Medal "For the defense of Kiev" - a reward 20 years later

Stalin's historical science cautiously judged the initial stage of the war of 1941-45. Only after the death of the "Father of the Peoples" did they begin to mention the heavy defeats incurred by the Red Army then. The medal "For the defense of Kiev", established on the initiative of the new leader of the country - NS Khrushchev, became a symbol of memory of the terrible losses of the first summer of the war.

The tragic start of the war

The rapid seizure of Ukraine Hitler considered the most important strategic goal. This made it possible to deprive the Soviet Union of a large raw and food base and free up forces to support troops on the main - Moscow - direction.

The Ukrainian capital was attacked by aviation from the first hours of the war, and in a short time a powerful group of the German army "South" reached the Dnieper. Opposing the Soviet military formations, united in the South-Western Front, was commanded by the general, whose competence was still disputed by MP Kirponos, and the general direction of the forces of the southern direction was carried out by Marshal Budenny.

Regulations on the medal

Commemorating the 20th anniversary of the outbreak of war, the medal "For the Defense of Kiev" was established on June 21, 1961. Historians note special political circumstances. Nikita Khrushchev, who became the new leader of the party and country, for a long time was the head of the Central Committee of the CPSU (b) of Ukraine, and even during the war raised the question of reward for the battles for Kiev. Stalin spoke out against it, arguing that it is then necessary to establish awards separately for each union republic. But most importantly, Stalin did not consider the actions of the Soviet troops and his command a heroic page of history.

According to the regulations, all those awarded with the medal "For the defense of Kiev" from July to September 1941 were in Kiev and the surrounding area as part of regular troops and people's militia, took part in the construction of defensive fortifications, worked at military enterprises of the city, were members of the anti-fascist underground or partisan movement.

According to the regulations, in the presence of other state awards, the medal "For the defense of Kiev" is located after the "Stalingrad", "the younger" for it was declared "For the Defense of the Caucasus".

To take Moscow, you need to take Kiev

The High Command of the Wehrmacht, obeying Hitler's directive, adopted a decision that most military historians recognize as erroneous in terms of the strategy of mastering the Soviet capital. In an effort to quickly get to the rich Ukrainian regions and Caucasian oil, the southern group was reinforced by two powerful tank armies, which previously operated in conjunction with Army Group Center in the Moscow direction. Hitler did this after an unsuccessful attempt to seize the Ukrainian capital at once, prevented by counteractions by the Red Army on the Kiev fortified line.

To strengthen the Soviet Southwestern Front at the expense of the units blocking the Germans' way to Moscow, the Stavka did not, because Stalin was convinced that the main direction for the Germans was the capital. The power and dynamics of the new tank units, their roundabout and dissecting blows, led to the encirclement and destruction near Kiev of a huge group of the Red Army led by the leadership of the front. Even the official figure of losses is monstrous - more than 700 thousand people.

Description of the medal

The form, which has the medal "For the defense of Kiev" is standard for such awards: a brass disk with a diameter of 32 mm. The pentagonal shoe, covered with an olive ribbon made of moire, with two bands: red (4 mm) and blue (2 mm) is also used.

The reverse side is the same as on many medals of the Great Patriotic War - with the inscription: "For our Soviet Motherland!" But among the collectors-falerists there is a rarity: the medal "For the defense of Kiev", made with the help of a mistakenly used by the Mint the mold from another military Awards. On its reverse there is the date of the capture of Vienna - "April 13, 1945". Such medals were not awarded.

The obverse is made according to the sketch of the artist VN Atlantov and represents the relief figures of the partisan and armed with rifles of the worker, sailor and soldier against the backdrop of the building of the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR with a characteristic dome and flag over it. On the top - convex letters: "For the defense of Kiev", in the center below - five-pointed star on the background of the flag, and on either side of it - the laurel branch. The obverse borders the convex rim.

Results of the Kiev defense

The battles of the summer of 1941 refer to the hard lessons from which the Great Patriotic War began for the Soviet command. The defense of Kiev lasted 70 days and ended on September 26, when the fighting in the vicinity of the Ukrainian capital, already abandoned by Soviet soldiers, ended.

The defeat of the South-Western Front of the Red Army had serious strategic consequences for the USSR: the Germans opened the road to the south of Ukraine and soon the Donbas and the Crimea were seized, where Sevastopol, the main base of the Black Sea Fleet, was blocked. The largest economic zones - sources of food and coal - were lost, a threat loomed over the main oil-producing areas of the USSR.

But the feat of the defenders of Kiev is of historical significance for achieving a general victory over fascism: the diversion of a large part of the Wehrmacht armor from the central group of troops weakened the onslaught on the Soviet capital and gave time to better prepare for the defense of Moscow.

170 thousand awarded

Soviet historical science was able to make judgments based on the opinion of the leadership and the main party ideologists. This particularly touched on the most difficult and controversial victories and defeats of the Great Patriotic War, which includes the defense of Kiev. WWII, its main events can be traced in the names of established awards for its participants - medals for defense and the capture of cities and regions. The military medal "For the defense of Kiev" was the only one established already in the postwar period. But from this it did not become less honorable and expensive for 170 540 people, awarded it, for their contemporaries and descendants.