The jubilee medal “50 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR” was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on December 26, 1967. The medal was designed by the artist Alexander Borisovich Zhuk, who made sketches for many Soviet awards, including the Order of Friendship of Peoples, the medal “For Distinction in Military Service” and many others.

The medal “50 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR” was primarily awarded to marshalls, generals, admirals, officers, as well as petty officers, sergeants, soldiers and sailors of long-term service who were in the ranks of the relevant departments by February 23, 1968.

This jubilee medal is made of gold-colored brass. It is made in the shape of a regular circle. There is a five-pointed star made of red enamel on the obverse. The star sits on a background of five rays that radiate from the corners of the star at an obtuse angle. The center of the star features a circle with a diameter of 19 millimeters. It features a half-length image of two Soviet soldiers, one wearing a budenovka hat and the other a helmet, against a matte background.

As of January 1, 1995, over 9.5 million people were awarded the jubilee medal “50 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR”. A native of the Severomorsk area, Porfiry Pavlovich Zadorozhny was also presented with this medal. During the war, he was a radio direction-finder operator, and had the rank of junior sergeant. Protecting the Arctic from Nazi troops, Porfiry Zadorozhny, along with his colleagues, determined the source of radio signals, intercepted enemy radio broadcasts and informed the command of the Northern Fleet about them. As a member of a special detachment, he searched for hidden walkie-talkies, stretched cables, and helped the Soviet military with orientation, especially at night.

Porfiry Pavlovich Zadorozhny was awarded medals “For the Defence of the Soviet Transarctic” and “For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945”. Zadorozhny served in the 58th separate anti-aircraft artillery division of the air defense of the Northern Fleet until May 1946 as head of searchlight and radio direction-finding stations. He was demobilized in May 1948.