Order of the Red Banner

Order of the Red Flag
The Order of the Red Banner
Awarded by the  Soviet Union
Type	Single-grade order
Eligibility	Soviet Citizens
Awarded for	Heroism in combat or other extraordinary accomplishments of military valor during combat operations
Status	No longer awarded
Statistics
Established	September 16, 1918
First awarded	September 30, 1918
Last awarded	1991
Total awarded	581 300
Precedence
Next (higher)	Order of the October Revolution
Equivalent	Order of the Red Banner of Labour
Next (lower)	Order of Suvorov
Related	Order of the Red Banner of Labour
Ribbon of the Order of the Red Banner

The Soviet government of Russia established the Order of the Red Banner (in Russian: Орден Крaсного Знамени Orden Krasnogo Znameni), a military decoration, on September 16, 1918 during the Russian Civil War. The first recipient was Vasily Blyukher^[1] on September 28, 1918.^[2] The second recipient was Iona Yakir.^{[citation needed]}

During the Russian Civil War there existed similarly named orders and decorations established by the Soviet communist governments of several other constituent and nonconstituent republics. On August 1, 1924, the Soviet Union established the all-Soviet Order of the Red Banner to deserving personnel of the Red Army.

Other nonmilitary awards also used the phrase "Order of the Red Banner" in their title; for example, the Order of the Red Banner of Labour was presented for acts of great scientific, military (technical or logistic), manufacturing, or agricultural achievement.

As a military decoration, The Order of the Red Banner recognised heroism in combat or otherwise extraordinary accomplishments of military valour during combat operations. Before the establishment of the Order of Lenin on April 6, 1930, the Order of the Red Banner functioned as the highest (and practically the only) military order of the USSR. During World War II, under various titles (including the Order of the Red Banner of Military Valour and Order of the Red Banner for Maritime Valour), it was presented both to individuals and to units for acts of extreme military heroism. In some ways, the Order of the Red Banner was more prestigious, as it could only be awarded for bravery during combat operations whereas the Order of Lenin was sometimes awarded to non-military personnel and political leaders. Nearly all well-known Soviet commanders became Cavaliers of the Order of the Red Banner. However, from 1944 to 1958, it could also be awarded for length of service, with the first award for 20 years in uniform, and the second for 30.

The order consisted of a white-enamelled badge, which had a golden Hammer and Sickle badge surrounded by two golden panicles of wheat on a Red Star, backed by crossed hammer, plough, torch and a red flag bearing the motto Proletarians (Workers) of the World, Unite!. This was surrounded by two golden panicles of wheat; at the bottom were the letters "SSSR" (Russian: СССР).

The Order was originally presented as a badge, which was worn on the left chest. A ribbon attachment was added, which consisted of a red ribbon bearing a wide white central stripe and a narrow white stripe on the edges.

Recipients

The order was awarded to individuals as well as whole formations, which then added the prefix "Red Banner" to their official designations. Naval vessels also flew a special flag. Some of the most notable are listed here:

Individuals

• Major Gabriel Ilyich Urazovsky
• Vice Admiral Vasili Arkhipov
• Official Executioner Vasili Mikhailovich Blokhin
• Marshal Vasily Blyukher (first recipient, in total 5 times)
• Comandarm Iona Yakir (3 times)^[3]
• Georgy Zhukov (3 times)
• NKVD general Nikolai Vlasik (4 times)
• British spy Kim Philby (1 time)
• General David Dragunsky
• Ivan Fedyuninsky (5 times)
• Marshal Leonid Govorov
• Mikhail Vasilyevich Vodopianov
• Yakov Borisovich Zel'dovich
• Marshal Aleksandr Vasilevsky (2 times)
• Marshal Rodion Malinovsky (3 times)
• Private Mikhail Minin
• Sniper Vasily Zaytsev
• Sasha Fillipov
• Gayk Bzhishkyan
• Marshal Semyon Timoshenko (5 times)
• War Commissar Leon Trotsky
• Joseph Stalin^[4]
• Nina Romashkova
• Sergey Biryuzov
• Ios Teper
• Issa Pliyev
• Aleksei Grigorievich Stakhanov
• Yevgeny Khrunov
• Pavel Dybenko (3 times)
• Pavel Soloviev
• Vyacheslav Ivanovich Zof
• Ernst Neizvestny
• Polish agent Bolesław Kontrym (3 times)
• Foreign Intelligence chief Abram Slutsky (2 times)
• Croatian Communist Aleksa Dundić
• Penal Battalion Commander Alexander Pylcyn

Formations

• Baltic Fleet (2 times)
• Soviet Northern Fleet (1 time)
• Pacific Ocean Fleet (1 time)
• Far Eastern Military District
• First Army
• First Guards Tank Army
• Second Guards Tank Army
• 1st Rifle Division
• 6th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)
• 24th Rifle Division
• 27th Guards Rifle Division
• 39th Guards Rifle Division (2 times)
• 19th Motor Rifle Division
• 76th Guards Airborne Division
• 85th Rifle Division
• 100th Guards Rifle Division
• 106th Guards Tula Airborne Division
• 17th Rifle Regiment, 32nd Rifle Division
• 72nd Mechanized Brigade (Ukraine)
• French fighter squadron Normandie-Niemen

Trivia

• In George Orwell's Animal Farm (1945), a satire on the Soviet Union, an order called the Order of the Green Banner is created.

See also

• Orders, decorations, and medals of the Soviet Union
• Order of Lenin
• Order of the October Revolution
• Order of the Red Banner of Labour

References

1. ^ Great Russian Encyclopedia (2005) vol. 3, p. 618.
2. ^ Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd edition, entry on "Блюхер", available online [1]
3. ^ Якир Иона Эммануилович
4. ^ http://www.stel.ru/stalin/Soviet_power_1919.htm - "November 27 The Presidium of the A.R.C.E.C. confers on J. V. Stalin the Order of the Red Banner for his services in the defense of Petrograd and selfless efforts on the Southern Front."

External links

• [2]
• [3] (Russian language)