The highest award for any citizen of the USSR for many years was the title of "Hero of the Soviet Union". It was established in 1934 and was awarded for significant military exploits. Although in exceptional cases it was possible to award for outstanding services in peacetime. Initially, only a certificate of honor from the Central Executive Committee of the USSR was supposed to be an award insignia. However, in 1936, the Regulations were adopted, according to which those awarded the title of "Hero of the Soviet Union" were also awarded the Order of Lenin, and in 1939 a medal called the "Gold Star" appeared, which became the hallmark of outstanding people.
Also in 1939, a Decree was approved, according to which it became possible to repeatedly award the "Hero of the Soviet Union" award. For each degree, the Order of Lenin, a diploma and the Golden Star were relied. Each winner of two medals was cast a bronze bust in his hometown, while three times the Hero of the Soviet Union was honored with the fact that his bronze bustinstalled in the Kremlin. True, according to the decree of the Presidium, this was supposed to take place in the Palace of Soviets, but it was not completed. There were no restrictions on the number of medals. Nevertheless, the largest number of "Gold Stars" in the history of the award is four. Four times Hero of the Soviet Union. Only two were awarded this honor: Marshals L. I. Brezhnev and G. K. Zhukov.
The title "Hero of the Soviet Union" was awarded for life. But there were cases when this decision was canceled due to unreasonable representation. In addition, 73 people were deprived of their high rank. Although 55 of them still received their award back. 15 Heroes were subjected to repression and were shot, and only after a while most of them were rehabilitated and restored to their ranks.
The first Heroes were eleven polar pilots who participated in the rescue of the Chelyuskin steamer. The twentieth century was bloody for the Soviet Union. Citizens of the USSR participated in the Spanish Civil War, in the armed conflict in Mongolia, in the battles between Japan and the Red Army, in the Soviet-Finnish conflict. And that's just the first half
centuries. During these hostilities, the Hero of the Soviet Union award was awarded to 626 people. And then the time came for the War … the Great Patriotic War. 11657 of its participants were awarded the highest award, 3051 people - posthumously. It is worth mentioning that foreign allies also received a high rank: Poles, Czechoslovaks, French.
But alsoafter the end of World War II, the country did not receive a lasting peace. Heroes of the war in Afghanistan continued the list of Heroes of the Soviet Union. Already after the collapse of the Union, several outstanding people received the Golden Star, after which the highest award ceased to exist. She was replaced by the title "Hero of the Russian Federation". However, one should not think that absolutely all the Heroes of the Soviet Union were deprived of their rights and privileges. Yes, of course, the “Hero of the Soviet Union” is the highest award of a great state. But if you think about it, it becomes scary. After all, its receipt in most cases became possible only when thousands of people died. So wouldn't it be better if such awards were presented as infrequently as possible, so that there would be no occasion for great deeds?
