Why, after the death of Brezhnev, his Order of Victory was recalled and 6 more curious facts about the main award of the USSR

The Order "Victory" was the main pride in the USSR during the Great Patriotic War, which was awarded for heroic deeds that changed the course of the war. 17 people have bored themselves with awards, and some even more than once. How the order appeared and what interesting events are associated with it - Novate.ru will tell.

1. "Victory" is not for everyone

November 8, 1943 I. V. Stalin signed a decree establishing the Order of Victory / Photo: antiques-consulting.com

In 1943, there was a turning point in the war, and the force went over to the side of the USSR. To maintain the morale of the commanders, on November 8, I. V. Stalin signed a decree establishing the Order of Victory. They were awarded only to the highest military ranks. The main condition was the successful execution of operations within one or several fronts, which significantly changed the course of the war for the better for the USSR. Soldiers of the rank and file (soldiers, officers, foremen) could not receive the Order of Victory, but on the same day another award was established for them - the Order of Glory.

instagram viewer

2. Other name

Jacket of Marshal of the Soviet Union G. TO. Zhukov with awards from the museum / Photo: mtdata.ru

Initially, they wanted to give the award a different name - “For loyalty to the Motherland”. However, the name sounded rather bland and hackneyed. When the sketches were ready, they were shown to I. V. Stalin. He liked the inscription "Victory" on one of the works, and as a result the order was renamed.

3. Design changes

The original version was decorated with bas-reliefs by V. AND. Lenin and I. V. Stalin

But the execution of the order raised several questions from the leader of the peoples. The original version featured the familiar star-shaped contours, but the center of the award was decorated with bas-reliefs by V. AND. Lenin and I. V. Stalin. Joseph Vissarionovich ordered to change the central part and depict the Spasskaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin on it.

4. The Order is a real gem

The award weighed 78 g, of which 47 g - platinum, 2 g - gold and 19 g - silver / Photo: sovietmilitarystuff.com

We are accustomed to the fact that a gold or silver medal is just a name, because there is very little (if any) real alloy in them. However, the order had not only state, but also jewelry value. The award weighed 78 g, of which 47 g was platinum, 2 g was gold and 19 g was silver. Also, the order was decorated with rubies with a total weight of 25 carats (though artificial, since it was difficult to achieve uniformity with natural ones) and 16 carats of diamonds. Converting the value to grams, this corresponds to 5 g and 3.2 g. Curiously, diamonds for the order were used from the royal reserves, including pre-revolutionary awards. In total, 22 copies were made, two of which were never given to anyone.

5. Who was awarded the Order of "Victory"

Memorial plaque with the names of all those awarded with the Order of Victory / Photo: antiques-consulting.com

G. TO. Zhukov and A. M. Vasilevsky were the first marshals of the USSR who received the coveted medal in April 1944. A total of 20 awards were given to 17 people, one of which was later withdrawn. G. TO. Zhukova, A. M. Vasilevsky and I. V. Stalin. In addition to the marshals and generals of the USSR, the order was also awarded to military leaders from allied countries. The order was awarded to: D. Eisenhower (USA), Mihai I (Romania), I. B. Tito (Yugoslavia), B. Montgomery (UK) and M. Rola-ymersky (Poland). It was assumed that the awarding of the Yugoslav military leader, who received the 19th copy, was completed.

6. L. AND. Brezhnev and his "Victory"

In 1978, Leonid Ilyich decided to award himself the 20th order / Photo: antiques-consulting.com

However, the 20th order also waited in the wings. In 1978, Leonid Ilyich decided to award himself an award. Despite the fact that during the Great Patriotic War he was neither a Marshal of the Red Army, nor a general, and the order was awarded exclusively in wartime. After the death of Brezhnev, the award was withdrawn, since he did not fit the conditions for assigning the order. In 1989, the corresponding decree was signed by M. WITH. Gorbachev.

>>>>Ideas for life | NOVATE.RU<<<<

7. Order cost

According to the Americans, the cost of one order in 1945 could be about 18 thousand rubles. dollars / Photo: n1s2.hsmedia.ru

It is rather difficult to determine the price of a jewelry-premium masterpiece. According to the Americans, the cost of one order in 1945 could be about 18 thousand rubles. dollars. For comparison, in those days the best Cadillac car cost 2000 green. Further, the cost of the award only increased. According to rumors, the Romanian king Mihai I sold his award for $ 4 million. dollars (at the exchange rate of the 80s). The current cost of the order can be at least twice as high. However, the awards of Soviet military leaders are not for sale: 5 of them are kept in the museum, and the rest are in the Office of the President of the Russian Federation.

Continuing the topic, we also recommend reading about legendary watch "Victory" - a symbol of Soviet progress.
A source: https://novate.ru/blogs/160321/58213/

IT IS INTERESTING:

1. Berezin machine gun: famous and unknown at the same time (video)

2. Why do American men wear a T-shirt under their shirt?

3. How many liters of gasoline remain in the tank when the light comes on (video)