Orders of the Great Patriotic War

This article is devoted to the orders established during the Great Patriotic War. Military awards of that era are symbols of heroism, self-sacrifice and patriotism of the Soviet people. The article presents an overview of the Soviet Union’s orders awarded for courage and heroism of the homeland’s defenders, both on the front and in the rear. During the war the USSR created eleven different orders. Each one had a unique symbolic design and was awarded for a specific act of bravery on the battlefields and in the rear. The paper provides statistical data on the number of awardees. Being awarded an order boosted combat spirit and cemented the image of heroes in the mass consciousness. The system of orders during the war sustained the motivation of Soviet citizens in the struggle against a ruthless enemy. Thousands of privates and officers were honored with the privilege of becoming order-bearers. Orders commemorated not only individual feats but also entire military units, becoming symbols of solidarity and unity. The article analyzes official data, archival sources and publications of other researchers. It will be of interest to students, historians, local scholars and anyone fascinated by the history of the Great Patriotic War and its fearless heroes. The study of those awards contributes to the construction of the memory of the war. The orders preserve the memory of great events and remind descendants of the cost of victory. Orders kept in family collections and museums continue to remind of the immortal deeds and self-sacrifice of the hero-people.

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