This is how the Gold Star medal appeared, the author of the sketch of which was architect Miron Merzhanov. The Gold Star medal as a distinction of the Heroes of the Soviet Union was approved on August 1, 1939, and the first Heroes to receive both the Gold Star and the Order of Lenin were participants in the battles near the Khalkhin Gol River.

Medal "Golden Star". Photo: Public Domain

Zhukov, Brezhnev and Savitskaya

In total, from 1934 to 1991, 12,776 people received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, and the vast majority of awards were awarded to those who distinguished themselves in the battles of the Great Patriotic War: more than 91 percent of all those awarded.

The absolute champions in "heroism" are Georgy Zhukov and Leonid Brezhnev. Both the outstanding commander and the Secretary General are four times Heroes of the Soviet Union. At the same time, Brezhnev also has the title of Hero of Socialist Labor. However, Brezhnev's awards have always been treated with a fair amount of humor. Suffice it to say that three titles of the Hero of the Soviet Union were awarded to Brezhnev in the period from 1976 to 1981, when the country's leader was rapidly losing his ability to work and be critical of the surrounding reality.

Oddly enough, but, despite the heroism of Soviet women, only one of them was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union twice. However, we are talking about a more than worthy person - a pilot-cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya, the first woman to walk in outer space.

Pilot-cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya. Photo: www.russianlook.com

Just thank you"

The most recent Hero of the Soviet Union was an extremely unusual person - diving specialist, captain 3rd rank Leonid Solodkov. The decree on conferring the title for participation in a diving experiment simulating long-term work at a depth of 500 meters under water was signed on December 24, 1991.

The newly-minted Hero was invited to the Kremlin on January 16, 1992 to receive the award. The situation was extremely strange - the state, the Hero of which was Leonid Solodkov, by this moment had not existed for more than three weeks. But the most interesting thing is that, according to the military regulations, Solodkov, as an officer, had to say “I serve the Soviet Union!”.

It is impossible to quickly change the Charter, and Solodkov decided to act on his own. After Marshal Shaposhnikov presented the Hero with an award, he simply answered: “Thank you!”. This “Thank you” ended the history of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, who did not live three years before his 60th birthday.

Many at that moment believed that there would be no more Heroes in our country. Like, nowhere, except for the USSR and the countries of the socialist bloc, such a system of distinction was practiced, despite the fact that it exists in almost all countries of the world.

Tradition is stronger than ideology

However, tradition turned out to be stronger than ideological changes in society. Already on March 20, 1992, the Supreme Soviet of Russia approved the establishment of the title of Hero of the Russian Federation.

The fundamental difference between the title of Hero of Russia and the Soviet predecessor is that it is awarded only once.

At the same time, the continuity of the two highest degrees of distinction is confirmed by the fact that four Heroes of the Soviet Union at once became Heroes of the Russian Federation - this astronauts Sergei Krikalev and Valery Polyakov, polar scientist Artur Chilingarov and war pilot Nikolai Maidanov.

Among the Heroes of the Soviet Union were representatives of many nationalities of a large country - Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Tatars, Jews, Azerbaijanis, Chechens, Yakuts and many others.

No wonder that in many republics of the former USSR that became independent states, a similar title was established. Including Russia, it exists in 11 out of 15 states in the expanses of the former USSR.

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.

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

The first medal was awarded to the Hero of the Soviet Union, polar pilot A.S. Lyapidevsky. During the Great Patriotic War, fighter pilots M.P. were among the first to receive the highest degree of distinction. Zhukov. S.I. Zdorovtsev and P.T. Kharitonov, who accomplished their feats in the sky near Leningrad.

Regulations on the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

The title of Hero of the Soviet Union 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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

More than 11,600 soldiers, officers and generals of the Red Army, partisans and underground fighters were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for their heroic deeds committed during the Great Patriotic War.

The first three medals were awarded to military pilot Hero of the Soviet Union A.I. Pokryshkin.

There are many foreigners among those awarded the highest degree of distinction. The title of Hero of the Soviet Union was given to four French pilots of the Normandie-Niemen regiment: Marcel Albert. Rolland de la Puap, Jacques André, Marcel Lefebvre. The title was posthumously awarded to Jan Nelspke, the commander of a partisan detachment consisting of Czechs and Slovaks.

Among the post-war Heroes of the Soviet Union were the pilots of the 64th Fighter Aviation Corps, who fought in North Korea against American and South Korean aces.

On June 8, 1960, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to the Spaniard Ramon Msrkader, who arrived in the USSR from Mexico after serving a 20-year sentence for the murder of Leon Trotsky, committed by him in 1940 on the orders of Stalin. A year later, Fidel Castro and Egyptian President Nasser became Heroes of the USSR.

For feats accomplished during the war years. the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to the defender of the Brest Fortress, Major P.M. Gavrilov, hero of the French Resistance Lieutenant Porik (posthumously), holder of the Italian medal of the Resistance Polezhaev (posthumously). Pilot Lieutenant Devyatayev in 1945 escaped from captivity by stealing a German bomber. Instead of a reward, he was sent to the camp as a "traitor". In 1957 he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. In 1964, the scout Richard Sorge became a hero (posthumously).

How many heroes were in the USSR during the Great Patriotic War

What dry statistics can tell about the number of those awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union and full holders of the Order of Glory

Heroes of the Soviet Union of the 5th Army, awarded this title for battles in East Prussia. Photo: waralbum.ru

How many heroes of the Great Patriotic War were in the Soviet Union? It seemed like a strange question. In a country that survived the terrible tragedy of the 20th century, everyone who defended it with arms in hand at the front or at the bench and in the field in the rear was a hero. That is, each of its 170 million multinational people, who bore the brunt of the war on their shoulders.

But if we ignore the pathos and return to the specifics, then the question can be formulated differently. How was it noted in the USSR that a person is a hero? That's right, the title of "Hero of the Soviet Union." And 31 years after the war, another sign of heroism appeared: full holders of the Order of Glory, that is, awarded all three degrees of this award, were equalized with the Heroes of the Soviet Union. It turns out that the question "How many heroes of the Great Patriotic War were in the Soviet Union?" more precisely formulated as follows: "How many people in the USSR were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union and became full holders of the Order of Glory for the exploits committed during the Great Patriotic War?".

You can get a very specific answer to such a question: a total of 14,411 people, of which 11,739 are Heroes of the Soviet Union and 2,672 are full holders of the Order of Glory.

The first Heroes of the Soviet Union during the war

The number of Heroes of the Soviet Union who received this title for exploits during the Great Patriotic War is 11,739. This title was awarded posthumously to 3,051 of them; 82 people were stripped of their titles in the future by a court decision. 107 heroes were awarded this title twice (seven posthumously), three - three times: Marshal Semyon Budyonny (all awards occurred after the war), Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Pokryshkin and Major Ivan Kozhedub. And only one - Marshal Georgy Zhukov - became four times Hero of the Soviet Union, and he earned one award even before the Great Patriotic War, and received it for the fourth time in 1956.

Among those awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union during the Great Patriotic War were representatives of all branches and types of troops in ranks from private to marshal. And each branch of the military - whether it be infantrymen, pilots or sailors - is proud of the first colleagues who received the highest honorary title.

Pilots

The first titles of Hero of the Soviet Union were awarded to pilots on July 8, 1941. And here, too, the pilots maintained the tradition: six pilots were the first Heroes of the Soviet Union in the history of this award - and three pilots were the first to be awarded this title during the Great Patriotic War!

On July 8, 1941, it was assigned to fighter pilots of the 158th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the 41st Mixed Air Division of the Air Force of the 23rd Army of the Northern Front. Junior lieutenants Mikhail Zhukov, Stepan Zdorovtsev and Pyotr Kharitonov received awards for rams made in the first days of the war. Stepan Zdorovtsev died the day after the award, Mikhail Zhukov died in January 1943 in a fight with nine German fighters, and Pyotr Kharitonov, seriously wounded in 1941 and returned to duty only in 1944, ended the war with 14 destroyed enemy aircraft.

Foot soldiers

The first Hero of the Soviet Union among infantrymen on July 22, 1941 was the commander of the 1st Moscow Motorized Rifle Division of the 20th Army of the Western Front, Colonel Yakov Kreizer. He was awarded for the successful containment of the Germans on the Berezina River and in the battles for Orsha. It is noteworthy that Colonel Kreizer was also the first among the Jewish soldiers who received the highest award during the war years.

Tankers

On July 22, 1941, three tankmen received the highest awards of the country at once - tank commander of the 1st tank regiment of the 1st tank division of the 14th army of the Northern Front, senior sergeant Alexander Borisov, squad leader of the 163rd reconnaissance battalion of the 104th rifle division of the 14th Army of the Northern Front, Junior Sergeant Alexander Gryaznov (he was awarded the title posthumously) and deputy commander of the tank battalion of the 115th Tank Regiment of the 57th Tank Division of the 20th Army of the Western Front, Captain Iosif Kaduchenko. Senior Sergeant Borisov, a week and a half after the award, died in the hospital from severe wounds. Captain Kaduchenko managed to be on the list of the dead, in October 1941 he was captured, unsuccessfully tried to escape three times and was released only in March 1945, after which he fought until the Victory.

sappers

Among the fighters and commanders of sapper units, on November 20, 1941, the assistant platoon commander of the 184th separate sapper battalion of the 7th Army of the Northern Front, Private Viktor Karandakov, became the first Hero of the Soviet Union. In the battle near Sortavala against the Finnish units, he repulsed three enemy attacks with fire from his machine gun, which actually saved the regiment from encirclement, the next day he led the counterattack of the squad instead of the wounded commander, and two days later he carried the wounded company commander out of the fire. In April 1942, a sapper who lost his arm in battle was demobilized.

Artillerymen

On August 2, 1941, the first artilleryman - Hero of the Soviet Union was the gunner of the "magpie" of the 680th Infantry Regiment of the 169th Infantry Division of the 18th Army of the Southern Front, Red Army soldier Yakov Kolchak. On July 13, 1941, in an hour of battle, he managed to hit four enemy tanks from his cannon! But Jacob did not learn about the assignment of a high rank: on July 23 he was wounded and taken prisoner. He was released in August 1944 in Moldova, and Kolchak reached victory as part of a penal company, where he fought first as a shooter, and then as a squad leader. And the former penalty box, on whose chest was already adorned with the Order of the Red Star and the medal "For Military Merit", received a high award only on March 25, 1947.

partisans

The first Heroes of the Soviet Union from among the partisans were the leaders of the Red October partisan detachment operating on the territory of Belarus: the commissar of the detachment Tikhon Bumazhkov and commander Fyodor Pavlovsky. The decree on their award was signed on August 6, 1941. Of the two heroes, only one survived to the Victory - Fedor Pavlovsky, and the commissar of the Red October detachment Tikhon Bumazhkov, who managed to receive his award in Moscow, died in December of the same year, leaving the German encirclement.

Marines

On August 13, 1941, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to the commander of the branch of the naval volunteer detachment of the Northern Fleet, senior sergeant Vasily Kislyakov. He received a high award for his actions in mid-July 1941, when he led a platoon instead of the killed commander and, first, together with his comrades, and then alone held an important height. By the end of the war, Captain Kislyakov had several landings on the Northern Front, participation in the Petsamo-Kirkenes, Budapest and Vienna offensive operations.

Politruks

The first decree on awarding the title of Hero of the Soviet Union to political workers of the Red Army was issued on August 15, 1941. This document awarded the highest award to Arnold Meri, Deputy Political Officer of the Radio Company of the 415th Separate Communications Battalion of the 22nd Estonian Territorial Rifle Corps of the North-Western Front, and Secretary of the Party Bureau of the 245th Howitzer Artillery Regiment of the 37th Rifle Division of the 19th Army of the Western Front, Senior political instructor Kirill Osipov. Meri was awarded for the fact that, twice wounded, he managed to stop the retreat of the battalion and led the defense of the corps headquarters. Osipov in July-August 1941 actually worked as a liaison command of the division that fought in encirclement, and several times crossed the front line, delivering important information.

Medics

Among the army doctors who received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, the first was the sanitary instructor of the 14th motorized rifle regiment of the 21st motorized rifle division of the NKVD troops of the Northern Front, Private Anatoly Kokorin. The high award was awarded to him on August 26, 1941 - posthumously. During the battle with the Finns, he was the last in the ranks and blew himself up with a grenade so as not to be captured.

border guards

Although the Soviet border guards were the first to take the enemy strike on June 22, 1941, the Heroes of the Soviet Union appeared among them only two months later. But six people at once: junior sergeant Ivan Buzytskov, lieutenant Kuzma Vetchinkin, senior lieutenant Nikita Kaimanov, senior lieutenant Alexander Konstantinov, junior sergeant Vasily Mikhalkov and lieutenant Anatoly Ryzhikov. Five of them served in Moldova, senior lieutenant Kaimanov - in Karelia. All six received awards for their heroic actions in the early days of the war - which, in general, is not surprising. And all six reached the end of the war and continued to serve after the Victory - in the same border troops.

Signalers

The first Hero of the Soviet Union among signalmen appeared on November 9, 1941 - he was the commander of the radio department of the 289th anti-tank regiment of the Western Front, junior sergeant Pyotr Stemasov. He was awarded for his feat on October 25 near Moscow - during the battle he replaced a wounded gunner and, together with the crew, knocked out nine enemy tanks, after which he led the soldiers out of the encirclement. And then he fought until the Victory, which he met as an officer.

cavalrymen

On the same day as the first signalman hero, the first cavalry hero appeared. On November 9, 1941, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was posthumously awarded to Major Boris Krotov, Commander of the 134th Cavalry Regiment of the 28th Cavalry Division of the Reserve Army of the Southern Front. He was awarded the highest award for his exploits during the defense of Dnepropetrovsk. How difficult those battles were can be imagined from one episode: the last feat of the regimental commander was to undermine an enemy tank that had broken through into the depths of defense.

Paratroopers

The Winged Infantry received its first Heroes of the Soviet Union on November 20, 1941. They were the commander of the reconnaissance company of the 212th airborne brigade of the 37th army of the Southwestern Front, Sergeant Yakov Vatomov and the shooter of the same brigade Nikolai Obukhov. Both received awards for heroic deeds in August-September 1941, when the paratroopers fought hard battles in eastern Ukraine.

Sailors

Later than all - only on January 17, 1942 - the first Hero of the Soviet Union appeared in the Soviet Navy. Posthumously, the highest award was awarded to the shooter of the 2nd volunteer detachment of sailors of the Northern Fleet, Red Navy sailor Ivan Sivko. Ivan accomplished his feat, which was so highly appreciated by the country, as part of the infamous landing in the bay of Bolshaya Zapadnaya Litsa. Covering the retreat of his colleagues, he, already fighting alone, destroyed 26 enemies, and then blew himself up with a grenade along with the Nazis who surrounded him.

Generals

On July 22, 1941, the commander of the 19th Panzer Division of the 22nd Mechanized Corps of the 5th Army of the Southwestern Front, Major General Kuzma Semenchenko, became the first general of the Red Army to be awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. His division took an active part in the largest tank battle of the Great Patriotic War - the battle of Dubno - and after heavy fighting was surrounded, but the general was able to withdraw his subordinates across the front line. By mid-August 1941, only one tank remained in the division, and in early September it was disbanded. And General Semenchenko fought until the end of the war and in 1947 he retired in the same rank in which he began to fight.

"The fight is not for glory..."

During the Great Patriotic War, there was the most honorable soldier's award - the Order of Glory. Both her ribbon and her statute were very reminiscent of another soldier's award - the insignia of the Order of St. George, "soldier Yegoriy", which was especially revered in the army of the Russian Empire. In total, over a year and a half of the war - from the moment of its establishment on November 8, 1943 until the Victory - and in the post-war period, more than a million people were awarded the Order of Glory. Of these, almost a million - the order of the third degree, over 46 thousand - the second, and 2672 people - the first degree, they became full holders of the order.

Of the 2672 full cavaliers of the Order of Glory, 16 people were subsequently deprived of their awards for various reasons by a court decision. Among the deprived was the only holder of five Orders of Glory - 3rd, three 2nd and 1st degrees. In addition, 72 people were presented to the four Orders of Glory, but, as a rule, did not receive an "excessive" award.

The first full holders of the Order of Glory were the sapper of the 1134th rifle regiment of the 338th rifle division, Corporal Mitrofan Pitenin and the commander of the 110th separate reconnaissance company of the 158th rifle division, senior sergeant Shevchenko. Corporal Pitenin was presented to the first order in November 1943 for battles in Belarus, to the second - in April 1944, and the third - in July of the same year. But he did not manage to receive the last award: on August 3 he died in battle. And senior sergeant Shevchenko received all three orders in 1944: in February, April and July. He ended the war in 1945 with the rank of foreman and was soon demobilized, returning home not only with three Orders of Glory on his chest, but also with the Orders of the Red Star and the Order of the Patriotic War of both degrees.

And there were four people who received both signs of the highest recognition of military heroism - both the title of Hero of the Soviet Union and the title of full cavalier of the Order of Glory. The first is senior pilot of the 140th Guards Assault Aviation Regiment of the 8th Guards Assault Aviation Division of the 1st Assault Aviation Corps of the 5th Air Army of the Guards Senior Lieutenant Ivan Drachenko. He received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union in 1944, and became a full holder of the Order of Glory after being re-awarded (double awarding the Order of the 2nd degree) in 1968.

The second is the gun commander of the 369th separate anti-tank artillery battalion of the 263rd rifle division of the 43rd army of the 3rd Belorussian Front, foreman Nikolai Kuznetsov. In April 1945, he received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, and after being re-awarded in 1980 (double awarding the Order of the 2nd degree), he became a full holder of the Order of Glory.

The third was the commander of the gun crew of the 175th Guards Artillery and Mortar Regiment of the 4th Guards Cavalry Division of the 2nd Guards Cavalry Corps of the 1st Belorussian Front, Senior Sergeant Andrei Aleshin. He became a Hero of the Soviet Union at the end of May 1945, and a full holder of the Order of Glory - after being re-awarded (double awarding the Order of the 3rd degree) in 1955.

Finally, the fourth is foreman of the company of the 293rd Guards Rifle Regiment of the 96th Guards Rifle Division of the 28th Army of the 3rd Belorussian Front of the Guards, Petty Officer Pavel Dubinda. He has, perhaps, the most unusual fate of all four heroes. A sailor, he served on the cruiser "Chervona Ukraine" on the Black Sea, after the death of the ship - in the marines, defended Sevastopol. Here he was taken prisoner, from which he escaped and in March 1944 was again enrolled in the army, but already in the infantry. He became a full holder of the Order of Glory by March 1945, and in June of the same year he received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. By the way, among his awards was a rare Order of Bohdan Khmelnitsky 3rd degree - a kind of "soldier" military order.

Multinational heroism of the Soviet people

The Soviet Union was indeed a multinational country: in the data of the last pre-war census of 1939, 95 nationalities appear, not counting the column "others" (other peoples of the North, other peoples of Dagestan). Naturally, among the Heroes of the Soviet Union and the full holders of the Order of Glory were representatives of almost all Soviet nationalities. Among the first - 67 nationalities, among the second (according to obviously incomplete data) - 39 nationalities.

The number of heroes marked with the highest ranks among one or another nationality generally corresponds to the ratio of the number of fellow tribesmen to the total number of the pre-war USSR. So, the leaders in all lists were and remain Russians, followed by Ukrainians and Belarusians. But then the situation is different. For example, in the top ten awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians are followed (in order) by Tatars, Jews, Kazakhs, Armenians, Georgians, Uzbeks and Mordovians. And in the top ten full cavaliers of the Order of Glory, after Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians, there are (also in order) Tatars, Kazakhs, Armenians, Mordovians, Uzbeks, Chuvashs and Jews.

But judging by these statistics which people were more heroic and which were less, is meaningless. Firstly, many nationalities of the heroes were accidentally or even deliberately indicated incorrectly or were absent (for example, the nationality was often hidden by the Germans and Jews, and the “Crimean Tatar” option was simply not in the 1939 census documents). And secondly, even today far from all the documents relating to the awarding of the heroes of the Great Patriotic War have been brought together and taken into account. This colossal topic is still waiting for its researcher, who will surely confirm that heroism is a property of each individual person, and not of this or that people.

The national composition of the Heroes of the Soviet Union who received this title for their exploits during the Great Patriotic War *

Russians - 7998 (including 70 - twice, 2 - three times and 1 - four times)

Ukrainians - 2019 (including 28 - twice),

Belarusians - 274 (including 4 - twice),

Tatars - 161

Jews - 128 (including 1 - twice)

Kazakhs - 98 (including 1 - twice)

Armenians - 91 (including 2 - twice)

Georgians - 90

Uzbeks - 67

Mordva - 66

Chuvash - 47

Azerbaijanis - 41 (including 1 - twice)

Bashkirs - 40 (including 1 - twice)

Ossetians - 34 (including 1 - twice)

Mari - 18

Turkmen - 16

Lithuanians - 15

Tajiks - 15

Latvians - 12

Kyrgyz - 12

Karely - 11 (including 1 - twice)

Udmurts - 11

Estonians - 11

Avars - 9

Poles - 9

Buryats and Mongols - 8

Kalmyks - 8

Kabardians - 8

Crimean Tatars - 6 (including 1 - twice)

Chechens - 6

Moldovans - 5

Abkhazians - 4

Lezgins - 4

French - 4

Karachays - 3

Tuvans - 3

Circassians - 3

Balkars -2

Bulgarians - 2

Dargins - 2

Kumyks - 2

Khakas - 2

Abaza - 1

Adzharians - 1

Altai - 1

Assyrian - 1

Spaniard - 1

Chinese (Dungan) - 1

Korean - 1

Slovak - 1

Tuvan - 1

The national composition of the full cavaliers of the Order of Glory, who received this title for their exploits during the Great Patriotic War**

Russians - 1276

Ukrainians - 285

Belarusians - 62

Tatars - 48

Kazakhs - 30

Armenians - 19

Mordva - 16

Uzbeks - 12

Chuvash - 11

Azerbaijanis - 8

Bashkirs - 7

Kyrgyz - 7

Udmurts - 6

Turkmen - 5

Buryats - 4

Georgians - 4

Mari - 3

Poles - 3

Karely - 2

Latvians - 2

Moldovans - 2

Ossetians - 2

Tajiks - 2

Khakas - 2

Abaza - 1

Kabardian - 1

Kalmyk - 1

Chinese - 1

Crimean Tatar - 1

Lithuanian -1

Meskhetian Turk - 1

Chechen - 1

based on RedBlogger

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 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. 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 at the first award with 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.

Behind 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.

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 an appropriate inscription is erected in his homeland, which is recorded in the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on conferring the title of Hero of Socialist Labor.

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

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

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

Description of the medal.

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

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

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

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

History of the medal.

The title of Hero of the Soviet Union is the highest 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 the orders of Stalin, 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 - participants in the battles with the Japanese interventionists who invaded the territory of the USSR in the region of Lake Khasan near Vladivostok. For the first time, not only the officers of the Red Army, but also ordinary Red Army soldiers (four out of twenty-six) became Heroes.

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

In 1939, another mass conferment of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union took place. For the military exploits shown in the battles with the Japanese 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, the title of Hero was massively conferred, unique in its kind: the Golden Stars were awarded to all 15 crew members of the Georgy Sedov icebreaking steamer, which had been drifting in the ice of the Arctic Ocean for 812 days since 1937! Later, the assignment of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union to the entire crew of the ship or to the entire personnel of the unit was never repeated, apart from three cases of awarding consolidated detachments during the Great Patriotic War (see below). In addition, the head of the rescue expedition on the icebreaker "I. Stalin" to remove 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 assault 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 such a river as the Dnieper River in the Smolensk region and below, and rivers equal to the Dnieper in terms of the 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 operations department of the General Staff of the Soviet Army, Marshal Shtemenko, cites the following data: for exploits during the Great Patriotic War, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (as of September 1, 1948) was awarded to 11,603 people, 98 people were awarded this honor twice, and three times - three.

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 tankmen, 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 soldiers' St. George's crosses during the First World War.

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

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

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

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

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

Heroes of the Soviet Union were three soldiers of the Polish Army who fought against the Nazis as part of the 1st Polish Infantry Division. Tadeusz Kosciuszko (this division was formed in the summer of 1943 and was part of the 33rd Army). The names of Polish heroes are Vladislav Vysotsky, Juliusz 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 Guards, Captain Ruben Ruiz Ibarruri (son of the chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Spain, Dolores Ibarruri), distinguished himself in a battle with German tanks near the Kotluban station near the village of Samofalovka near Stalingrad. He was posthumously awarded the title of GSS.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Khrushchev 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 under Stalin branded 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 Hussein-Zade M.G. (posthumously), holder of the Italian medal of the Resistance Poletaev F.A. (posthumously) and others. Former pilot Lieutenant Devyataev M.P. in 1945, he escaped from a Nazi concentration camp, stealing a bomber from an enemy airfield. For this feat, Stalin's investigators "awarded" him with a camp term as a "traitor", and in 1957 he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

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

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

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

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

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

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

L.I. Brezhnev, who took his post. continued the awards. In 1965, on the 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 aircraft. It was the only ram in the history of aviation performed by a woman.

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

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

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

One of the last assignments of a high rank took place by Decree of the President of the USSR No. UP-2719 of October 17, 1991. The title of the GSS was awarded to Lieutenant Colonel Burkov Valery Anatolyevich "for the heroism and courage shown in the performance of assignments 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 of the 3rd rank Leonid Mikhailovich Solodkov, who showed courage and heroism in carrying out a special task of the command to test new diving equipment.

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

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

Twice Heroes became 154 people.

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

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

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

Estimated value of the medal.

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

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.