A Stroke of Key is Mike Tyukanov’s new blog. A frequent commentator on Siberian Light, Mike lives in Moscow.
His latest post is a revealing look into Russian and Soviet military decorations:
Military and civilian decorations in USSR and Russia have two classes. The higher one is called an order, the lower one is a medal. For example, if a soldier did some heroic deed in WWII, he was awarded a medal ‘Za otvagu’ (For courage). Many medals were awarded for participation in a specific battle, e.g. ‘For the defense of Moscow’, ‘For the liberation of Prague’, ‘For the conquest of Budapest’ (since Hungary was Hitler’s ally, it is conquest, or taking, (vzyatie), not liberation).
However, if the deed was outstanding, he could be awarder an order ‘Slavy’ (of Glory), or an order of Red Banner. ‘Hero of Soviet Union’, ‘Hero of Socialist Labor’, and modern ‘Hero of Russia’ are special titles. In the Soviet times, the awardees were decorated both with an Order of Lenin and the special Golden Star medal (with Hammer and Sickle for Labor version). This makes this medal the highest award, like Medal of Honor in USA. But basically, orders are what is called medals in America, and medals are what is called badges and coins.
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