First variant Russian Order of the Red Banner on red cloth from 1918 to 1924Marshal of the Soviet Union Vasily Blyukher wearing four first variant Orders of the Red BannerEarly variant Soviet Order of the Red BannerNaval ensign of a Military Order of the Red Banner vessel
TheOrder of the Red Banner (Russian:Орден Красного Знамени,romanized: Orden Krasnogo Znameni) was the firstSovietmilitary decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during theRussian Civil War by decree of theAll-Russian Central Executive Committee. It was the highest award ofSoviet Russia, subsequently theSoviet Union, until theOrder of Lenin was established in 1930. Recipients were recognised for extraordinary heroism, dedication, and courage demonstrated on the battlefield. The Order was awarded to individuals as well as to military units, cities, ships, political and social organizations, and state enterprises. In later years, it was also awarded on the twentieth and again on the thirtieth anniversary of military, police, or state security service without requiring participation in combat (the "Long Service Award" variant).
During the Civil War, similarly named orders and decorations existed, which were established by the Soviet communist governments of several other constituent and nonconstituent republics. The August 1, 1924, decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee[4] established the all-Soviet Order of the Red Banner for deserving personnel of theRed Army.
Other nonmilitary awards also used the phrase "Order of the Red Banner" in their title; for example, theOrder of the Red Banner of Labour was presented for acts of great scientific, military (technical or logistic), manufacturing, or agricultural achievement.
1933 stamp marking the 15th anniversary of the Order of the Red Banner
From 1918 till the late 1930s there was also a Soviet collective variant – theRevolutionary Red Banner of Honor. This was in the form of a special military color awarded to distinguishedRed Army,Soviet Air Force, andSoviet Navy units. It was older than the Order of the Red Banner, having been established on August 3, 1918, a month and several weeks before.
As a military decoration, the Order of the Red Banner recognised heroism in combat or otherwise extraordinary accomplishments of military valour during combat operations.[1] Before the establishment of theOrder of Lenin on April 5, 1930,[5] the Order of the Red Banner functioned as the highest (and practically the only)military order of the USSR. DuringWorld War II, under various titles (including theOrder of the Red Banner of Military Valour andOrder of the Red Banner for Maritime Valour), it was presented to both individuals and military units for acts of extreme military heroism. In some ways, the Order of the Red Banner was more prestigious, as it could only be awarded for bravery during combat operations. In contrast, the Order of Lenin was sometimes awarded to non-military personnel and political leaders. Nearly all well-known Soviet commanders became recipients of the Order of the Red Banner.
When the Order was awarded to whole formations, the prefix "Red Banner" was added to their official designations. Naval vessels also flew a specialensign.[4]
The Order of the Red Banner was also used as a "long service award" between 1944 and 1958 to mark twenty and thirty years of service in the military, state security, or police.[4] Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of September 14, 1957,[6] emphasised the devaluation of certain Soviet high military Orders used as long service awards instead of their originally intended criteria. This led to the joint January 25, 1958, decree of the Ministers ofDefence, ofInternal Affairs, and of the Chairman of theCommittee on State Security of the USSR establishing theMedal "For Impeccable Service," putting an end to the practice of awarding long service variants of the Order of the Red Banner.
The Order, made of silver, consisted of a white-enamelled badge, which had a goldenHammer and Sickle badge surrounded by two golden panicles ofwheat on aRed Star, backed by crossed hammer,plough, torch, and ared flag bearing the mottoProletarians (Workers) of all countries, Unite!. Two golden panicles of wheat surrounded the whole; at the bottom were the letters "SSSR" (Russian:СССР).[4] Additional awards of the Order bore a white enamelled shield with a silver sequence number at the bottom of theobverse. A recipient of multiple Orders of the Red Banner would wear a basic badge of the Order with a numeral corresponding to the sequence of the award on acartouche over the wheat at the bottom of the badge.[7]
The early variants of the Order were screw-back badges to allow wear on clothing. Later variants (from 1943) hung from a standard Soviet pentagonal mount with a ring through the suspension loop. The mount was covered with an overlapping 24mm wide red silkmoiré ribbon with 1.5mm wide white edge stripes and a 7mm wide white central stripe.[4]
The Order of the Red Banner was worn on the left side of the chest and when in the presence of other Orders and medals of the USSR, was placed immediately after theOrder of the October Revolution.[4] If worn in the presence of Orders or medals of theRussian Federation, the latter have precedence.[8]
This is adynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help byediting the page to add missing items, with references toreliable sources.
Feats of valour worthy of the award of the Order of the Red Banner were as much against internal as against external enemies of the USSR, as detailed below:
Stalin's Chief Executioner (and eventually NKVD Major General)Vasili Mikhailovich Blokhin was awarded his Order in 1941 for leading a company of executioners that performed and supervisednumerous mass executions during Stalin's reign, including more than 7,000 Poles over the course of several consecutive days.
Pavel Dybenko won three Orders of the Red Banner, his first in the 1921 bloody suppression of thenaval rebellion in Kronstadt, his two other Orders in 1922 in the suppression of peasants uprisings.
PrivateMikhail Minin was awarded the Order of the Red Banner for being the first to enter theReichstag building on April 30, 1945, during theBattle of Berlin, and the first soldier to mount the red flag on its roof at 10:40 pm.
Major GeneralMikhail Vasilyevich Vodopyanov was awarded two of his four Orders of the Red Banner for his leadership of long-range bomber groups duringWorld War II, often personally leading the missions.
