Orders, decorations, and medals of the Soviet Union

Awards, decorations, and medals of the Soviet Union are decorations from the former Soviet Union that recognised achievements and personal accomplishments, both military and civilian. Many of the awards, decorations, and orders were discontinued after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, while some are still issued by the Russian Federation, as of 2024. Many of those awards are simply reworked versions of their Soviet predecessors; this includes the reinvention of the Hero of the Soviet Union as the Hero of the Russian Federation, and the Hero of Socialist Labour as the Hero of Labour of the Russian Federation. The wide range of Soviet awards and decorations reflect the diverse and dynamic political, social, and military histories of the USSR, from its progenital revolution in 1917 to its eventual dissolution in 1991.

Honorary titles

Orders

Military orders

Military and civil orders

Civil orders

Military medals

General

Campaign medals

Second World War defensive campaign medals

Second World War offensive campaign medals

Civilian medals

Development/restoration campaigns

Maternity medals

Commemorative medals

Soviet Armed Forces jubilees

Second World War jubilees

Other commemorative medals

Note: Several Soviet decorations were worn in full, so a ribbon bar was not created. However, since the fall of the USSR, some medals have had ribbon bars created for them. An asterisk, *, denotes these medals. Awards not showing a ribbon are worn in full at all times.

See also

• Orders and Medals of Soviet Republics
• Badges and Decorations of the Soviet Union
• Orders, decorations, and medals of the Russian Federation
• Awards and Emblems of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation
• Awards of the Ministry for Emergency Situations of Russia
• Awards of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia
• Awards of the Federal Border Service of the Russian Federation
• Honorary weapons of Russia
• Honorary titles of the Russian Federation
• Orders, decorations, and medals of Belarus
• List of awards of independent services of the Russian Federation
• List of "Umalatova" awards
• Socialist orders of merit

References

Sources

• Paul D. McDaniel, Paul J. Schmitt (1997). The Comprehensive Guide to Soviet Orders and Medals. .
• V.D. Krivchov (2003). AVERS No. 6 Definitive Catalog of Soviet Orders and Medals. Moscow.
• V.D. Krivchov (2008). AVERS No. 8 Definitive Catalog of Soviet Badges and Jetons 1917–1980. Moscow.

Further reading

External links

• Mondvor Narod— A very detailed site on the topic of Soviet Orders and Medals
• www.soviet-medals-orders.com—A personal website by a collector from Switzerland, Oldrich Andrysek, presenting extensive collection of Soviet, Transdniestrian, Eastern European and some Mongolian awards with descriptions, images, news, reference materials of interest to phalerists and collections of soviet memorabilia. Well-illustrated, with exchange section and info on fraud.