Order of Victory

The last living recipient was King Michael I of Romania, who died on 5 December 2017.

• Name — Order of Victory • Presenter — Soviet Union • Type — Single-grade order • Eligibility — Military Generals and Marshals only • Awarded For — Conducting combat operations involving one or more army groups and resulting in a "successful operation within the framework of one or several fronts resulting in a radical change of the situation in favor of the Red Army" • Status — No longer awarded • Established — November 8, 1943 • Firstawarded — April 10, 1944 • Lastawarded — February 20, 1978 (was revoked) • Total Awarded — 20 • Caption2 — Ribbon of the Order of Victory

The order was proposed by Colonel N. S. Neyelov, who was serving at the Soviet Army Rear headquarters around June 1943. The original name that Colonel Neyelov suggested was Order for Faithfulness to the Homeland; however, it was given its present name around October of that year. On October 25, 1943, artist A. I. Kuznetsov, who was already the designer of many Soviet orders, presented his first sketch to Stalin. The sketch of a round medallion with portraits of Lenin and Stalin was not approved by the Supreme Commander. Instead, Stalin wanted a design with the Spasskaya Tower in the centre. Kuznetsov returned four days later with several new sketches, of which Stalin chose one entitled "Victory". He asked Kuznetsov to slightly alter the design, and on the 5th of November a prototype was finally approved. The order was officially adopted on November 8, 1943, and was first awarded to Georgy Zhukov, Aleksandr Vasilevsky, and Joseph Stalin. All three were awarded a second order a year or more later. The order was also bestowed to top commanders of the Allied forces. Every order was presented during or immediately after World War II, except for the controversial 1978 award to Leonid Brezhnev, who was not given a personal award, but an older one, originally awarded to Leonid Govorov, Marshal of the Soviet Union. (Govorov was already deceased, with his award returned to the state) Brezhnev's award was revoked posthumously in 1989 for not meeting the requirements for the award. Like other orders awarded by Communist nations, the Order of Victory could be awarded more than once to the same individual. In total, the order was presented twenty times to seventeen people (including Brezhnev). Unlike all other Soviet orders, the Order of Victory had no serial number on it, the number was only mentioned in the award certificate. After a holder of the Order of Victory died, the award was to be given back to the state. Most of awards are now preserved by the Diamond Fund in the Moscow Kremlin. Notable exceptions are King Michael I of Romania's Order of Victory, which is held in the collection of the Romanian Royal Family, Dwight D. Eisenhower's Order of Victory, which is on display at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum in Abilene, Kansas, Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery's Order of Victory, which is on display at the Imperial War Museum in London, and Josip Broz Tito's Order of Victory, which is kept in the Museum of Yugoslav History in Belgrade.

• Illustration — The Soviet Order of Victory Against the sky, the letters "СССР" (USSR) appear in white enamel centered on the top of the medallion, while the word "Победа" (Victory) in white, is displayed on the red banner at the bottom, also made with enamel. The total mass of the order is 78g, which consists of 47g of platinum, 2g of gold, 19g of silver, and 16 carats of diamond. The rubies in the Order are artificial, as natural rubies would differ too much in color. The medal is estimated to be worth $10 million. Instead of being made at a mint, each Order was made in a jeweler's workshop. Dwight D. Eisenhower had his star valued by an American jeweler; according to Bernhard, Prince Consort of the Netherlands (who, having been Commander of the Dutch Armed Forces during the war, was interested in receiving such a prestigious award himself but never got it), Eisenhower told him that his stones were "fakes".

• Illustration — The Order Ribbon. The ribbons of various Soviet orders have been combined to create the Order Ribbon. The total length of the ribbon is 44 mm and it is mostly worn on the field uniform. The following featured orders are depicted on the ribbon (read from outside towards the center): • Order of Glory (Орден Славы/Orden Slavy). Orange with black center stripe • Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky (Орден Богдана Хмельницкого/Orden Bogdana Khmelnitskogo). Light blue stripe • Order of Alexander Nevsky (Орден Александра Невского/Orden Aleksandra Nevskogo). Dark red stripe • Order of Kutuzov (Орден Кутузова/Orden Kutuzova). Dark blue stripe • Order of Suvorov (Орден Суворова/Orden Suvorova). Green stripe • Order of Lenin (Орден Ленина/Orden Lenina). Large Red stripe (center section)

• # — Date — Name — Image — Died — Note • 1 — 1944-04-10 April 10, 1944 — Soviet Union Georgy Zhukov — — 1974-06-18 June 18, 1974 • 2 — 1944-04-10 April 10, 1944 — Soviet Union Aleksandr Vasilevsky — — 1977-12-05 December 5, 1977 • 3 — 1944-04-10 April 10, 1944 — Soviet Union Joseph Stalin — — 1953-03-05 March 5, 1953 • 4 — 1945-03-30 March 30, 1945 — Soviet Union Poland Konstantin Rokossovsky — — 1968-08-03 August 3, 1968 • 5 — 1945-03-30 March 30, 1945 — Soviet Union Ivan Konev — — 1973-05-21 May 21, 1973 • 6 — 1945-04-19 April 19, 1945 — Soviet Union Aleksandr Vasilevsky — — 1977-12-05 December 5, 1977 — (2nd time) • 7 — 1945-04-26 April 26, 1945 — Soviet Union Rodion Malinovsky — — 1967-03-31 March 31, 1967 • 8 — 1945-04-26 April 26, 1945 — Soviet Union Fyodor Tolbukhin — — 1949-10-17 October 17, 1949 • 9 — 1945-05-31 May 31, 1945 — Soviet Union Leonid Govorov — — 1955-03-19 March 19, 1955 • 10 — 1945-05-31 May 31, 1945 — Soviet Union Georgy Zhukov — — 1974-06-18 June 18, 1974 — (2nd time) • 11 — 1945-06-04 June 4, 1945 — Soviet Union Semyon Timoshenko — — 1970-03-31 March 31, 1970 • 12 — 1945-06-04 June 4, 1945 — Soviet Union Aleksei Antonov — — 1962-06-18 June 18, 1962 • 13 — 1945-06-05 June 5, 1945 — United Kingdom Bernard Montgomery — — 1976-03-24 March 24, 1976 • 14 — 1945-06-10 June 10, 1945 — United States Dwight D. Eisenhower — — 1969-03-28 March 28, 1969 • 15 — 1945-06-26 June 26, 1945 — Soviet Union Joseph Stalin — — 1953-03-05 March 5, 1953 — (2nd time) • 16 — 1945-07-06 July 6, 1945 — Kingdom of Romania Michael I of Romania — — 2017-12-05 December 5, 2017 • 17 — 1945-08-09 August 9, 1945 — Poland Michał Rola-Żymierski — — 1989-10-15 October 15, 1989 • 18 — 1945-09-08 September 8, 1945 — Soviet Union Kirill Meretskov — — 1968-12-30 December 30, 1968 • 19 — 1945-09-09 September 9, 1945 — SFR Yugoslavia Josip Broz Tito — — 1980-05-04 May 4, 1980 • 20 — 1978-02-20 February 20, 1978 — Soviet Union Leonid Brezhnev — — 1982-11-10 November 10, 1982 — Revoked posthumously in 1989

• Illustration — Plaque (2000) at the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow, listing the recipients of the Order of Victory. Brezhnev's name is not on the plaque, as his award was revoked in 1989. After the death of the recipient of the Order of Victory, it was to be given back to the state. • All orders awarded to Soviet commanders are in Russia. • The Central Armed Forces Museum in Moscow has five orders: two of Vasilevsky, two of Zhukov and one of Malinovsky. • The State Precious Metals and Gems Repository (Gokhran) in Russia has two orders: Rokossovski, and Rola-Żymierski. • All other orders that are in Russia are stored in the Moscow Kremlin, preserved by the Diamond Fund. • King Michael I of Romania (d. 2017) was for 28 years the only living holder, following the death in 1989 of M. Rola-Żymierski; his order is held in the Royal Collection of the Romanian Royal Family. • Tito's order is at the Museum of Yugoslavia, Belgrade (former the May 25th Museum) • Dwight D. Eisenhower's Order is on display at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum in Abilene, Kansas. • Bernard Montgomery's Order is in the Imperial War Museum in London.