Order of Victory


The Order of Victory was the highest military decoration awarded for World War II service in the Soviet Union, and one of the rarest orders in the world. The order was awarded only to Generals and Marshals for successfully conducting combat operations involving one or more army groups and resulting in a "successful operation within the framework of one or several fronts resulting in a radical change of the situation in favor of the Red Army." The Order of Victory is a standalone decoration awarded specially for service in World War II; unlike other awards such as the Hero of the Soviet Union, it does not belong to any order of ranking. In its history, it has been awarded twenty times to twelve Soviet leaders and five foreign leaders, with one revocation. The last living recipient was King Michael I of Romania, who died on 5 December 2017.

History

The order was proposed by Colonel N. S. Neyelov, who was serving at the Soviet Army Rear headquarters around June 1943. The original name that Colonel Neyelov suggested was Order for Faithfulness to the Homeland; however, it was given its present name around October of that year.
On October 25, 1943, artist A. I. Kuznetsov, who was already the designer of many Soviet orders, presented his first sketch to Stalin. The sketch of a round medallion with portraits of Lenin and Stalin was not approved by the Supreme Commander. Instead, Stalin wanted a design with the Spasskaya Tower in the centre. Kuznetsov returned four days later with several new sketches, of which Stalin chose one entitled "Victory". He asked Kuznetsov to slightly alter the design, and on the 5th of November a prototype was finally approved. The order was officially adopted on November 8, 1943, and was first awarded to Georgy Zhukov, Alexandr Vasilevsky, and Joseph Stalin. All three were awarded a second order a year or more later.
The order was also bestowed to top commanders of the Allied forces. Every order was presented during or immediately after World War II, except for the controversial 1978 award to Leonid Brezhnev. Brezhnev's award was revoked posthumously in 1989 for not meeting the requirements for the award.
Like other orders awarded by Communist nations, the Order of Victory could be awarded more than once to the same individual. In total, the order was presented twenty times to seventeen people.
Unlike all other Soviet orders, the Order of Victory had no serial number on it, the number was only mentioned in the award certificate. After a holder of the Order of Victory died, the award was to be given back to the state. Most of awards are now preserved by the Diamond Fund in the Moscow Kremlin. Notable exceptions are King Michael I of Romania’s Order of Victory, which is held in the collection of the Romanian Royal Family, Dwight D. Eisenhower's Order of Victory, which is on display at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum in Abilene, Kansas, Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery's Order of Victory, which is on display at the Imperial War Museum in London, and Josip Broz Tito's Order of Victory, which is kept in the Museum of Yugoslav History in Belgrade.

Construction details

The Order is made out of platinum in the form of a pentangular star with rays between the arms, measuring 72 mm in diameter. The star is studded with 174 diamonds weighing a total of 16 carats, while the arms of the star are made out of ruby. The rubies in the arms are synthetic, not because the synthetic gems were cheaper, but because they had to be of a uniform color, which could not be guaranteed with natural stones. In the center of the star is a silver medallion, 31mm in diameter, with the Moscow Kremlin wall, the Spasskaya Tower, and Lenin's Mausoleum depicted in gold surrounded by bands of laurel and oak also colored in gold. The laurel and oak are bound with a red banner. The sky in the background is inlaid with blue enamel.
Against the sky, the letters "СССР" appear in gold centered on the top of the medallion, while the word "Победа" is displayed on the red banner at the bottom. The total mass of the order is 78g, which consists of 47g of platinum, 2g of gold, 19g of silver, 25 carats of ruby and 16 carats of diamond.
Instead of being made at a mint, each Order was made in a jeweler's workshop.
Dwight D. Eisenhower had his star valued by an American jeweler; he told Bernhard, Prince Consort of the Netherlands, that his stones were "fakes".

Ribbon

The ribbons of various Soviet orders have been combined to create the Order Ribbon. The total length of the ribbon is 44 mm and it is mostly worn on the field uniform. The following featured orders are depicted on the ribbon :
#DateNameDiedSummary
11944-04-10April 10, 1944 Georgy Zhukov1974-06-18June 18, 1974
21944-04-10April 10, 1944 Aleksandr Vasilevsky1977-12-05December 5, 1977
31944-04-10April 10, 1944 Joseph Stalin1953-03-05March 5, 1953
41945-03-30March 30, 1945 Konstantin Rokossovsky1968-08-03August 3, 1968
51945-03-30March 30, 1945 Ivan Konev1973-05-21May 21, 1973
61945-04-19April 19, 1945 Aleksandr Vasilevsky1977-12-05December 5, 1977'
71945-04-26April 26, 1945 Rodion Malinovsky1967-03-31March 31, 1967
81945-04-26April 26, 1945 Fyodor Tolbukhin1949-10-17October 17, 1949
91945-05-31May 31, 1945 Leonid Govorov1955-03-19March 19, 1955
101945-05-31May 31, 1945 Georgy Zhukov1974-06-18June 18, 1974'
111945-06-04June 4, 1945 Semyon Timoshenko1970-03-31March 31, 1970
121945-06-04June 4, 1945 Aleksei Antonov1962-06-18June 18, 1962
131945-06-05June 5, 1945 Bernard Montgomery1976-03-24March 24, 1976
141945-06-10June 10, 1945 Dwight D. Eisenhower1969-03-28March 28, 1969
151945-06-26June 26, 1945 Joseph Stalin1953-03-05March 5, 1953
161945-07-06July 6, 1945 Michael I of Romania2017-12-05December 5, 2017
171945-08-09August 9, 1945 Michał Rola-Żymierski1989-10-15October 15, 1989
181945-09-08September 8, 1945 Kirill Meretskov1968-12-30December 30, 1968
191945-09-09September 9, 1945 Josip Broz Tito1980-05-04May 4, 1980
201978-02-20February 20, 1978 Leonid Brezhnev1982-11-10November 10, 1982Revoked

Fate of the Orders

After the death of the recipient of the Order of Victory, it was to be given back to the state.