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Home , Mitrofan Nedelin, Order of Lenin

SOVIET HEROES - RUSSIAN MEDALS

FRANÇOIS DUTIL

Introduction military men in order to give the reader a fuller grasp of the crucial and often pivotal roles each played in his During World War II the instituted a series of particular field of expertise and how they personally military awards bearing the names of illustrious military influenced the service or department associated with the leaders from Russian history. Still in its relative infancy, awards bearing their names. the young regime had no alternative but to draw from its imperial past in order to find figures notable enough Decoration Chief-Marshal of Artillery M.I. Nedelin to inspire the generation of that time and to command the respect and admiration associated with such names The Decoration Chief Marshal of Artillery M.I. Nedelin as Suvorov, Nevskii and Nakhimov, to name but a few. (Figure 1) was established on April 7, 1998 by Order Following the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the 162 of the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation. advent of a new, democratic Russia, major modifications It is awarded to military and civilian personnel of the were made to the national honors system. The new , as well as to veterans of the Russian state originally retained many of the Soviet orders service, for distinction displayed in the line of normal by the simple abrogation of communist symbolisms from duties, during combat assignments, in carrying out special their designs; this however, was rectified in a September tasks, for courage and valor in the line of duty, as well 2010 Presidential Decree detailing a major restructuring as for activities aimed at strengthening the position and and redesign of these same orders. prestige of the Strategic Rocket Forces.

One of the initial 1991 changes was a greater freedom for individual ministries and federal agencies to develop their own honors system subordinate to national awards. The result was a great many new awards being incorporated in to a now multi-tiered system where many ministries started from barely more than a few quaint breast badges. Just as the Soviet Union had done during the Great Patriotic War, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation (MDRF) also looked to the past seeking illustrious military leaders worthy of recognition when it instituted a series of decorations and medals for its sub-departments. These awards are named after highly successful generals and admirals, though this time around, all were selected from the Soviet era. To date, barely a dozen have been singled out for this distinct honor: names such as Margelov, Pikalov, Khrulev and Kuznetzov, all recipients of the Order of , and most were also Heroes of the Soviet Union or of Socialist Labor.

Although at times bestowed for courage, these ministerial- and departmental-level awards are mainly aimed at Figure 1: Obverse (left) and reverse of the Decoration recognizing proficiency and dedicated service in a Chief-Marshal of Artillery M.I. Nedelin. particular field or a department of the armed forces. Accordingly, each award bears the name of a general Obverse: The bust of Chief-Marshal of Artillery Nedelin or admiral associated with a particular MDRF service or department requiring any potential recipient to have Reverse: The circular inscription in cyrillic: TROOPS served, or worked, in the case of members of the civilian OF THE STRATEGIC ROCKET FORCES. The center staff, in said service or department for a predetermined inscription: M.I. NEDELIN. CHIEF-MARSHAL OF time period and at a certain level of efficiency. The author ARTILLERY. 1902 – 1960. opted to include an abridged biography of these Soviet

26 JOMSA Suspension: The award is always bestowed as displayed him and scores of other military and scientific personnel. here, mounted on the small square mount and is worn above the right breast pocket. The ribbon is blue (18mm Chief-Marshal Nedelin was awarded the title of wide) with equal (3mm) blue and red stripes near the of the Soviet Union in 1945, five Orders of Lenin, four edges. Blue and red represent the colors of the Russian Orders of the Red Banner, the Order of Kutuzov 1st Class, Strategic Rocket Forces making this one of the very few the Order of Suvorov 1st Class, the Order of Bogdan MDRF awards not suspended from a ribbon with a yellow Khmelnitskii 1st Class, the Order of the Patriotic War and black left field. 1st Class and numerous other medals and foreign orders.

Medal Admiral Gorshkov

The Medal Admiral Gorshkov (Figure 3) was established on January 27, 2003 by Order 25 of the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation. It is awarded to members of the Navy of the Russian Federation for great personal contribution to the development, production, testing and putting into operation ships, submarines, aircraft and other military equipment intended for the Navy in a timely manner and with high quality, for running tests on ships or on submarines, for the development of new aircraft; for the introduction of new constructive solutions to significantly improve the combat capabilities of weapons and military equipment, OR for the successful development of weapons and military equipment.

Figure 2: Chief-Marshal of Artillery .

Mitrofan Ivanovich Nedelin (Figure 2) was born November 9, 1902 in Borisoglebsk, Voronezh region. He joined the in 1920 and participated in the civil war. In the 1930s he commanded an artillery battery and later an entire regiment until going to fight as a volunteer on the Republican side during the from December 1937 to March 1939. During the Great Patriotic War he saw constant action, rising from an artillery brigade commander to commanding the artillery of the entire Southwest and 3rd Ukrainian fronts. He was appointed chief of staff of all Soviet artillery in 1946.

In the early 1950s, as Deputy Defense Minister for Figure 3: Obverse (left) and reverse of the Medal Armaments, he was one of the original organizers of Admiral Gorshkov the Soviet ICBM program. He personally directed the launch of Sputnik on October 4, 1957. In 1959, he was Obverse: The bust of Admiral Gorshkov over an aircraft appointed the first commander of the newly formed carrier and a nuclear submarine with the inscription Strategic Rocket Forces and promoted to Chief-Marshal ADMIRAL GORSHKOV. of Artillery. In this new post, he successfully oversaw the initial development of the force and its massive military Reverse: The circular Cyrillic inscription MINISTRY OF and scientific infrastructures. His life was tragically cut DEFENSE RUSSIAN FEDERATION. In the center, the short at Baikonur on October 24, 1960 when the new emblem of the Russian Navy (Figure 4). R-16 ICBM malfunctioned during its test launch killing Vol. 63, No. 4 (July-August 2012) 27 Flotilla supervising multiple amphibious operations and tactical landings. From 1948 to 1951 he served as chief of staff, then Commander, Black Sea Fleet. In 1955, he became the First Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Navy, and from January 5, 1956 to December 9, 1985 Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Navy and Deputy Defense Minister. A staunch supporter of a long- range navy capable of countering NATO naval forces, he championed the development of nuclear powered submarines and aircraft carriers overseeing the incredible expansion of the Soviet Navy during the post war years. He died in 1988. A Kiev class aircraft carrier was renamed Figure 4: Emblem of the Russian Navy. in his honor in 1991.

Suspension: The award is always bestowed as displayed Admiral Gorshkov was twice awarded the title of Hero here mounted on the pentagonal mount and is worn on of the Soviet Union, a State Prize in 1980, the Lenin the left breast with other medals in the prescribed order of Prize in 1985, seven Orders of Lenin, four Orders of the precedence. The left half of the ribbon is yellow (10mm) Red Banner, the Order of Kutuzov 1st Class, the Order with a narrow (2mm) black edge stripe, indicating a of Ushakov 1st and 2nd Class, the Order of the Red MDRF ministerial medal. The right half of the ribbon is Star, the Order of the , the Order of divided into two equal (6mm) stripes, one blue, one white, the Patriotic War 1st Class, the Order For Service to the representing the colors of the Russian Navy. Motherland in the Armed Forces 3rd Class and many other medals and foreign awards.

Medal Admiral Kuznetsov

Figure 5: Admiral Sergei Gorshkov. Figure 6: Obverse (left) and reverse of the Medal Admiral Kuznetsov. Sergei Georgiyevitch Gorshkov (Figure 5) was born February 13, 1910 in Kamenetz-Podolsk to a family of The Medal Admiral Kuznetsov (Figure 6) was established teachers. He entered the Leningrad Naval Academy in on January 27, 2003 by Order 25 of the Minister of 1927 upon leaving university. Between 1931 and 1940 Defense of the Russian Federation. It is awarded to naval he served in the Black Sea and Pacific fleets, emerging personnel of the Russian Federation for excellence in from that period with the rank of commander at the head training; for impeccable service on ships, submarines of a squadron of cruisers. He saw extensive action during or in naval air crews over a period of at least 5 years, the Great Patriotic War in the Black Sea Fleet and Danube (or in other naval formations for at least 10 years), for

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