Full Knights of the Order of Glory - list and number of awarded

Traditions of the Russian army, undeservedly forgotten after 1917, were in demand during the Great Patriotic War. "Fire and smoke" of the St. George's ribbon caused associations of the then battles with the glorious victories of past centuries and inspired the idea of the inevitable defeat of the enemy. The appearance of the restored order was affected by a new symbolism (the place of the cross was taken by a five-pointed star), but the essence of the award did not change - it was given to those who performed an unprecedented feat on the battlefield. The badge had three degrees, and over time, desperate brave men, full of gentlemen, appeared. Order of Glory just did not give, and so the whole set and even more so.

St George Traditions

The introduction of the Order of Glory became part of the general heraldic-aesthetic line adopted with the approval of Supreme Commander-in-Chief JV Stalin in the second half of 1943. Pogony, lamp, caps and other attributes of the Russian army superseded the surreal symbols of the Red Army. Patriotism became the supreme leader, pushing the idea of an international world revolution. Thinking over the concept of the new symbol, we first remembered Bagration (he was also a Georgian), but later they refused this idea. Sketch instructed NI Moskalev, who had a rich experience. He proposed creating an almost complete analogue of the Order of St. George, introducing four degrees, but the final decision was made in favor of the full Knights of the Order of Glory wearing three stars on the chest. The St. George's ribbon strengthened historical associations.

The first awarded

In 1943, few soldiers of the Red Army were awarded high awards. Which of them turned out to be the first, today it is impossible to say for sure. Sergeants Malyshev and Israelyan were presented to the order in late autumn of 1943 almost simultaneously. Actually, priority does not matter much, since the time from submission to issuing the order was sometimes measured in months, and the award itself took place in the front conditions even later. All in all, despite very strict criteria for selecting the most worthy, the order in question was received by two and a half million front-line soldiers who fought on the front line. The list of complete cavaliers of the Order of Glory is much shorter - there were only a little more than three thousand seven hundred.

Pitenin and Shevchenko

The award was conceived as a promotion of outstanding feats, which could become an example for imitation. The first to break into the enemy's location, blow up the warehouse, capture the officer, save the battle banner, destroy not less than a dozen enemies personally, establish weaknesses in the defense of the fascists, save comrades-that's what was required to prove worthy of this order. It was not easy, but the mass heroism in the war years reached such heights that soon after the establishment of the insignia there were both twice and three times awarded awards. The first full chevalier of the Order of Glory - Corporal Pitenin, who shared this honor with the senior sergeant Shevchenko, who passed the whole war. Unlike his companion, the latter died, and therefore did not manage to get the third highest soldier's star.

Rise in rank

In addition to the general honor and respect, the full knights of the Order of Glory had one more advantage in comparison with ordinary soldiers - they rose in military rank. Sergeants, corporals and rank-and-file officers became petty officers, and so on up to the junior lieutenant who received the second "star" on shoulder straps. Further heroes for his exploits were expecting other awards. The Statute of the Order of Glory provided for the possibility of honoring only the junior command staff.

Form of the Order of Glory

In its form of the order, regardless of the degree, are almost identical and have a moire ribbon of identical St. George's flowers. Their overall dimensions (46 mm between the beams), weight (approximately 30 g with an accuracy of 5%), the method of attachment (on the ear to the pentagonal shoe) and the image of the Spassky Tower of the Moscow Kremlin inscribed in a circle with a diameter of 23 mm. There are also other attributes of the Soviet state, such as the inscription of the USSR (on the reverse) and the ruby star, and the word "Glory" is located on the scarlet strip depicting the ribbon. The difference between early and later awards is that the endings of the rays become sharper. In general, the order is very beautiful, it is large and well seen, as befits such a mark of distinction. Full knights of the Order of Glory wore three stars on the chest, differing in color. The difference was in what kind of metal the rewards were performed.

Materials of manufacture

The order of awarding clearly indicated that it was made in order of increasing the degree, therefore, how many full knights of the Order of Glory received their high rank can be judged by the largest number on the upper ray of the reverse of the star of the 1st degree. It is known that this figure is 3776.

The Soviet government did not economize on rewards for real heroes. The Order of Glory of the first degree was made of high-grade (950 °) gold, decorated with enamel of red-ruby color. It is this background that gives the translucent coating a shade of blood spilled in battles. There is no doubt that this sign represents in the composition-color aspect a real work of art.

The order of the second degree was made of almost pure silver (925 °) with gilding of the central part of the composition (which depicts the Spassky Tower) and enamel of the same color, but the shade seems less saturated due to the fact that the background of the metal is light. These awards were produced more - about 50 thousand.

The third degree of the Order of Glory is almost complete replica of the second, but without gilding, and silver of the same 925-th test is tinted with a reddish copper additive.

Women and their glory

War - a man's business, dangerous, difficult and requiring the strain of all spiritual and physical forces. But it just so happened that the Motherland was in trouble, and an unbearable burden fell on the fragile shoulders of wives, mothers and brides. And they survived it. The list of full knights of the Order of Glory includes also female names. They are few, only four, but this is quite enough to forever forget the notion of "weak sex", at least in our country. Here they are: Nozdrachev's medical orderer, who took the seriously wounded fighters from under the leaden hail, the sniper Petrova (Mama Nina), whose accurate shots left 122 invaders forever in our land, and prepared a half-thousand high-rifle machine-gunner Markauskiene, who distinguished even the experienced soldiers with courage and Coolness, and pilot-scout Zhurkin (comments are unnecessary). These women, full of cavaliers of the Order of Glory, became living symbols of the unyielding spirit of the Soviet people.

From one metal ...

There was such a good tradition in the USSR - to celebrate not only military feats, but also labor. Three decades after the Victory, the Supreme Council decided to establish a new award, in addition to the already existing Orders of the Red Banner of Labor and Glory. This peace sign was to be crowned with special efforts and achievements in peaceful work for the benefit of society. Like the combat analog, he had three degrees, the highest of which was the first. The full knight of the Order of Labor Glory, according to his statute, enjoyed the same respect and the same social benefits as the hero of the three highest soldier's awards. The difference was that they could be awarded bands and collectives. In total, more than 650,000 people were awarded these orders of different degrees, of which the IIInd - more than 611 thousand, the second - 41 thousand, and the I-th (full cavaliers) 952 employees. Despite the more modest funds allocated for the manufacture of each mark of distinction (only gilding was used from precious metals), these figures are much inferior to similar military statistics. Well, other times ...