By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the Soviet Union was quite a young state, so its award system was just developing. Back then, there were only six military awards, but there were no specific instructions on how to award soldiers and commanders.
In April 1942, the head of the Main Directorate of the rear Andrei Khrulev was instructed by Joseph Stalin to design an award, which would be given to soldiers and officers for bravery and heroism. The first title of the new award was “For Military Valor”, and later it was renamed the “Order of the Patriotic War”.
Artists Sergei Dmitriev and Alexander Kuznetsov were brought in to work on the project. In two days after Stalin’s order, they submitted the first sketches, and in eight days they produced metal samples. Kuznetsov’s project was taken as the basis for the future award, and the idea of the inscription “Patriotic War” on the medallion belonged to Dmitriev. The collection of Zimovniki Museum of Local History houses one of the orders of the Patriotic War.
It is a five-pointed star coated with enamel of red and white colors. Golden rays go in different directions. Below the star, there are symbolic images of a rifle and a saber that are crossed. In the center, there is a hammer and a sickle, surrounded by a white band with the inscription “Patriotic War”.
There were three types of the award, depending on how it was attached to clothes. The Order on a block was produced in 1942–1943; screw ones — from June 1943 to 1991, and the anniversary orders — only in 1985.
The Order of the Patriotic War was the first award, which was divided into classes. The statute of the award was developed — a description where all the actions for which a soldier could be awarded the order were listed in detail. 30 actions were described for the First class and 25 — for the Second class.
Besides, the Order of the Patriotic War was the only award, which family members were to keep after the owner’s death. All other awards were supposed to be returned to the state until 1977.
In April 1942, the head of the Main Directorate of the rear Andrei Khrulev was instructed by Joseph Stalin to design an award, which would be given to soldiers and officers for bravery and heroism. The first title of the new award was “For Military Valor”, and later it was renamed the “Order of the Patriotic War”.
Artists Sergei Dmitriev and Alexander Kuznetsov were brought in to work on the project. In two days after Stalin’s order, they submitted the first sketches, and in eight days they produced metal samples. Kuznetsov’s project was taken as the basis for the future award, and the idea of the inscription “Patriotic War” on the medallion belonged to Dmitriev. The collection of Zimovniki Museum of Local History houses one of the orders of the Patriotic War.
It is a five-pointed star coated with enamel of red and white colors. Golden rays go in different directions. Below the star, there are symbolic images of a rifle and a saber that are crossed. In the center, there is a hammer and a sickle, surrounded by a white band with the inscription “Patriotic War”.
There were three types of the award, depending on how it was attached to clothes. The Order on a block was produced in 1942–1943; screw ones — from June 1943 to 1991, and the anniversary orders — only in 1985.
The Order of the Patriotic War was the first award, which was divided into classes. The statute of the award was developed — a description where all the actions for which a soldier could be awarded the order were listed in detail. 30 actions were described for the First class and 25 — for the Second class.
Besides, the Order of the Patriotic War was the only award, which family members were to keep after the owner’s death. All other awards were supposed to be returned to the state until 1977.
