The titleHero of the Soviet Union (Russian:Герой Советского Союза,IPA:[ɡʲɪˈrojsɐˈvʲetskəvəsɐˈjuzə]) was the highest distinction in theSoviet Union, awarded together with theOrder of Lenin personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society.[1] The title was awarded both to civilian and military persons.
The award was established on 16 April 1934, by theCentral Executive Committee of the Soviet Union.[2] The first recipients of the title originally received only theOrder of Lenin, the highest Soviet award, along with a certificate (грамота,gramota) describing the heroic deed from thePresidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. Because the Order of Lenin could be awarded for deeds not qualifying for the title of hero, and to distinguish heroes from other Order of Lenin holders, the Gold Star medal was introduced on 1 August 1939.[3] Earlier heroes were retroactively eligible for these items.[citation needed]
A hero could be awarded the title again for a subsequent heroic feat with an additional Gold Star medal and certificate.[4] The practice of awarding additional Orders of Lenin when the title was awarded multiple times was abolished by theSupreme Soviet of the USSR in 1988 duringperestroika.[4]
Forty-four foreign citizens were awarded the title.[5]
The title was also awarded posthumously,[6] though often without the actual Gold Star medal presented.[citation needed]
MarshalGeorgy Zhukov (center) wearing three Hero of the Soviet Union medals and MarshalKonstantin Rokossovsky (right) wearing two (1945)Soldiers of the Red Army's 129th Rifle Division lift their comrades, awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union, in celebration, 1943.
In total, during the existence of the USSR, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to 12,777 people (excluding 72 stripped of the title for defamatory acts and 13 awards annulled as unwarranted), including 154 people who received the award twice (nine posthumously), three who received it three times, and two who received it four times. Ninety-five women were awarded the title. Among the Heroes of the Soviet Union, 44 people are citizens of foreign states. The great majority of them received it duringWorld War II (11,635 Heroes of the Soviet Union, 101 twice Heroes, three thrice Heroes, and two four-time Heroes). Eighty-five people (28 posthumously) were awarded the title for actions related to theSoviet-Afghan War, which lasted from 1979 until 1989.[9]
Over 100 people received the award twice. A second Hero title, either Hero of the Soviet Union orHero of Socialist Labour, entitled the recipient to have a bronze bust of their likeness with a commemorative inscription erected in their hometown.[13]
Fighter pilotsAleksandr Pokryshkin andIvan Kozhedub were three times Heroes of the Soviet Union.[14] A third award entitled the recipient to have their bronze bust erected on a columnar pedestal in Moscow, near thePalace of the Soviets, but the palace was never completed.[15][16]
After his release from serving a 20-year sentence in a Mexican prison for the assassination ofLeon Trotsky,Ramón Mercader moved to the Soviet Union in 1961 and as Ramon Lopez[17] was awarded the Order of Lenin and the Hero of the Soviet Union medal "for the special deed" by KGB headAlexander Shelepin.[citation needed]
The only individuals to receive the title four times were MarshalGeorgy Zhukov andLeonid Brezhnev. The original statute of the Hero of the Soviet Union, however, did not provide for a fourth title; its provisions allowed for a maximum of three awards regardless of later deeds. Both Zhukov and Brezhnev received their fourth titles under controversial circumstances. Namely, Zhukov was awarded a fourth title in direct violation of the statute.[4] He was awarded the fourth time "for his large accomplishments" on the occasion of his 60th birthday on December 1, 1956. There is some speculation that Zhukov's fourth Hero medal was for his participation in the arrest ofLavrentiy Beria in 1953, but this was not entered in the records. Brezhnev's four awards further eroded the prestige of the award because they were all birthday gifts, on the occasions of his 60th, 70th, 72nd and 75th birthdays. Such practices halted in 1988 due to a decision of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, which formally ended it.[citation needed] By the 1970s, the award had been somewhat devalued. Important political and military persons had been awarded it on the occasions of their birthdays rather than for any immediate heroic activity.[citation needed] All Sovietcosmonauts, starting fromYuri Gagarin, as well as foreign citizens from non-capitalist countries who participated in the Soviet space program as cosmonauts, received a Hero award for each flight, but no more than twice.[citation needed]
Apart from individuals, the title was also awarded to twelve cities (Hero City) as well as the fortress ofBrest (Hero-Fortress) for collective heroism during the War.[18]
Dmitry Komar, Vladimir Usov, and Ilya Krichevsky – Posthumously awarded for being killed while attempting to blockIFVs from reaching theWhite House during theAugust Coup
Semyon Timoshenko – military commander and senior professional officer of theRed Army, Marshal of the Soviet Union and People's Commissar of State for National Defense.
Semyon Budyonny – Military Commander, 1st Cavalry Army in the Civil War and later of the Army Cavalry Commands, also Marshal of the Soviet Union and from 1937 to 1940, Commanding Officer, Moscow Military District.
Ivan Kozhedub – highest-scoring Soviet fighter pilot
Georgy Zhukov – Military commander and politician credited with many of the most significant Soviet victories of World War II, Commander of the First Belorussian Front and Marshal of the Soviet Union.
Fritz Schmenkel – German communist who deserted to Soviet troops in November 1941 and became a partisan, killed 22 February 1944, posthumously awarded 1964[21]
Alander, Jussi-Pekka (2012).Neuvostoliiton kunniamitalit (in Finnish). Tampere: Apali.ISBN978-952-5877-13-7.
Chmelnizki, D. (2007).Архитектура Сталина [Stalin's Architecture] (in Russian). Прогресс-Традиция.ISBN978-5898262716.Note: The 2007 hardcopy Russian edition cites an invalid ISBN. Here, the valid code is referenced to the2013 reprint
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