Heraldica Moldaviae, I, 2018 Medalia a fost concepută ca o recompensă destinată militarilor implicaţi „...în apă- rarea inviolabilităţii graniţelor sau în luptele contra diversioniştilor, spionilor şi alţi (sic!) duşmani ai Republicii Populare Române...”. Medalia nu a fost niciodată conferită, ea fiind abrogată prin Decretul nr. 22 din 15 ianuarie 1958, în cadrul măsurilor de „destalini- zare” luate de către autorităţile româneşti. Cuvinte cheie: Republica Populară Română, Medalia „Pentru Vitejie”, faleristică, relaţii româno-sovietice, destalinizare. AN EPHEMERAL ROMANIAN DECORATION: “FOR GALLANTRY” MEDAL (1953-1958) ABSTRACT Instituted by the Decree no. 37 of January 20, 1953, “For Gallantry” Medal belonged the first series of awards of the Romanian People’s Republic. Closely inspired by a Soviet decoration having the same name, “For Gallantry” Medal illustrates not only the features of the Romanian phaleristics during the early period of the republican regime, but also the political relations between Romania and the Soviet Union before and immediately after Stalin’s death. The medal was intended to reward the militaries involved with the protection of the state borders, as well as against “diversionists, spies and other enemies of the Romanian People’s Republic”. The medal was never conferred, being revoked by the Decree no. 22 of January 15, 1958, as a part of the policy of the Romanian authorities of eradicating Stalin’s legacy. Keywords: Romanian People’s Republic, “For Gallantry” Medal, phaleristics, Romanian-Soviet relations, De-Stalinization. 20.08.2018 Tudor-Radu Tiron – jurist, heraldist, doctor în istorie; consilier superior la Cancelaria Ordinelor, Administraţia Prezidenţială a României, Palatul Cotroceni, Bulevardul Geniului, nr. 1-3, sector 6, RO-060116 Bucureşti, România; membru al Comisiei Naţionale de Heraldică, Genealogie şi Sigilografie a Academiei Române, membru asociat al Academiei Internaţionale de Heraldică; e-mail:
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