Awarded with the Order of Kutuzov. Knights of the Order of Kutuzov

When the war rages everywhere, it is very difficult to direct the thoughts and forces of people in the right direction. Ruin, suffering, death - all this creates a strong demotivation effect. Nevertheless, there is a certain type of people who are aware of the gravity of the situation, but do not surrender. They are worthy of the highest awards, because their decisive actions have saved the lives of many people. This fact was adopted by the government of the USSR during the Great Patriotic War. It was noted that people are fighting much more desperately and tougher when they know about outside support. Thus, in addition to the notorious Stalin's order "Not a step back," in the period from 1941 to 1945, a large number of various awards were issued. The goal of their creation was nothing more than the motivation of the top command staff and soldiers in general. Of all the array of such "rewards", the Order of Kutuzov, developed in 1943, stands out.

The history of the creation of the Order of Kutuzov

In the early stages of the war, the Soviet side suffered heavy losses. Therefore, on all fronts a large-scale retreat of the Red Army was conducted into the deep rear, but this process was accompanied by constant skirmishes with the enemy. There are also cases when the fighters were surrounded, but they did not even think about giving up. A vivid example is the famous defense of the Brest Fortress.

Even taking into account the numerical superiority of the enemy's forces and complete encirclement, our soldiers did not abandon their positions. Naturally, such actions by the Red Army soldiers could not but inspire the higher ranks of the government. In order to motivate all the other soldiers to such decisive actions, it was decided to establish a special order. The Statute of the award clearly traces its "defensive" essence. In other words, people were awarded not for an offensive, but for literate and courageous actions in the conditions of defense. Some experts in the history of the Great Patriotic War see a small similarity between the Order of Suvorov and Kutuzov, but there are very few real facts that would give rise to such a statement. Even the Statutes of these awards have completely different requirements and principles.

The Order of Kutuzov is interesting primarily because his degrees were established at different times. It should also be noted the date of establishment - July 29, 1942, the day after the signing of Decree No. 227 ("Not a step back"). Given all the above facts, we can conclude: people who were awarded the Order of Kutuzov, had merit in the process of retreat or encirclement. Clarity with respect to the criteria according to which they were presented for the award, provides the Statute of the Order.

Statute of the Order of Kutuzov

The statute is a certain set of criteria, according to which the commanders were presented to the award. All those awarded the Order of Kutuzov were to carry out a certain defensive action. The degree depended on the title that the person presented to the award had. There are only three degrees of the order, namely: I, II, III.

Degrees of the Order

1. Order of Kutuzov I degree

The award was awarded to the highest military ranks: the commander of the armies, the chiefs of staffs, etc. There was a list of conditions under which a person could be awarded the Order of Kutuzov I degree:

- For the developed operation, as a result of which a victory over the enemy was achieved.

- For an excellent plan of retreat, in which massive counterattacks were carried out.

- For organizing the struggle of the formations with superior enemy forces.

2. Order of Kutuzov II degree

The Order of Kutuzov of the II degree was awarded to the chiefs and commanders of staffs, brigades and divisions for the following services:

- Persistent and courageous resistance to the advancing superior forces.

- Competent control of troops in a difficult battle.

- Ability to fight in the environment.

3. Order of Kutuzov III degree

The award was awarded to the commanders of the companies, regiments and battalions:

- For the capture of a large enemy resistance unit, subject to minimal losses of its own personnel.

- For the competent pursuit of the enemy, coupled with the process of destruction of his forces.

- For the defeat of the enemy's rear.

Knights of the Order of Kutuzov

So, who was awarded such a high rank? The first 17 officers, awarded the Order of Kutuzov I degree: the commander of the army of the Trans-Caucasian Front, General Tyulenev; Colonel General Purkaev; Lieutenant-general Zakharov and Malinin; Commanding armies lieutenant-general and major general Zhadov, Zhuravlev, Dukhanov, Galanin, Galitsky, Romanenko, Fedyuninsky, Romanovsky, Kharitonov, Trufanov, Khomenko, Gromadin, Koroteev.

Some commanders could obtain the order two or even three times. For example, Marshal Sokolovsky, Colonel-General Koroteyev, Colonel-General Nikitin, Shtykov, Major-General Vladimirsky were awarded three orders.

It is worth noting that the Order of Kutuzov - the Soviet Union's highest award - was awarded not only to Soviet officers. To date, more than one hundred foreign servicemen who are Knights of the Order are known.

Appearance

The material of production depended on the degree of the order. The first was made of gold, the second and the third - of silver. Order Kutuzov I degree was completely gold, executed in the form of a five-pointed star with many small rays. In the middle was a circle enameled in white. Inside it, one could see the image of Kutuzov on the background of the Kremlin. The rim of the picture was made in the form of a golden laurel-oak wreath. The picture of the commander is surrounded by a white enameled line, on which was inscribed: "Mikhail Kutuzov."

Order of Kutuzov today

In the Russian Federation the order was never canceled. But until 2010, he did not have the Statute. The union was canceled, but the new one was not invented. Everything changed on September 7, 2010, when the Decree of the Head of State "On Measures to Improve the Award System" was issued. It detailed all the orders and the criteria for their award.

So, in the article the history of the establishment of the insignia was examined, as well as people awarded the Order of Kutuzov. It is still relevant today.