The first twice heroes of the Soviet Union. Twice Hero of the Soviet Union Sultan in the Sky Army General Twice Hero of the Soviet Union
From June 1941 on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War. Until September 1942, he fought as part of the 4th IAP (flying I-153, Hurricane and Yak-7), then until the end of the war as part of the 9th Guards IAP (on the Yak-1, Airacobra and La -7).
By August 1943, the squadron commander of the 9th Odessa Red Banner Guards Aviation Regiment (6th Guards Fighter Aviation Division, 8th Air Army, Southern Front) of the Guard, Captain Amet-Khan Sultan, made 359 combat missions (of which 110 were in the skies of Stalingrad) , conducted 79 air battles, in which he shot down 11 enemy aircraft personally and 19 as part of a group.
On August 24, 1943, for the courage and courage shown in battles with enemies, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
By the end of the war, he carried out 603 combat missions, in 150 air battles he personally shot down 30 and in a group 19 enemy aircraft.
On June 29, 1945, the assistant commander of the 9th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment (1st Air Army) of the Guard, Major Amet-Khan Sultan, was awarded the second Gold Star medal.
After the war, he entered the Air Force Academy, but soon left and began working as a test pilot (in total he mastered about 100 aircraft). In 1946 - Guard Lieutenant Colonel. In 1947 he received the title “Test Pilot 1st Class”. In 1952 he was awarded the Stalin Prize.
In 1961, he was awarded the title “Honored Test Pilot of the USSR.” Died in a test flight on February 1, 1971.
Awarded the orders of Lenin (three times), the Red Banner (five), Alexander Nevsky, Patriotic War 1st degree, Red Star, Badge of Honor, medals. Honorary citizen of the city of Yaroslavl. Enlisted forever in the lists of the military unit. A bronze bust of the Hero was installed in his homeland, a memorial plaque was installed in the city of Kaspiysk, Dagestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. Schools No. 27 in Makhachkala and No. 8 in Kaspiysk bear his name. The Hero's relatives live in Moscow.
Died in 1945 in an air battle in East Prussia. Navigator of the 75th Guards Assault Aviation Regiment of the 1st Guards Assault Aviation Division of the 1st Air Army of the 3rd Belorussian Front, guard captain. Twice Soviet Union.
The feat of Nikolai Semeiko.
An Il-2 attack pilot was one of the most dangerous professions during the Second World War. Unlike bombers, they stormed enemy positions at low level flight at an altitude of only 50-250 meters at a speed of up to 300 km/h, attracting fire not only from anti-aircraft guns, but also from everything that was fired from the ground, and after the assault Enemy fighters were waiting for them, from which there was only one defense - to stand in a circle, covering each other's tail, and slowly return to their airfield.
For their enemies, they became “black death”, and in Soviet aviation, flights on the Il-2 were equated... to a penal battalion.“Many pilots convicted by the decision of the tribunal during the Second World War, instead of a penal battalion, were sent as riflemen to the Il-2, 30 sorties on which were equivalent to 1 year of a penal battalion,” Artem Drabkin recorded the memories of front-line soldiers in the book “I Fought on the Il-2 We were called "suicide bombers".
The youngest of the 154 twice Heroes in the entire history of the Soviet Union was a 22-year-old who flew 227 combat missions (equivalent to 7.5 years in a penal battalion), as a result of which he personally destroyed and damaged seven tanks, 10 artillery pieces, five aircraft at enemy airfields, 19 vehicles with troops and cargo, a steam locomotive, blew up two ammunition depots, suppressed 17 anti-aircraft artillery firing points, destroyed many other military equipment and enemy personnel.
He walked the battle path from Stalingrad, Donbass, to Koenigsberg.
He was awarded 7 military orders, and 2 Hero Stars were given to the family... after his death.
1945 - Hero of the Soviet Union with the presentation of the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal for courage and heroism shown in battles with the Nazi invaders;
1945 - Hero of the Soviet Union with the Golden Star medal. Posthumously;
Three Orders of the Red Banner;
Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, 3rd degree;
Order of Alexander Nevsky;
1st degree;
Lots of medals.
Mykola Semeyko was born into a military family and always considered himself Ukrainian;
On April 19, 1945, according to the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Council, Nikolai Semeiko was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal for courage and heroism shown in battles with the Nazi invaders. However, the famous attack pilot was not destined to pin the highest awards of the USSR to his chest, since the very next day after this decree he died in an air battle in East Prussia;
East Prussia on the map. The core of Prussia with its capital city of Königsberg (now Kaliningrad) now belongs to Russia, forming the Kaliningrad region.
2 months and 10 days after Semeiko’s death, he was awarded the title of Hero for the second time, but this time posthumously.
Biography of Nikolai Semeiko.
1940 - Nikolai Semeiko joined the Red Army;
1942 - graduated from the Voroshilovgrad Military Aviation School of Pilots and Advanced Courses for Command Staff;
1943 - member of the CPSU (b);
Since March 1943, he has been on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War. He was a crew commander, flight commander, deputy commander, commander and navigator of a squadron of the 75th Guards Attack Aviation Regiment, having begun combat activities near Stalingrad, took part in the battles on the Mius River, as well as in the battles for the liberation of Donbass, Crimea, as part of the troops of the Southern, 4th Ukrainian and 3rd Belorussian fronts;
October 1944 - navigator of a squadron of the 75th Guards Assault Aviation Regiment and navigator of the same regiment of the 1st Guards Assault Aviation Division of the 1st Air Army of the 3rd Belorussian Front;
On April 20, 1945, Nikolai Illarionovich Semeiko died during an air battle in East Prussia.
Perpetuating the memory of Nikolai Semeiko.
Bronze bust in Slavyansk;
The medium fishing trawler of Project 502E is named after him - tail number KI-8059;
School No. 12, where Nikolai Semeiko studied, now bears his name.
Grigory Panteleevich Kravchenko (September 27 (October 10) 1912, the village of Golubovka, Ekaterinoslav province - February 23, 1943, the village of Sinyavino, Leningrad region) - lieutenant general of aviation, ace pilot. Together with Gritsevets S.I., the first twice Hero of the Soviet Union (1939). Born on September 27 (October 10), 1912 in the village of Golubovka, Novomoskovsk district, Ekaterinoslav province (now Novomoskovsk district, Dnepropetrovsk region) in the family of a poor peasant. Ukrainian In 1930, he graduated from the school for peasant youth and entered the Perm Land Management College, which was soon transferred to Moscow. After his first year at the Moscow Land Management College in 1931, he was drafted into the Red Army. In the same year he joined the CPSU(b). In aviation When in the winter of 1931 the appeal of the IX Congress of the Komsomol was published with the call “Komsomolets - get on the plane!”, the answer of the Soviet youth was unanimous “Let's give 100,000 pilots!” Grigory took the call as personally addressed to him and submitted an application with a request to send him to aviation. According to the special recruitment of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks in May 1931, he was sent to the 1st Military Pilot School named after. Comrade Myasnikov in Kutch. At the aviation school he mastered the U-1 and R-1 aircraft. The persistent and disciplined cadet completed the training program in 11 months. In 1932, after graduating from the Kachin Military Aviation School named after A.F. Myasnikov, he remained to work there as an instructor pilot. In 1933-1934. served in the 403rd IAB, commanded by brigade commander P.I. Pumpur. He quickly mastered the I-3, I-4, and I-5 fighters. Since 1934, he served near Moscow in the 116th Special Purpose Fighter Squadron under the command of Colonel Thomas Susi. He was a flight commander. The squadron carried out special tasks for the Air Force Research Institute. Participated in testing dynamo-reactive aircraft guns of the Kurchevsky APK 4-bis aircraft on I-Z aircraft (N 13535). For success in his service he was awarded the Order of the Badge of Honor on May 25, 1936. In August 1936, he was awarded a diploma from the Central Committee of the Komsomol and the Central Council of Osoaviakhim of the USSR for excellent work in preparing and holding the aviation festival, which took place on August 24, 1936. Participation in hostilities in China and Khalkhin Gol Senior Lieutenant Kravchenko took part in hostilities in China from March 13 to August 24, 1938. Flew on I-16 (76 hours of combat flight time). On April 29, he shot down 2 bombers, but he himself was shot down, with difficulty he landed the plane in emergency mode and took more than a day to get to his airfield in Nanchang. On July 4, while covering Anton Gubenko, who had jumped out of a parachute, he pinned down a Japanese fighter so much that it crashed into the ground. After the group's flight to Canton, Kravchenko took part in a raid on an enemy airfield. On May 31, 1938, he destroyed 2 aircraft while repelling an enemy raid on Hanhou. A few days later he destroyed 3 enemy fighters in one battle, but he himself was shot down. In the summer of 1938, he won his last victory over Hanhou - he shot down a bomber. In total, in China he shot down about 10 enemy aircraft and was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. At the end of December 1938, Kravchenko was awarded the extraordinary military rank of major. He continued flight test work at the Air Force Research Institute in Stefanovsky's detachment. Conducted state tests of fighters: I-16 type 10 with wing “M” (December 1938 - January 1939), I-16 type 17 (February-March 1939). Conducted a number of test works on I-153 and DI-6 fighters. On February 22, 1939, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin. After the establishment of the special insignia “Golden Star”, he was awarded medal No. 120. On May 29, from the Central Airfield named after. Frunze, a group of 48 pilots and engineers who had combat experience, led by the Deputy Head of the Air Force Directorate, Corps Commander Ya. V. Smushkevich, flew on 3 Douglas transport aircraft along the route Moscow - Sverdlovsk - Omsk - Krasnoyarsk - Irkutsk - Chita for strengthening units participating in the Soviet-Japanese conflict near the Khalkhin Gol River. K.E. Voroshilov came to see them off, who prohibited the flight until parachutes were delivered for everyone. On June 2, 1939, Kravchenko arrived in Mongolia and was appointed an adviser to the 22nd Fighter Aviation Regiment (based at Tamsag-Bulak). After the death in battle of the regiment commander, Major N. G. Glazykin, and then the lieutenant regiment commander, Captain A. I. Balashev, he was appointed regiment commander. The regiment's pilots destroyed more than 100 enemy aircraft in the air and on the ground. Kravchenko himself, from June 22 to July 29, conducted 8 air battles, shot down 3 aircraft personally and 4 in the group, including the famous ace Major Marimoto. Participated in 2 assault strikes on enemy airfields, in which 32 enemy aircraft were destroyed under his command, on the ground and in the air. On August 10, for courage in battles with aggressors, the Presidium of the Small Khural of the MPR awarded Grigory Panteleevich Kravchenko the Order of the Red Banner for Military Valor. The order was presented by Marshal of the Mongolian People's Republic Khorlogin Choibalsan.
Marshal of the Mongol People's Republic Khorlogiin Choibalsan with Soviet pilots awarded for participation in the battles at Khalkhin Gol, 1939.
Marshal of the Mongolian People's Republic Khorlogin Choibalsan. On August 29, 1939, Major Grigory Panteleevich Kravchenko was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (medal No. 1/II) for the second time. G. P. Kravchenko and S. I. Gritsevets became the first twice Heroes of the Soviet Union. In addition to Kravchenko himself, 13 more pilots of the 22nd IAP were awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union, 285 people were awarded orders and medals, and the regiment became Red Banner. On September 12, 1939, a group of Heroes of the Soviet Union flew from the area of the Khalkhin Gol River to Moscow on 2 transport planes. In Ulaanbaatar, the Soviet pilots were greeted by Marshal Choibalsan. A dinner was given in their honor. On September 14, 1939, the heroes of Khalkhin Gol were met in Moscow by representatives of the Air Force General Staff and relatives. IN Central House The Red Army held a gala dinner. On September 15, 1939, he left for the Kiev Military District to participate in the operation to liberate the western regions of Ukraine as an adviser to the aviation division. On October 2, 1939, Major G.P. Kravchenko was recalled from the Kyiv Military District and appointed head of the fighter aviation department of the Main Directorate of the Red Army Air Force. Kravchenko was given an apartment in Moscow on Bolshaya Kaluzhskaya Street (now Leninsky Prospekt). His parents and younger brother and sister moved in with him. On November 4, 1939, for the first time in the country, Gold Star medals were awarded to Heroes of the Soviet Union. The first in the country and two Gold Star medals at once, the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR Mikhail Ivanovich Kalinin attached Grigory Panteleevich Kravchenko to his tunic. On November 7, 1939, he was the leader of five fighters and opened the air parade over Red Square. In November 1939, Kravchenko was nominated as a candidate for deputy of the Moscow Regional Council of Workers' Deputies (he was elected in December). Soviet-Finnish War Participant in the Soviet-Finnish War of 1939-1940. Initially, the Kravchenko air group (or Special Air Group) consisted of two regiments - SB bombers and I-153 fighters and was stationed on the island of Ezel (Dago) in Estonia, but gradually increased to 6 air regiments (71st fighter, 35th, 50th and the 73rd high-speed bomber, 53rd long-range bomber and 80th mixed air regiments). Operationally, the brigade was subordinate to the head of the Red Army Air Force, corps commander Ya. Smushkevich. During hostilities, this brigade often assisted the 10th mixed air brigade of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet Air Force in organizing joint attacks on Finnish ports and battleships. The distribution of targets between the brigades was as follows: the 10th brigade bombed the ports of the western and southwestern coasts of Finland, as well as enemy transports and warships at sea, and the Kravchenko group bombed populated areas in central and southern Finland. Awarded the second Order of the Red Banner. On February 19, 1940, he was awarded the rank of brigade commander, and in April he was awarded the rank of division commander. In the summer of 1940 he participated in the annexation of Estonia. In May-July 1940 - head of the fighter aviation department of the Flight Technical Inspectorate of the Red Army Air Force. By a resolution of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR dated June 4, 1940, G. P. Kravchenko was awarded the military rank of lieutenant general of aviation. From July 19 to November 1940 - Commander of the Air Force of the Baltic Special Military District. Since November 23, 1940, he attended advanced training courses for command personnel at the Academy of the General Staff. In March 1941, after graduating from KUVNAS, he was appointed commander of the 64th IAD of the Kiev Special Military District (12th, 149th, 166th, 246th and 247th IAP), which he commanded until the beginning of the Great Patriotic War.
Great Patriotic War With the outbreak of the war with Germany after the death of the leadership of the 11th mixed aviation division of the Western Front on June 22, 1941, he was appointed commander of this air division, in July-August 1941 he participated in the Battle of Smolensk (the 11th air division was attached to the 13th Army of the Central , then Bryansk Front). From November 22, 1941 to March 1942 - Commander of the Air Force of the 3rd Army of the Bryansk Front. Then, in March-May 1942 - commander of the 8th strike aviation group of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command (Bryansk Front). From May 1942, he formed the 215th Fighter Aviation Division, and as its commander participated in battles on the Kalinin (November 1942 - January 1943) and Volkhov (from January 1943) fronts. On February 23, 1943, in an air battle, Kravchenko shot down a Focke-Wulf 190, but his La-5 plane caught fire. Having flown over the front line, Kravchenko was unable to reach his airfield and was forced to abandon the plane, but the parachute did not open, the exhaust cable with which the parachute pack was opened was broken by a shrapnel, and he died. The urn with ashes was buried in a columbarium in the Kremlin wall on February 28, 1943. The total number of victories won by G. P. Kravchenko is not given in any of the sources (with the exception of P. M. Stefanovsky’s book “300 Unknowns,” which lists 19 victories won in battles with the Japanese. Perhaps these figures reflect his overall result of combat activity). According to some memoir sources, in his last battle he won 4 victories at once (he shot down 3 planes with cannon fire, and drove another one into the ground with a skillful maneuver). Some Western sources indicate 20 victories won in 4 wars.
The title of Hero of the Soviet Union, according to the order of establishment, is the first of the two highest degrees of distinction of the USSR: the title of Hero of the Soviet Union and the title of Hero of Socialist Labor. This is the highest and most honorable award of the Soviet period, although it is far from the rarest: there were much more Heroes of the Soviet Union (about 12,600 people) than holders of all degrees of any “commander” order during the Great Patriotic War (see section “Orders of the USSR "), except for the Order of Alexander Nevsky, and more than the holders of the last order of establishment of the Soviet Order "For Personal Courage".The title of Hero of the Soviet Union is the first award of its kind in the world. Although some countries had the concept of “national hero,” it was not an official award. After the end of the Second World War, in a number of socialist countries, by analogy with the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, national highest degrees of distinction were established: “Hero of the MPR” (Mongolian People’s Republic), “Hero of the Czechoslovak People’s Republic” (Czechoslovak People’s Republic), “Hero of the NRB” (People’s Republic Bulgaria).
The title of Hero of the Soviet Union was established on April 16, 1934 by the Decree of the Central Executive Committee (CEC) of the USSR - that was the name of the country's parliament at that time. It stated that the highest degree of distinction of the USSR is “the awarding of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for personal or collective services to the state associated with the accomplishment of a heroic feat.” It was also established that “Heroes of the Soviet Union are given a special certificate.” No other attributes or insignia were introduced to the Heroes of the Soviet Union at that time.
The regulations on the title of Hero of the Soviet Union were first established on July 29, 1936. It introduced the procedure for awarding the Heroes of the Soviet Union the Order of Lenin - the highest award of the USSR - in addition to the CEC certificate.
From that moment on, all Heroes of the Soviet Union received the Order of Lenin until the abolition of the USSR in 1991. Those who were awarded the title of Hero before the release of this Resolution also received it - there were only 11 of them, all of them were pilots. In addition, the Resolution provided that the Hero of the Soviet Union could be deprived of this title by a special resolution of the Central Executive Committee. The introduction of the provision on the introduction is not surprising, since at that moment the bloody repressions of the 30s and 40s were being planned, which subsequently absorbed many heroes who were once treated with glory and honors. This Resolution did not introduce any special insignia for Heroes.
The need for such a badge appeared three years later, when there were already 122 Heroes of the Soviet Union (two of them, pilots S.A. Levanevsky and V.P. Chkalov, had died by that time, and the 19th title was awarded posthumously). On August 1, 1939, the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR (the new parliament of the country) “On additional insignia for Heroes of the Soviet Union” was issued. Articles 1 and 2 of the Decree stated: “For the purpose of special distinction of citizens awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union,” a medal “Hero of the Soviet Union” is established, which “is awarded simultaneously with the conferment of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union and the presentation of the Order of Lenin.” Articles 3 and 4 of the Decree introduced a major change to the 1936 Regulations on the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, according to which the title of Hero of the Soviet Union could only be awarded once. Article 3 stated: “The Hero of the Soviet Union, who has accomplished a secondary heroic feat, * is awarded the second medal “Hero of the Soviet Union,” and * a bronze bust is being built in the Hero’s homeland.” Article 4 introduced the procedure for awarding the twice Hero of the Soviet Union with the third medal “Hero of the Soviet Union” and for the construction of his bronze bust at the Palace of the Soviets in Moscow, the construction of which was then in full swing on the site of the bombed Cathedral of Christ the Savior. The issuance of Orders of Lenin when awarding the second and third medals was not provided for.
The description of the medal was approved by the Decree of October 16, 1939, which also changed the name of the medal: from that moment on it was called the Gold Star medal. The medal was made of gold and had the shape of a five-pointed star with rays 15 mm long. On the front side, the rays of the star are dihedral and polished. The reverse side of the medal is smooth, edged with a convex rim, with the inscription in raised letters “Hero of the USSR” and the medal number. On the upper ray of the medal there is an eyelet for attaching with a ring to a gilded rectangular block covered with a red moire (silk) ribbon. The weight of the medal is 21.5 g. The inscription “Hero of the USSR” reflects the original name of the medal and is due to the fact that their production began even before the Decree of October 16, 1939 was issued, which changed the name of the Gold Star medal. The medal was produced in this form until the liquidation of the USSR. In addition, this Decree established that when awarding the second and third medals, a special certificate of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR would be awarded.
The issuance of Gold Star medals was carried out in the order in which the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded, including to those persons who were awarded the title before the establishment of the Gold Star medal, and the number of the medal corresponded to the number of the certificate of the Central Executive Committee or the Presidium of the Supreme Council to the Hero of the Soviet Union.
The provision for the construction of a bust of the thrice Hero of the Soviet Union according to the Decree of August 1, 1939 was not implemented, since the construction of the Palace of the Soviets - a Stalinist monster 500 (!) meters high - stopped with the outbreak of the war, before the appearance of the first three times Hero of the Soviet Union (1944). ). Later, busts of three Heroes were installed in the Kremlin.
The next document on the title of Hero of the Soviet Union appeared in 1943: By the Decree of June 19, some changes were made to the description of the Gold Star medal.
The following document appeared more than twenty years later: By the Decree of September 6, 1967, on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution, a number of benefits were introduced to the Heroes of the Soviet Union. By decree of April 30, 1975 (on the eve of the 30th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany), the list of benefits was supplemented. It, in particular, established the right to assign personal pensions of union significance to Heroes of the Soviet Union and their families, preferential payment for living space, free travel in transport and some others.
The regulations on the title of Hero of the Soviet Union in a new edition appeared on May 14, 1973, some changes were made to it by the Decree of July 18, 1980. It stated that the title of Hero of the Soviet Union "is awarded for personal or collective services to the Soviet state and society associated with the accomplishment of a heroic feat." What was new about it was that when the Hero of the Soviet Union was repeatedly and subsequently awarded the Gold Star medal, he was awarded the Order of Lenin each time, and the procedure for establishing a bust in the homeland of the Hero of the Soviet Union, who was also awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor, was established.
In addition, the previous limit on the number of awards of the “Gold Star” to one person (three times) was lifted, thanks to which L.I. Brezhnev was able to become a four-time Hero of the Soviet Union (G.K. Zhukov in 1956 became a Four-Time Hero, bypassing the then-current Decree of August 1, 1939)
In 1988, this provision was changed, and the procedure for awarding the Order of Lenin to a Hero of the Soviet Union was established only upon the first presentation of the Gold Star medal. There is information that after the war, copies of the Gold Star medal made of base metals for everyday wear began to be awarded to Heroes of the Soviet Union.
The title of Hero of the Soviet Union was established in those days when the whole world followed the progress of the rescue of the crew and scientific personnel of the icebreaking steamship Chelyuskin, crushed by the ice of the Arctic Ocean.
Four days later, on April 20, 1934, after its establishment, it was assigned to seven pilots: six of them - A.V. Lyapidevsky, M.V. Vodopyanov, I.V. Doronin, N.P. Kamanin, V.S. Molokov, M.T. Slepnev - they took the Chelyuskinites out of their ice camp, the seventh - S.A. Levanevsky - took part in the rescue expedition. All of them received special certificates from the Central Executive Committee; Certificate Y1 was presented to A.V. Lyapidevsky. In addition, they were awarded the Order of Lenin, which was not provided for by the Decree establishing the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. All subsequent Heroes also received the Order of Lenin, but in person, the issuance of the Order of Lenin was legislated only when the Regulations on the title of Hero were published in 1936. The eighth Hero was also a pilot - the legendary M.M. Gromov, who received the title 4 months after the first Heroes for setting a world record for flight distance along a closed route. Members of his crew received only orders.
The next Heroes of the Soviet Union were the entire crew of the plane that flew from Moscow to the Far East: V.I. Chkalov, G.F. Baidukov and A.V. Belyakov (1936)
On December 31, 1936, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was first awarded for military exploits. Eleven commanders of the Red Army - participants in the civil war in the Spanish Republic - became heroes. It is noteworthy that all of them were also pilots, and three of them were foreigners by origin: the Italian Primo Gibelli, the German Ernst Schacht and the Bulgarian Zakhari Zahariev.
Thus, the idea of the world revolution and its main slogan “Workers of all countries, unite!” were embodied in the award case. At the same time, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to P. Jabelli and two Soviet pilots after his death, which became the first case in the USSR of posthumous awarding of a state award.
In June 1937, the title of Hero was awarded to non-military people, and also based on the results of an aviation expedition: for organizing and carrying out the delivery by plane to the North Pole of the crew of the world's first polar drifting weather station. The leader of the landing, Academician O.Yu. Schmidt, head of polar aviation of the USSR M.M. Shevelev, head of the station being organized I.D. Papanin and 5 pilots, including the famous I.P. Mazuruk and M.S. Babushkin. After 2 months, 2 more heroes appeared, and also pilots: A.B. Yumashev and S.A. Danilin - crew members M.M. Gromov, who made a record-breaking flight from Moscow to the United States via the North Pole. So, during the 3 years of existence of the Title of Hero of the Soviet Union, it was awarded only to pilots (with the exception of O.Yu. Schmidt and I.D. Papanin), which was supposed to raise the prestige of Soviet aviation and attract young people to it.
In the summer of the same year, the Title of Hero was first awarded for military exploits to Red Army commanders who were not foreigners or pilots. This was a group of tankers led by brigade commander (roughly corresponding to the later rank of “colonel”) D.G. Pavlov for participating in tough battles in Spain. Among them were lieutenants G.M. Skleznev and K. Bilibin, who were awarded the title posthumously.
During the war in Spain (1936 - 1939), the title of Hero was awarded to 59 participants. Among them there were 35 lieutenants, 21 tank crews, 2 submariners and 2 military advisers: corps commander pilot (corresponding to the rank of “lieutenant general”) Ya.V. Smushkevich and infantry captain A.I. Rodimtsev. Both of them later became twice Heroes of the Soviet Union. Several of the 59 Heroes were awarded the title posthumously, and the fates of the survivors turned out differently. One of the first Heroes mentioned by D.G. 3 years later Pavlov was already an army general, commander of the Western (Belarusian) Military District, and a year later he was shot on the orders of Stalin, placing all the blame on him for the failures of the Red Army in the difficult summer of 1941*
In March 1938, the ice drift of the North Pole station ended, and three members of its crew (in addition to N.D. Papanin): E.T. Krenkel, P.P., Shirshov and E.K. Fedorov was also awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. They were the first to receive Certificates of Heroes not on behalf of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR, but from the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, elected shortly before. Soon the famous pilot V.K. became a Hero. Kokkinaki for testing aircraft and setting world flight altitude records. At the same time, several Heroes appeared, awarded the title for battles in China against the Japanese invaders. The first of them was also a pilot, commander of the aviation group F.P. Polynin.
In the fall of the same year, 1988, the first mass conferment of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union took place: it was awarded to 26 soldiers and commanders who took part in the battles with the Japanese invaders who invaded the territory of the USSR in the area of Lake Khasan near Vladivostok. For the first time, ordinary Red Army soldiers (i.e., privates) became Heroes; all participants in the war in Spain were commanders (i.e., officers).
A few weeks later there was another important fact in the history of awarding the title of Hero of the Soviet Union: By the Decree of November 2, 1938, women were awarded it for the first time. Pilots V.S. Gryzodubova, P.D. Osinenko and M.M. Raskov were awarded for carrying out a non-stop flight from Moscow to the Far East. Two of them soon died in plane crashes: P.G. Osinenko a year later, while knocking out one of the first Heroes of the Soviet Union, the famous pilot brigade commander A. Serov, and M.M. Raskov already in 1942, having managed to form the world's first women's aviation regiment before his death.
In 1939, another mass conferment of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union took place. For military exploits shown in battles with Japanese invaders on the Khalkhin Gol River on the territory of the Mongolian Republic, friendly to the Soviet Union, 70 people were awarded the title of Hero. In addition, according to the changes in the Regulations on the title of Hero, introduced by the Decree of August 1, 1939, three more soldiers for the first time became twice Heroes of the Soviet Union. Among the 70 Heroes there were 14 infantrymen and combined arms commanders, 27 pilots, 26 tank crews and 3 artillerymen; 14 out of 70 belonged to the junior command staff (i.e., sergeants), and only 1 was a simple Red Army soldier, the rest were commanders (i.e., officers and generals).
In particular, the heroes were corps commander G.K. Zhukov, the future first four-time Hero of the Soviet Union, and army commander of the second rank (corresponding to the rank of “Colonel General”) G.M. Stern; 20 people were awarded the title of hero posthumously. Of the 50 Heroes, 16 people died later, during the Great Patriotic War, and G.M. Stern was shot without trial in the fall of 1941. Three pilots became Heroes for performing aerial crashes:
All three of the first two heroes were pilots: Major S.I. Gritsevets, Colonel G.P. Kravchenko (Decree of August 29), as well as corps commander Y.V. Smushkevich (Decree of November 17). The fate of all three subsequently turned tragic. S. Gritsevets died in a plane crash literally a month after the award. I'M IN. Smushkevich was arrested in the spring of 1941, deprived of all awards (that’s when Stalin came in handy with the Regulations on the title of Hero of 1936!) and in the fall of 1941 he was shot along with G.M. Sterk and another former Hero - pilot P.V. Rychagov (awarded the title for the war in Spain). G.M. Kravchenko soon became the youngest lieutenant general of the Red Army (at 28 years old), successfully fought on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War, but on February 23, 1943, he died after jumping out of a downed plane and being unable to use a parachute: his ripcord was broken by shrapnel.
The heroes of Khalkhin Gol became the first to receive the newly introduced insignia of the Golden Star medal.
At the beginning of 1940, a mass conferment of the title of Hero, unique in its kind, took place: “Golden Stars” were awarded to all 15 crew members of the icebreaking steamship “Georgiy Sedov”, which had been drifting in the ice of the Arctic Ocean for 812 days since 1937! Later, the awarding of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union to the entire crew of the ship or the entire personnel of the unit was never repeated, not counting three cases of awarding combined detachments during the Great Patriotic War (see below). In addition, the head of the rescue expedition on the icebreaker "I. Stalin" to remove the "G. Sedov" from the ice, Hero of the Soviet Union I.D. Papanin became a Twice Hero, and it is not entirely clear why: his activities as a boss were not at all associated with risk to life. I. Papanin became the only one of the five “pre-war” Twice Heroes who was not a pilot.
After the Soviet-Finnish War (winter of 1939-1940), the number of Heroes of the Soviet Union tripled - by 412 people! With these massive awards, Stalin tried to raise the prestige of this war, aggressive on the part of the USSR, which resulted in 150,000 losses for the Red Army. All categories of military personnel became heroes: several dozen Red Army soldiers, and two Marshals of the Soviet Union (for the first time): S.K., Timoshenko and G.M. Kulik, two years later stripped of this title after the failures of the Red Army in Crimea. Pilot Major General S.P. Denisov received a second “Gold Star” for fighting in Finland, becoming the last of the five “pre-war” Twice Heroes.
By the end of 1940, another Hero of the Soviet Union appeared - the Spaniard Ramon Mercader, awarded this title for the murder of the “worst enemy of communism” L.D. in Mexico. Trotsky, former Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the RSFSR and member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks. They killed him, of course, not for fighting against communism, but because he was Stalin’s rival in the battle for power. R. Mercader was given the title by secret decree under someone else's name, since after his murder he was arrested and kept in a Mexican prison. Only twenty years later, after leaving prison, he was able to receive his “Gold Star” in order to soon die in the USSR and be buried in Moscow under a pseudonym.
He became the last Hero of the Soviet Union in the pre-war period. In total, before the start of World War II, the title of Hero was awarded to 626 people, including 3 women and 5 Twice Heroes. By June 22, 1941, some of the Heroes died, including V. Chkalov, P. Osipenko, A. Serov, twice Hero of the Soviet Union S. Gritsevets, as well as another twice Hero - Ya.V. Smushkevich was under investigation as an “enemy of the people.” Many of the 626 soon died in the battles of the Great Patriotic War, before reaching Victory Day.
The overwhelming number of Heroes of the Soviet Union appeared during the Great Patriotic War: about 11,600 people or 92% of total number persons awarded this title. According to the Stalinist tradition, the first Heroes of the war years were fighter pilots, junior lieutenants S.I. Zdorovtsev, M.P. Zhukov and P.T. Kharitonov. The title of Hero was awarded to them for the destruction of enemy aircraft in the sky of Leningrad by ramming strikes (Decree of July 8, 1941). Lieutenant Colonel S.P. was also a pilot. Suprun, awarded the second Gold Star medal by Decree of July 22, 1941 (posthumously). On July 4, on the 13th day of the war, the commander of the special fighter air regiment S.P. Suprun, covering a group of bombers, single-handedly entered into battle with six enemy fighters, was mortally wounded and died, having managed to land the damaged fighter. He became the first and only twice Hero of the Soviet Union during the war months of 1941 (he received his first Golden Star in 1940).
The first Hero of the Soviet Union in the ground forces was the commander of the 1st Moscow Moto rifle division Colonel Ya.G. Kreizer (Decree of July 15, 1941) for organizing defense along the Berezina River. In the Navy, the title of Hero was first awarded to deputy platoon commander, senior sergeant V.P. Kislyanov (Northern Fleet, Decree dated August 13, 1941) By Decree dated August 8, 1941, the commander of the partisan detachment in Belarusian Polesie T.P. Bumazhkov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. He became the first Hero of the Soviet Union since the establishment of this highest degree of distinction. In total, in the first war year, only a few dozen people were awarded the title of Hero, and all of them in the period from July to October 1941; then the Germans approached Moscow, and the issues of rewarding soldiers were forgotten for a long time.
The awarding of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union resumed in the winter of 1942 after the expulsion of the Germans from the Moscow region: By decree of February 16, 1942, 18-year-old partisan Zoya Anatolyevna Kosmodemyanskaya was awarded the highest degree of distinction of the USSR (posthumously). She became the first of 87 women Heroes of the Soviet Union during the war years. This Decree began the awarding of the title of Hero to participants in the Moscow Battle. In particular, according to the Decree of July 21, 1942, all 28 Panfilov heroes who took part in the defense of Moscow became heroes. All of them were awarded the title posthumously, but subsequently five of them turned out to be alive and received the “Golden Stars” they rightfully deserved. In total, as a result of the battle of Moscow, more than 100 people became Heroes.
In June of the same year, the first twice Hero of the Soviet Union appeared, awarded this title both for the first and second time during the war. This was also a pilot, commander of the Northern Fleet fighter regiment, Lieutenant Colonel B.F. Safonov (decrees of September 16, 1941 and June 14, 1942, posthumously). He was also the first twice Hero among the soldiers of the Navy since the establishment of the title of Hero. The next twice Hero of the Soviet Union during the war years was again the pilot, squadron commander Captain A.I. Molodchy (Decrees of October 22, 1941 and December 31, 1942). But unlike S.P. Suprun and B.F. Safronov, he fought in bomber aviation and at the time of being awarded the second “Golden Star” he was alive and well, subsequently until Victory Day. In general, in 1942, the awarding of the title of Hero was almost as sparing as in 1941, not counting the aforementioned awards for participants in the Battle of Moscow.
In 1943, the first Heroes were the participants in the Battle of Stalingrad - it became the last major defensive operation of the Red Army, after which the expulsion of the fascist occupiers from the country began. This task required no less steadfastness and heroism than in the defense of the state, therefore, to stimulate these qualities on the eve of the offensive operations of 1943, a number of orders were issued by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief I.V. Stalin, regulating the merits for which the title of Hero of the Soviet Union could be awarded. These included forcing large rivers, seizing and holding bridgeheads, liberating large populated areas, encircling and eliminating enemy groups, etc. According to these orders, a fighter pilot could become a Hero for completing 100 successful combat missions, an attack pilot - 80 missions, a bomber pilot - 60 missions, and a military transport pilot - for 25 flights behind enemy lines with paratrooper drops or delivering cargo to partisans. These measures certainly played a role in raising the spirit of front-line soldiers.
Soon 8 of the 9 Double Heroes of 1943 appeared; all 8 were pilots: 5 from fighter, 2 from attack and 1 from bomber aircraft and were awarded one Decree dated August 24, 1943. Two of them became Heroes in 1942, and six received both “Gold Stars” within a few months of 1943 , which was the first time in 9 years of existence of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Among these six was A.I. Pokryshkin, a year later became the first three times Hero of the Soviet Union in history.
In October, the Red Aria crossed the Dnieper - an offensive operation in 1943. According to its results, 4,848 people received the title of Hero, which amounted to 22% (almost a quarter) of all Heroes of the Soviet Union during the war. Many were awarded the high title posthumously, but some of them, as it turned out, were mistaken.
One of the 4848 was awarded the second "Gold Star" - the commander of the rifle division I.I. Fesin, who became the first twice Hero in history not from the Air Force. In the same year, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded for the first time to a person who was neither a soldier of the Red Army nor a citizen of the USSR. He became second lieutenant (i.e. lieutenant) Otakar Jaros, who fought as part of the 1st Czechoslovak infantry battalion and died in battle in March 1943 near the village of Sokolovo in the Kharkov region.
In 1944, the number of Heroes of the Soviet Union increased by more than 3 thousand people, mostly infantrymen, and the number of twice Heroes increased by 23 people. Among the latter there were 23 pilots (i.e. more than half of them, 2 from the Air Force Navy), 7 soldiers of the ground forces (including 2 commanders of the fronts by the same Decree: G.K. Zhukov, future four-time Hero, and I.D. Chernyakovsky, who died half a year later in battle), 1 - sailor - commander a detachment of torpedo boats, captain-lieutenant. A.O. Shabalin and 2 commanders of partisan formations - the legendary S.A. Kovpak and A.F. Fedorov (for the first time in 10 years of existence of the title of Hero). In the same year, the right to assign the title of Hero to the same person for the third time, proclaimed back in 1933, was implemented for the first time.
The first three times Hero of the Soviet Union was the commander of the fighter aviation division, Colonel A.I. Pokryshkin (Decree of August 19, 1944)
In the spring of the same year, by Decree of April 2, 1944. It was announced that the youngest Hero of the Soviet Union during the Patriotic War would be awarded (posthumously). He became 17-year-old partisan Lenya Golikov, who died in battle a few months before the Decree.
In 1945, the awarding of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union continued during the fighting and then for several months after Victory Day following the war. So, before May 9, 1945, 28 twice Heroes appeared, and after May 9 - 38 people. At the same time, two of the twice Heroes were awarded the third “Gold Star”: the commander of the 1st Belorussian Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov (Decree of June 1, 1945) for the capture of Berlin and deputy commander of the air regiment, Major I.N. Kozhedub (Decree of August 18, 1945) as the most successful fighter pilot of the Soviet Air Force who shot down 62 enemy aircraft. By decree of April 2, 1945, the second and last award of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union to all personnel of one unit took place in the entire history of the Patriotic War. All 55 sailors of the landing detachment of Senior Lieutenant N.F. became heroes. Olshansky, who captured and held part of the Nikolaev seaport for two days until the main forces arrived. The first case of “universal” appropriation was the above-mentioned awarding of all 28 Panfilovites (1942)
As a result of the war with Japan (August 9 - September 2, 1945), the family of Heroes of the Soviet Union increased by another 85 people, and twice Heroes - by 6; Among the latter was the Commander-in-Chief of Soviet troops in the Far East, Marshal of the Soviet Union A.M. Vasilevsky.
Of the 11,600 people awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union during the Great Patriotic War and the war with Japan, the largest number were soldiers of the ground forces: over 8 thousand, incl. 1800 artillerymen, 1142 tankmen, 650 sappers, more than 290 signalmen and 52 rear soldiers. The number of Heroes - Air Force warriors was significantly smaller - about 2400 people; Navy soldiers - 513 people (including naval pilots and Marines who fought on the shore); border guards, internal troops and security troops - over 150; partisans, underground fighters and intelligence officers - about 400 people. Among all the Heroes of the Soviet Union, 35% were privates and non-commissioned officers (soldiers, sailors, sergeants and foremen), 61% were officers and 3.3% (380 people) were generals, admirals and marshals. Each branch of the military, except for the border and internal ones, gave its Heroes of the Soviet Union - women (87 people); more than half of them were awarded this title posthumously.
By national composition the majority of Heroes were Russians - 8160 people; there were 2069 Ukrainians, Belarusians 309, Tatars 161, Jews 104, Kazakhs 96, Georgians 90, Armenians 90, Uzbeks 69, Mordvin 61, Chuvash 44, Azerbaijani 43, Bashkirs 39, Ossetians 32, Mari, 18, Turkmen 18, Lithuania 15, Lithuania 15, Lithuania 15, Lithuania 15, Lithuania 14 Tajiks, 13 Latvians, 12 Kyrgyz, 10 Udmurts, 9 Karelians, 8 Estonians, 8 Kalmyks, 7 Kabardins, 7 Adygeans, 6 Adygeis, 5 Abkhazians, 3 Yakuts, 2 Moldovans.
In addition, during the war, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to 14 soldiers of the allied armies, mainly Polish and Czechoslovak military personnel, as well as 4 pilots of the French Normandie-Niemen air regiment, who fought against German troops on the Soviet-German front.
101 people became twice Heroes of the Soviet Union during the war, 7 of them posthumously.
Among them there were 3 Marshals of the Soviet Union (A.M. Vasilevsky, I.S. Konev, K.K. Rokossovsky), 1 Chief Marshal of Aviation (A.I. Novikov, a year later he was unfairly demoted and spent 7 years in prison until death of Stalin), 21 generals and 76 officers; There were not a single soldier or sergeant among the twice-Heroes. Three times there were three heroes: the already mentioned G.K. Zhukov, A.I. Pokryshkin and I.N. Kozhedub. It must be said that in 1944, Decrees were promulgated on awarding the navigator of the fighter aviation regiment, Major N.D. Gulaev with the third “Golden Star”, as well as a number of pilots with the second “Golden Star”, but none of them received awards due to the brawl they staged in a Moscow restaurant on the eve of receiving; These decrees were annulled.
The title of Hero of the Soviet Union was also awarded to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the USSR I.V. Stalin (Decree of June 27, 1945), who at that moment occupied 6 leading posts in the Soviet State.
It is noteworthy that he agreed to accept the regalia of the Hero of the Soviet Union only five years later, in 1950, but even then he never wore the “Gold Star”, in contrast to the “Hammer and Sickle” medal of the Hero of Socialist Labor, which he proudly wore from the day received in 1940. This reflected his dissatisfaction with the results of the Great Patriotic War.
For the same reason, being awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union from 1945 to 1953 was a rare occurrence, since Stalin did not like to remember the war years. The exception was the awarding of the second “Gold Star” to fighter pilot Lieutenant Colonel A.I. in 1948. Koldunov for 46 fascist planes shot down during the war.
But three times hero of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov, deputy I.V. Stalin, in 1946 he was removed from his post and sent to command a secondary district, Hero of the Soviet Union, Admiral of the Fleet (which corresponds to the rank of Army General) N.G. Kuznetsov, who spent the entire war as Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, was also removed from the post of Minister of the Navy in 1947 and demoted in rank, and Hero of the Soviet Union, Colonel General V.N. Gordov and Major General (until 1942 - Marshal of the Soviet Union) G.I. Kulik were shot in the early 50s - tyrants do not take into account merits, regalia and exploits, but do arbitrariness.
Among the few post-war Heroes of the Soviet Union, one should name the pilots of the 64th Fighter Aviation Corps, who fought in the skies of North Korea in 1950 - 1953 against American and South Korean aces, jet test pilots P.M. Stefanovsky and I.E. Fedotov (1948) and the head of the polar weather station "North Pole - 2" M.M. Samov (drift 1950-1951). Such a high reward for the scientist is explained by the extreme importance of the polar expedition: it explored the possibilities of reaching the shores of America under the ice of the Arctic and, unlike the “Papanin” expedition of 1937, was deeply classified.
After the death of I.V. Stalin's first Heroes appeared in 1956, at the beginning of Khrushchev's "thaw". One of the first acts was the awarding in 1956 of the USSR Minister of Defense, Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov with the fourth "Golden Star". There are a few points to note here. Firstly, he was formally awarded on the 60th anniversary of his birth, which the Regulations on the title of Hero of the Soviet Union did not provide for; secondly, this Regulation determined the awarding of one person with only three “Gold Stars”; thirdly, he was awarded a month after the “rebellion” in Hungary, the suppression of which by the forces of the Soviet Army he personally organized, i.e. merits in the Hungarian events were the real reason for the award, and the anniversary was just a cover. Thus, unlike the previous three Gold Stars, G.K. Zhukova IV had very, very controversial grounds for awarding it. But the title of four times Hero is the only one in the country! - did not help Zhukov: less than a year later he was removed by N.S. Khrushchev from his post and permanently removed from business. As under Stalin, the merits of the Heroes were not taken into account if behind-the-scenes political games began.
With this award, Khrushchev began a streak of awarding the title of Hero of the Soviet Union to senior statesmen in peacetime and not for specific merits, but for an anniversary, birthday, etc., which, by the way, was never practiced under Stalin. So, in the same 1956, Marshal K.E. became Hero of the Soviet Union. Voroshilov, one of the main culprits for the huge losses of the Red Army in the Soviet-Finnish and World War II wars (and in 1968, under L.I. Brezhnev, he received a second “Star”). Elderly Marshal S.M. Khrushchev made Budyonny twice a Hero (in 1958 and 1963), and Brezhnev continued this tradition by awarding the 85-year-old Marshal the third “Gold Star” in 1963.
By decree of June 8, 1960, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to the Spaniard Ramon Mercader, who had just arrived in the USSR from a Mexican prison after serving a 20-year sentence for the murder of Leon Trotsky, committed in 1940 on the orders of Stalin. This Decree was never made public, but even in it, which was secret, Mercader was listed under someone else’s name.
A year later N.S. Khrushchev surprised the whole world by making Heroes of Cuban leader Fidel Castro and Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, and a little later - the head of the government of Algeria, Ahmed Ben Bella, who was overthrown by his own people a year later, and the leader of the communists of the GDR, Walter Ulbricht. Such a distribution of “Golden Stars” could in no way strengthen the authority of the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
But in those same years, during the Khrushchev “thaw”, for feats accomplished during the war, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to people who, under Stalin, were branded as “traitors to the Motherland” and “collaborators of the Nazis” only because they had been in captivity . Justice was restored to the defender of the Brest Fortress, Major P.M. Gavrilov, hero of the French resistance Lieutenant A. Porik (posthumously), Yugoslav partisan Lieutenant M.G. Huseyn-Zadeh (posthumously), recipient of the Italian Resistance Medal F.A. Poletaev (posthumously) and others. Former pilot-lieutenant M.P. Devyatayev escaped from fascist captivity in 1945 by hijacking a bomber from an enemy airfield. For this feat, Stalin's investigators "rewarded" him with a camp term as a "traitor", and in 1957 he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. So he became a man, for the same act, who received a court sentence for a “crime against the state”, and then the highest degree of distinction from the same state. In 1964, Leningrad intelligence officer Richard Sorge also became a Hero (posthumously).
Under N.S. Khrushchev had many cases of being awarded the title of Hero for exploits in peacetime: in 1957, test pilot V.K. received the second “Gold Star”. Kokkinaki, in 1959 and 1963 his colleagues S.N. became heroes. Anokhin and G.V. Mosolov, and in 1960 the title of Hero was awarded to Sergeant M. Pyaskorsky for clearing mines in Egypt. In 1962, three sailors from the nuclear-powered ship "Leninsky Komsomol", who made a trip to the North Pole under eternal ice: Rear Admiral A.I. Petemin, captain 2nd rank L.M. Zhiltsov and Lieutenant Commander R.A. Timofeev.
Since 1961, the tradition of awarding the title of Hero to Soviet cosmonauts began. The first of them was cosmonaut Y1 Yu.A. Gagarin. This tradition was maintained until the abolition of the USSR - the last Heroes of the Soviet Union in 1991 were the cosmonauts; it continues now, but now they are awarded the title of Hero Russian Federation, as the successor to the highest degree of distinction of the state.
In 1964, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to the First Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, Chairman of the Supreme Council of Ministers of the USSR N.S. Khrushchev and his 70th anniversary. To his three gold medals “Hammer and Sickle” of the Hero of Socialist Labor, he also received the “Gold Star” medal, already the fourth in a row. A few weeks later he was removed from all posts and sent into retirement, completely repeating the fate of the disgraced G.K. Zhukova.
L.I., who took his post. Brezhnev continued the “star rain”, in which he later began to bathe himself. In 1965, on the 20th anniversary of the Victory, a provision on Hero Cities appeared, according to which these cities (at that time only five) and the heroic fortress of Brest were awarded the Gold Star medal and the Order of Lenin, as if they were Heroes of the Soviet Union . In 1968, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Soviet Army, K.E. Voroshilov received the second “Gold Star”, and S.M. Budyonny - third. Under Brezhnev, Marshals S.K. became Heroes twice. Timoshenko, I.Kh. Bagramyan and A.A. Grechko, moreover, he received the first “Golden Star” also in peacetime in 1958. In 1978, the title of Hero was awarded to the Minister of Defense D.F. Ustinov, a man who had great merit in organizing the production of weapons during the war, but who had never been to the front.
In 1969, the first cosmonauts appeared - twice Heroes, who received both "Stars" for space flights: Colonel V.A. Shatalov and Candidate of Technical Sciences A.S. Eliseev (Decree of 10/29/1969). Two years later, they were both the first in the world to make a space flight for the third time, but they were not given the third “Golden Stars”: perhaps because this flight was unsuccessful and was interrupted on the second day. Subsequently, cosmonauts who made the third and even fourth flight into space did not receive a third “Star”, but were awarded the Order of Lenin. Cosmonauts - citizens of socialist countries also became Heroes of the Soviet Union, and citizens of capitalist states who flew on Soviet technology were awarded only the Order of Friendship of Nations.
In 1966 L.I. Brezhnev, who already had the “Hammer and Sickle” gold medal, received the first “Gold Star” for his 60th birthday, and in 1976, 1978 and 1981, also on his birthdays, three more, becoming the first and only four-time Hero of the Soviet Union in history and Hero of Socialist Labor. A year later he passed away, which again makes us remember the fate of G.K. Zhukov and N.S. Khrushchev: all three met their political or life finale within a matter of time after receiving the highest honors. By the way, awarding Brezhnev the fourth “Star” became legal thanks to the new Regulations on the title of Hero of the Soviet Union from 1973, but was clearly not deserved.
Successors L.I. Brezhnev continued to award the title of Hero of the Soviet Union to cosmonauts, as well as participants in the war in Afghanistan, which began under Brezhnev. At the same time, the future first ever Vice-President of the Russian Federation A.V. became Heroes from among the “Afghans”. Rutskoy and the future Russian Defense Minister P.I. Grachev. Under M.S. Gorbachev, the most effective submariner A.I. was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Marinesko, undeservedly forgotten immediately after the war.
In 1991, after the “putsch,” there was an obscure posthumous awarding of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union to three participants in the events who attacked an armored personnel carrier leaving the White House. The incident is that they were awarded the highest degree of distinction of the state for * an attack on the troops of this very state, who were carrying out the orders of the government! In addition, an attack on withdrawn units cannot in any way be qualified as “committing a heroic deed,” for which, according to the Regulations, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union should be awarded, especially since, according to the proverb, “they don’t wave their fists after a fight.”
The last Heroes of the Soviet Union were cosmonauts A. Volkov and T. Aubakirov for their flight on the Soyuz-TM-13 spacecraft from October 2 to October 10, 1991. After 2 months, the collapse of the USSR occurred, and the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was abolished along with the award system. But the authority of this title turned out to be so great that one of the first Decrees of the President of the Russian Federation, already in March 1992, established the title of Hero of the Russian Federation as an analogue of the previous one.
Soon it was awarded to participants of the Great Patriotic War who, for some reason, did not receive the title of Hero of the Soviet Union; in particular, Lieutenant General M.G. became posthumously Heroes of the Russian Federation. Efremov, who died in 1942 surrounded near Vyazma, and partisan Vera Voloshina, who repeated the feat of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya during the defense of Moscow. Thus, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union received its legal successor. This title is inseparable from the symbols of the state, the highest degree of distinction of which it was. The names of almost all of the 12,600 heroes who wore it are inscribed in golden letters in the history of the country, remaining synonymous with the concepts of “duty”, “honor”, “feat”.
