Awards medal for the defense of Leningrad.

Country Type Who is it awarded to? Status

awarded

Statistics Options Establishment date Number of awards Sequence Senior Award Junior Award

Medal "For the Defense of Leningrad" established. The author of the medal project is the artist N. I. Moskalev.

The medal “For the Defense of Leningrad” was awarded to all participants in the defense of Leningrad:

military personnel of units, formations and institutions of the Red Army, Navy and NKVD troops who actually participated in the defense of the city;
workers, employees and other civilians who participated in hostilities to protect the city, contributed to the defense of the city with their dedicated work in enterprises, institutions, participated in the construction of defensive structures, in air defense, in protecting public utilities, in fighting fires from raids by enemy aircraft, in the organization and maintenance of transport and communications, in the organization of public catering, supplies and cultural services for the population, in caring for the sick and wounded, in organizing child care and carrying out other measures for the defense of the city.

The medal “For the Defense of Leningrad” is worn on the left side of the chest and, in the presence of other medals of the USSR, is located after the medals in order of seniority, starting with the medal “For the rescue of drowning people”.

Persons awarded the medal “For the Defense of Leningrad” have the right to be awarded the later established anniversary medal “In memory of the 250th anniversary of Leningrad”.

The awarding of the medal began immediately after its establishment; until 1945, about 600,000 blockade survivors were awarded. Information about these people as of 1945 was kept in the Museum of the Siege of Leningrad; there were 6 volumes with the names of the recipients. Later these documents were lost.

In 1985, the medal “For the Defense of Leningrad” was awarded to about 1 470 000 Human. Among them are 15 thousand children and teenagers under siege.

Description of the medal

The medal “For the Defense of Leningrad” is made of brass and has the shape of a regular circle with a diameter of 32 mm.

On the front side of the medal, against the background of the visible outline of the Admiralty building, a group of Red Army men, Red Navy men, men and women workers with rifles at the ready is depicted. At the top of the medal there is a five-pointed star and the inscription along the edge of the medal “FOR THE DEFENSE OF LENINGRAD.” The front side of the medal is bordered by a convex edge.

On the reverse side of the medal is the inscription “FOR OUR SOVIET MOTHERLAND.” Above the inscription are a hammer and sickle.

All inscriptions and images on the medal are convex.

Using an eyelet and a ring, the medal is connected to a pentagonal block covered with an olive-colored silk moiré ribbon with a longitudinal green stripe in the middle 2 mm wide. Tape width 24 mm.

Notes

Links

On the history of the presentation of the medal "For the Defense of Leningrad"

(05.05.2010 – 25.05.2010)

The exhibition was prepared by the state archives of St. Petersburg and is dedicated to the 65th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War.

The medal “For the Defense of Leningrad” is a special medal. It was established by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of December 22, 1942, among the medals “For the Defense of Odessa”, “For the Defense of Sevastopol”, “For the Defense of Stalingrad” during the most difficult period of the Great Patriotic War, when victory was still very far away. Nevertheless, the country's leadership decided to celebrate the feat of the defenders of these cities, which, long before the conferment of official titles, became “hero cities” in the minds of the people. Of course, the establishment of these medals pursued a certain political goal - first of all, to promote the patriotic uplift of the population. However, their historical significance, and the medals “For the Defense of Leningrad” in particular, lay in the fact that they celebrated the merits of hundreds of thousands of people who showed themselves selflessly and won their personal victory in this war, and at the same time noted their merits “by name”.

The exhibition offered to visitors introduces documents telling about the history of the establishment of the medal “For the Defense of Leningrad” - the relevant Decrees of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, regulations on the medal, orders of the party and executive authorities of the city, defining the circle of persons awarded; about the great organizational work that was done to prepare the production of the medal at the Leningrad Mint (the fact that the revival of the Mint in besieged Leningrad began with preparations for the release of medals “For the Defense of Leningrad” became deeply symbolic in itself), and, of course same, about the process of awarding the medal to Leningraders. Most of the exposition is dedicated to the presentation of awards, in accordance with the chosen theme of the exhibition.

The first awards of the medal “For the Defense of Leningrad” took place in early June 1943. This was preceded by a lot of carefully thought-out work by city authorities, enterprise managers, party, Komsomol and trade union organizations. The Central State Archive of St. Petersburg stores numerous documents on the awarding of the medal to the defenders of the city - these are lists of citizens nominated for the award with brief characteristics, personal cards of the recipients, certificates of presentation of the medal, decisions of the Executive Committee of the Leningrad City Council on this issue, many of these documents can be seen on exhibition. Of particular interest is the decision of the Executive Committee of the Leningrad City Council on the presentation of medals “For the Defense of Leningrad” dated June 3, 1943, which approved the first lists of awarded defenders of the city, for a total of one hundred thousand people.

Although the exhibition presents a number of documents on the awarding of the Leningrad medal to soldiers of the Red Army, sailors of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet, and partisans operating in the Leningrad region, most of it is devoted to the presentation of the medal to the civilian population: workers and employees of industrial enterprises, specialists who established transport communications in the blockaded city , MPVO fighters, medical workers, townspeople who participated in the construction of defensive fortifications, schoolchildren, cultural and artistic figures, clergy, archivists and many many other Leningraders. The organizers of the exhibition sought to select documents that would tell both about the general contribution to the defense of the city of industrial enterprises, medical and scientific institutions, cultural figures, and their individual representatives.

A careful study of archival documents shows that the proposal for awarding the medal “For the Defense of Leningrad” was by no means formal; decisions were made carefully and individually. The awarding of the medal was widely covered in newspapers and on the radio; it really caused a great patriotic upsurge among the city’s defenders. The medal “For the Defense of Leningrad” was dedicated to poems by wonderful Leningrad poets: O. Berggolts, V. Shefner, V. Inber, B. Likharev, N. Brown, Yu. Voronov and many others.

In addition to the above documents, at the exhibition you can see photographs provided by the Central State Archive of Film, Photo and Sound Documents of St. Petersburg, which more fully reveal this page in the history of the city and the contribution of Leningraders to the overall victory in the Great Patriotic War.

Soldiers of the 83rd anti-aircraft artillery Krasnoselskaya Red Banner brigade under the command of Colonel V.D. Naritai listen to the order to award their brigade with the second Order of the Red Banner.

Photographer V.S. Tarasevich.

(TsGAKFFD SPb)

The medal was established by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated December 22, 1942. A partial change in the Regulations and description of the medal was made by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated June 19, 1943. In addition, changes were made to the description of the medal by Resolutions of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated March 27 and May 3, 1943.

Regulations on the medal

The medal “For the Defense of Leningrad” is awarded to all participants in the defense of Leningrad:

military personnel of units, formations and institutions of the Red Army, Navy and NKVD troops who actually participated in the defense of the city;
workers, employees and other civilians who participated in hostilities to protect the city, contributed to the defense of the city with their dedicated work in enterprises, institutions, participated in the construction of defensive structures, in air defense, in protecting public utilities, in fighting fires from enemy air raids, in the organization and maintenance of transport and communications, in the organization of public catering, supplies and cultural services for the population, in caring for the sick and wounded, in organizing child care and carrying out other measures for the defense of the city.

The medals are awarded on behalf of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on the basis of documents certifying actual participation in the defense of Leningrad, issued by unit commanders, heads of military medical institutions and the Leningrad regional and city Councils of Working People's Deputies.

Delivery is made:

persons located in military units of the Red Army, Navy and NKVD troops - commanders of military units, and persons who retired from the army and navy - regional, city and district military commissars at the place of residence of the recipients;
persons from the civilian population - participants in the defense of Leningrad - by the Leningrad regional and city Council of Workers' Deputies.

The medal “For the Defense of Leningrad” is worn on the left side of the chest and, if there are other medals of the USSR, is located after the medal “For saving drowning people.”

Description of the medal

The medal “For the Defense of Leningrad” is made of brass and has the shape of a regular circle with a diameter of 32 mm.

On the front side of the medal, against the background of the visible outline of the Admiralty building, a group of Red Army men, Red Navy men, men and women workers with rifles at the ready is depicted. At the top of the medal there is a five-pointed star and the inscription along the edge of the medal “FOR THE DEFENSE OF LENINGRAD”. The front side of the medal is bordered by a convex edge.

On the reverse side of the medal is the inscription “FOR OUR SOVIET MOTHERLAND.” Above the inscription are a hammer and sickle.

All inscriptions and images on the medal are convex.

Using an eyelet and a ring, the medal is connected to a pentagonal block covered with an olive-colored silk moiré ribbon with a longitudinal green stripe in the middle. Tape width 24 mm, strip width 2 mm.

History of the medal

The initiator of the establishment of medals for the defense of Odessa, Sevastopol, Leningrad and Stalingrad in October 1942 was the People's Commissariat of Defense of the USSR. On November 24, 1942, Stalin was given instructions to begin developing designs for these medals.

Artists Barkhin, Kabakov, Kongiser, Moskalev, the team of artists "Byurobin" and others took part in the creation of design drawings for the medal.

Initially it was planned to make the medal from stainless steel, however, by Decree of March 27, 1943, brass was approved as the material for making the medal.

At the beginning of 1943, the Leningrad Mint received an order to produce the first batch of medals, and already in April 1943, the first thousand medals were awarded to soldiers on the front line.

During the days of the defense of Leningrad, the city’s clergy took an active part in collecting funds for the construction of military equipment and gifts for the Red Army soldiers. They collected 6 million rubles for the construction of the Dmitry Donskoy tank column alone. Many of them were subsequently awarded a medal“For the defense of Leningrad.” This award was awarded to Metropolitan Alexy of Leningrad, archpriests of the St. Nicholas Cathedral Lomakin and Dubrovitsky, and rector of the Bolshe-Okhtinskaya St. Nicholas Church of the Vyborg region, Archpriest Mikhail Slavnitsky.

Persons awarded the medal “For the Defense of Leningrad” have the right to be awarded the later established anniversary medal “In memory of the 250th anniversary of Leningrad”.

In exceptional cases, the medal could be re-awarded. Thus, A.A. Kuznetsov was awarded two medals “For the Defense of Leningrad”. - during the war years, 2nd secretary of the Leningrad regional party committee.

By 1962, about 930 thousand awards of the medal had been made.

OnIn 1985, the medal “For the Defense of Leningrad” was awarded to about 1,470,000 people.

Features and types of medals

Depending on the design of the eyelet, the following medal options can be distinguished.

Option 1. The ear of the medal is a separate element, attached by soldering. This option was awarded during the Second World War, or immediately after its end. The medal base is usually two-layered and made of heavy metal.

The team of authors noted that the later medals of the first version have some differences in the stamp. Thus, for later medals, the horizon line on the obverse extends beyond the outer edge of the inscription “For the Defense of Leningrad” by approximately 1 mm on each side. For early medals, the horizon line ends at the inner edge of the inscription.

Among the medals of the first version, it is extremely rare to find specimens that have a serial number on the reverse. The origin of the number has not been fully investigated. The number, however, was not applied at the Mint. Most likely, the medals of this variant were numbered directly in military units at the divisional or regimental level. In this case, the medal number corresponded to the number of the certificate for the medal. NThe numbers can be located horizontally at the bottom of the reverse, or on the edge of the medal at 6 o'clock on the dial. Medals with numbers A 48361, B 01939, L 19673, U 36101 and 18287 (the number is located on the reverse) and A 01101, P 33983 (the number is located on the edge) were examined. Similar e numbered copies also described for medals "For Defense"Stalingrad" and "For the defense of Sevastopol" (cm).

Option 2.

The ear of the medal is solidly stamped and round. This option was awarded after the end of the war to persons who, for some reason, had not received a medal earlier. The block is usually single-layer aluminum.

Certificate for the medal

The following options and types of certificates for the medal “For the Defense of Leningrad” can be distinguished.

Option 1. Early version. There are 11 ribbons on the coat of arms at the top of the document.

Variety 1. At the bottom of the document there are typographical signatures of the Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Leningrad City Council of Workers' Deputies Popkov and the Secretary of the Executive Committee Bubnov. The date of delivery is also printed in typography, indicating all four digits of the year - 1943.

Variety 1a. It differs from the first variety in that it was intended to be presented to women - defenders of Leningrad. The text of the certificate contains the phrase “AWARDED WITH A MEDAL.” However, the circulation of such a document was small and many women were awarded certificates of the first type.

Variety 2. It differs from the first type in the date of delivery. The date 1944 is printed typographically.

Variety 3. At the bottom of the document there are no typographic signatures of the Chairman and Secretary of the Leningrad City Council of Workers' Deputies. On documents of the third type they were stamped. There have also been changes in the delivery date. Only the first three digits of the year - 194 - are printed typographically.

Variety 4. The signatures of the Chairman and Secretary of the Leningrad City Council of Workers' Deputies are stamped. On the date of issue, only the first two digits of the year are printed - 19.

For the defense of Soviet cities and regions where the enemy suffered particularly heavy losses, awards were established, which were awarded to all active participants in these events. Despite the difficult, formidable time, the design of the future award was carefully developed. Many sketches were created, from which the most successful one was finally chosen. At the end of October 1942, newspapers reported that the People's Commissariat of Defense was petitioning for the establishment medals for the defense of Leningrad, Sevastopol, Stalingrad and Odessa. On November 24, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief gave instructions to begin developing their drawings. 43 sketches of future awards made by almost a dozen artists were presented. On December 21, the draft Regulations on medals for the defense of four cities were approved, and by this time only one of the sketches was approved - the medal “For the Defense of Stalingrad” by artist N. I. Moskalev. But even on this draft, Stalin’s portrait was crossed out by the hand of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief and, on his instructions, some other changes were made. It was proposed to place the inscription “For our Soviet Motherland” on the reverse side of all medals.

The next day, December 22, a Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR was signed on the establishment of medals “For the Defense of Leningrad”, “For the Defense of Odessa”, “For the Defense of Sevastopol” and “For the Defense of Stalingrad”. At the same time, a description of future awards appeared. Somewhat later, in March 1943, some changes were made to the description. Thus, it was initially proposed to make medals from stainless steel, but for technological reasons this metal was replaced by brass. According to the Decree of December 22, medals were to be worn on the right side of the chest, and from June 19, 1943, these awards began to be worn on the left.

One of the most tragic and at the same time heroic pages in the history of the Great Patriotic War will forever remain in the memory of our people - defense of Leningrad in 1941-1944. Cut off from the rest of the country, the city steadfastly withstood the onslaught of advancing fascist troops during the 900-day blockade. Great contribution to the defeat of the Nazis near Leningrad and civilians of the city. Despite the fact that almost a hundred large enterprises were evacuated, military production did not stop for a single day. Leningrad factories provided the front with hundreds of tanks, thousands of guns and mortars, and large and small combat ships were built at the city's shipyards during the days of the blockade. In addition, Leningraders dug hundreds of kilometers of anti-tank ditches and built thousands of pillboxes and bunkers. Numerous barricades were erected in the city itself in case the invaders broke through.

The struggle did not subside in the rear of the Nazis. In 32 months, the partisans of the Leningrad region destroyed about 114 thousand Nazi soldiers and officers, hundreds of aircraft, tanks, vehicles, and derailed more than 1,100 enemy trains with troops and equipment. In January 1943, the enemy blockade of Leningrad was broken, and in 1944 it was completely eliminated. But back in December 1942, when fascist guns fired at almost the entire territory of the city, and the Nazis could look at Leningrad buildings through binoculars, the medal “For the Defense of Leningrad” was established to reward all active participants in the defense of the city on the Neva. After a series of discussions of the projects, a sketch of the medal by the artist N.I. Moskalev was approved: against the background of the Admiralty, as a symbol of the city, figures of a Red Army soldier, a Red Navy man, a worker and a worker with rifles at the ready are depicted, personifying the readiness of the city’s defenders to fight.

Awarding the medal "For the Defense of Leningrad"

According to the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated December 22, 1942, all military personnel and civilians who took an active part in the defense of the city could be nominated for the medal “For the Defense of Leningrad”. Moreover, those who participated in the defense of Leningrad not for the entire period of the siege, but left the city due to injury, illness, or to carry out government assignments, were also entitled to receive a medal. At the very beginning of 1943, the Leningrad Mint received a responsible order - to produce the first batch of medals “For the Defense of Leningrad”. By that time, the most valuable equipment and most of the company's specialists had been evacuated. In the besieged city, a few hungry workers and engineers worked on making awards, confident that Leningrad would never be given over to the enemy. Already in April, the first thousand medals were awarded to the city’s defenders on the front line.

In total, about 1 million 470 thousand people were awarded the medal “For the Defense of Leningrad”. In 1945, Leningrad was given the honorary name “Hero City”, and in 1965 it was awarded the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal. The medal was made of brass in the shape of a circle with a diameter of 32 millimeters. On the front side, against the background of the Admiralty building, there are convex figures of Red Army men, Red Navy men, men and women workers with rifles at the ready. At the top of the medal there is a five-pointed star, and along the edge in raised letters is written “FOR THE DEFENSE OF LENINGRAD.” The obverse of the medal is bordered by a convex edge. At the top of the reverse side there is a hammer and sickle embossed, under which there is a raised inscription: “FOR OUR SOVIET MOTHERLAND.”

Using an eyelet and a ring, the medal is connected to a pentagonal block covered with an olive-colored silk moiré ribbon with a longitudinal green stripe in the middle. Sometimes, instead of the medal “For the Defense of Leningrad” and a certificate, a special numbered certificate was awarded; certified by the seal of the executive committee of the Leningrad City Council of Workers' Deputies and which was the basis for receiving the award and a permanent certificate for it.

Lists of recipients of the medal for the defense of Leningrad during the Great Patriotic War

The list of recipients of the medal for the defense of Leningrad in the period 1941 - 1945 includes more than a million people. It is unlikely that alphabetical, surname lists will ever be compiled, but it is possible to view almost all wartime orders, in which, along with other recipients, there are also those awarded the medal for the Defense of Leningrad. It is also possible, knowing the last name and first name of a participant in the Great Patriotic War, to check what military awards and for what specific distinctions he was awarded during the war. How to get this information watch

Medal "For the Defense of Leningrad"- state award of the USSR for rewarding the defenders of the city of Leningrad (military and civilians). Established on December 22, 1942, becoming one of the first Soviet wartime medals (simultaneously with the medals “For the Defense of Odessa”, “For the Defense of Sevastopol” and “For the Defense of Stalingrad”).

Story

The author of the medal is the artist N.I. Moskalev. In addition to the approved version, 7 more medal projects were developed:

In the sketch by B. G. Barkhin, the main element is the monument to Lenin at the Finlyandsky Station against the backdrop of the Admiralty, to the right of it is the raised barrel of an anti-aircraft gun;

Three projects were developed by a team of artists from the Borobin workshop, each containing 1 element - the architectural symbol of the city and the inscription “For the Defense of Leningrad”:

On the first there was a monument to Peter I, under it there were bayonets and a machine gun raised to attack, the inscription was located in a circle;
The second sketch shows the Admiralty, the edges under the inscription are framed with laurel branches;
The third suggested placing the inscription in the center, with an image of the Peter and Paul Fortress on top, and 2 crossed rifles below.

Two sketches by A. A. Kabakov:

On the first there are images of a Red Navy and a Red Army soldier going on the attack with the inscription “Defend the city of Lenin” on the left edge; on the reverse there is a portrait of Lenin and the words “For the defense of Leningrad”;
On the second, several defenders are already waiting for battle with rifles at the ready; the inscription “For Leningrad” appears on their left; on the reverse side are the words “For the defense of Leningrad.”

The sketch by N. A. Kongiser suggested an image of a line of Red Army soldiers, behind whom rise the Peter and Paul Cathedral and the monument to Lenin.

The medal “For the Defense of Leningrad” was awarded to all participants in the defense of Leningrad:

military personnel of units, formations and institutions of the Red Army, Navy and NKVD troops who actually participated in the defense of the city;
workers, employees and other civilians who participated in hostilities to protect the city, contributed to the defense of the city with their dedicated work in enterprises, institutions, participated in the construction of defensive structures, in air defense, in protecting public utilities, in fighting fires from raids by enemy aircraft, in the organization and maintenance of transport and communications, in the organization of public catering, supplies and cultural services for the population, in caring for the sick and wounded, in organizing child care and carrying out other measures for the defense of the city.

The first award of the medal took place on June 3, 1943 at a ceremonial meeting in Smolny. Until 1945, about 600,000 participants in the defense of Leningrad were awarded. Information about these people as of 1945 was kept in the Museum of the Siege of Leningrad; there were 6 volumes with the names of the recipients. Later these documents were lost.

In 1985, the medal “For the Defense of Leningrad” was awarded to about 1 470 000 Human. Among them are 15 thousand children and teenagers under the siege.

Persons awarded the medal “For the Defense of Leningrad” had the right to be awarded the later established anniversary medal “In memory of the 250th anniversary of Leningrad”.

Description of the medal

When it was established, the medal “For the Defense of Leningrad” was supposed to be made of stainless steel, but already by decree of March 27, 1943, the material was changed to brass. The medal has the shape of a regular circle with a diameter of 32 mm.

On the reverse side of the medal is the inscription “FOR OUR SOVIET MOTHERLAND.” Above the inscription are a hammer and sickle.

All inscriptions and images on the medal are convex.

Using an eyelet and a ring, the medal is connected to a pentagonal block covered with a silk moiré ribbon 24 mm wide. Initially, the tape was installed in red with silver stripes along the edges, each 4 mm wide. By decree of June 19, 1943, a new ribbon was installed - olive color with a longitudinal green stripe in the middle 2 mm wide.

The medals “For the Defense of Leningrad”, “For the Defense of Odessa”, “For the Defense of Sevastopol” and “For the Defense of Stalingrad” were the first Soviet awards established to be worn on a pentagonal block. Initially, they were supposed to be worn on the right side of the chest. By the decree of June 19, 1943, which introduced the pentagonal block and for other awards that had previously been worn on blocks of other shapes, medals for the defense of cities were decreed to be worn on the left side of the chest, along with other awards.

If the cavalier has other awards, the medal “For the Defense of Leningrad” is located to the right of the medal “For the Defense of Odessa”, and after the establishment of the medal “For the Defense of Moscow” - to the right of the latter.

Illustrations

Notes

, With. 12.
I. Yu. Milova. My blockade. IV. Victory salute // History of St. Petersburg: Journal. - St. Petersburg. , 2009. - Issue. 3 (49) . - pp. 58-59.
Izotova M. A., Tsareva T. B. Awards of Russia and the USSR. Popular encyclopedia. Orders, medals, badges. - Rostov-on-Don: Vladis, 2010. - P. 462-463. - ISBN 978-5-9567-0961-0.
Orders and medals of the Great Patriotic War. Medal "For the Defense of Leningrad"
The fate of one of the medals that was awarded to N.P. Tuzhik is described in the essay: Kokosov V.N. There are no keys to it in other capitals! / St. Petersburg Courier, September 26 - October 2, 2013, No. 25 (658). P.20. (Essay “The Fate of the Award No. 21925”).
Medal "For the Defense of Leningrad - 1" (undefined) . sssr.online.ua. Retrieved February 7, 2013.