October Order: the description, the list of the awarded, the cost

During the imperial wars, veterans were awarded orders and medals made of precious metals and precious stones. The rulers thus "paid" to the soldiers for their skills. If necessary, such an order saved the family from poverty, since the owner could sell his reward. But even in peacetime, we need insignia and rewards. After the October Revolution, the Order was given not so much for feats during the war, but for achievements in building a powerful state.

What does the order look like?

One of the most important awards of the Soviet Union was the Order of the October Revolution. It was established on the eve of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Great October Revolution, in the autumn of 1967. The Order is made in the form of a five-pointed star, located on the background of the pentagon. The star itself is gilded, covered with enamel of red color; The pentagon is silver, pierced with rays. At the top of the star the author of the project, the artist Zaitsev VP, placed a red banner (also enamel). On the banner in two lines the inscription "October Revolution" is read. The center of the star is decorated with the image of the cruiser "Aurora", placed on a silver polygon (oxidized in different tones of gray). The overhead sickle and hammer were placed at the bottom of the order.

From what the order is executed

Despite the large amount of enamel, the order is made of silver. But the composition of the alloy for the hammer and sickle includes gold, silver, palladium and copper (ZlSrPdM-375-100-38). The pure gold in this alloy is 0.187 grams, and the whole order contains 27.49 g of silver and 0.21 g of gold. He weighs 31 g. Of course, there are tolerances of deviation from the given values, but they are minimal.

The distance between the opposite vertices of the star is 43 mm, and from the center of the order to the top of any beam - 22 mm. The reverse of the award is a smooth concave surface on which the inscription "Mint" is stamped and the serial number is engraved manually.

The order is fastened to the shoe, which is covered with a red moire ribbon (its width is 24 mm). Along the ribbon there are five thin blue strips.

It should be mentioned that in the event of the loss of the Order, it was practically impossible to obtain a duplicate. However, stamping of the letter "D" on the reverse of the duplicate is provided.

Who was awarded the Order

Among the honored to wear the Order of the October Revolution - not only citizens of the USSR, but also enterprises of various fields of activity, military units; In addition, the award was given to certain regions (republics, regions, cities, etc.). The Statute of the Order does not exclude the possibility of awarding foreign citizens.

And yet, only for the contribution to the cause of the October Revolution could the order be on the lapel of the jacket of the recipient? What had to be done for the state to receive such a high award?

Certainly, a significant contribution to the revolutionary activity and the establishment of Soviet power was given the right to receive the Order. They also noted outstanding achievements in the development of science and technology, and achievements in all branches of the national economy. The cultural workers were also awarded the Order. Activities aimed at strengthening relations with other states were also marked by the Order of the October Revolution. In addition, the courage and courage shown in the battles with the enemies of the state during the hostilities were associated with the receipt of this high award.

Some of the history of delivery

The order should be worn on the chest on the left, next to the Order of Lenin (after him). And this means that the award is really high. In the unofficial ranking of orders the first place was occupied by the Order of Lenin, and the second by the October Revolution. The Order was first awarded in November 1967.

The first to receive it were cities, not citizens of the USSR. Order number 1 belongs to Leningrad (St. Petersburg), and number 2 - to Moscow. Among the first awarded are the Russian and Ukrainian republics. In each case, the awarding took place after the signing of the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

No less interesting is the fact that on February 22, 1968 the Order was awarded the famous cruiser Aurora. His crew was noted for the merits and propaganda of revolutionary traditions. The awarding ceremony was timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the creation of the Soviet Army. By the way, the same decree awarded the order to a whole group of commanders: almost all the marshals of the Soviet Union, the navy admiral, the chief air marshal and the chief marshal of artillery.

Foreigners who received the Order of the October Revolution

As already noted, foreign citizens could also receive the honor of receiving the Order of the October Revolution. The list of awarded representatives of the international revolutionary movement includes such well-known names as Max Reiman (First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Germany), Secretary General of the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party Erich Honecker, Gustav Husak (General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Czech Republic), Josip Broz Tito (Chairman of the Union of Communists of Yugoslavia). The Order was also awarded to the Chairman of the Communist Party of Argentina, Victorio Codovilla, and the First Secretary of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party Yumzhagiin Tsedenbal.

Ordering companies

In 1971, a number of enterprises received a high award: the Leningrad plant Krasnogvardeets and the production association Electrosila, the Kiev plant Arsenal, the Moscow tool factory Caliber, the Far Eastern Railroad, etc. Mosfilm Studio received its award In 1974; During the next decade, the Bolshevik plant (Kiev), the Institute of Steel and Alloys (Moscow), the Academic Drama Theater named after A.Kh. Pushkin (St. Petersburg). This is only a small list of enterprises and organizations whose work is marked by such a high award.

One of the first orders of the October Revolution was the staff of the newspaper Pravda (in connection with the 60th anniversary of the publication).

Knights of the Order

Repeated awarding of the Order happened infrequently. Nevertheless, Brezhnev LI, Shcherbitsky VV and a number of party figures and servicemen were awarded this award twice. Also, the second order was awarded to the designer Kotin J. Ya. (Heavy tanks and tractors), Academician Severny A. (his field of activity is astrophysics) and the chief engineer of the Gorky Machine Building Plant A. Gordeev.

Among the dozens of citizens of the Soviet Union re-awarded this order, not Party leaders, but ordinary workers: milkmaids from the Orenburg region Davlyatchina MZ, Donetsk tractor driver IK Mozgovoy and combine operator Khorobrykh IM (Omsk region) are singled out.

The last award ceremony was held in 1991

Separately, we should mention Atmagambet Oynarbaev, the head of the mining and geological expedition of the Concern "Building Materials". He became the last recipient to receive the Order of the October Revolution. The photo of the Order Bearer only confirms the fact that there are no random people among the awardees.

For all the time the Order was awarded 106 462 awards. However, the numbering of the Orders of the October Revolution ends at 111,248.

Value and cost are concepts of the same order?

For each award, the Order has a different value. Because recognition of your country as your merit is a very important moment in the life of any person. But there are situations when the Order of the October Revolution, the price of which is hard work, can save someone from family members from hunger or disease. Then there is a need to sell the reward.

But not everything is so simple. Since there are no official places where the order can be attributed and sell it, the owners have to look for possible buyers themselves. Most often it's about "black markets" - places (and virtual ones too), where collectors and interested people gather. At these sites you can sell everything. And the Order of the October Revolution, the price on the black market for which fluctuates around 500-600 dollars, is no exception.

Specialists and experts in this field remind owners of awards that in the business of selling you need to leave the ardor and excitement, and be guided only by common sense. Beware of responding to a "too advantageous" offer to buy your Order of the October Revolution. The cost of orders and medals is formed on the basis of the ratio of supply and demand, and therefore all sorts of non-standard proposals may be fraudulent.

But in general, before you give up the grandmother's or grandfather's reward (and possibly the parents), think for a second about what an outstanding person your ancestor was. Perhaps it is worth giving awards to future generations to carry the memory of the heroes through time.