Medals "For impeccable service." Departmental Medal of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR

In all states it is customary to reward people, most of whose lives were devoted to work in state and military structures. In the USSR, to reward servicemen whose term of service was 10, 15 or 20 years, medals "For impeccable service" were established.

Awards of Tsarist Russia

The tradition to represent the award of officers who served more than 25 years, was introduced by Catherine II. In 1769 the Statute of the Order of St. George the Victorious was issued, where in the fifth article it was stated that since not every officer can get into the situation, "where his jealousy and bravery can shine," this award of the IV degree was received by those who either Served 25 years in the field service, or participated in at least 18 maritime campaigns. However, in 1855, by an ordinance, the Order of St. George of the IV degree was abolished, and the award for service of 25 years became the Order of St. Vladimir also of the IV degree, while now it could be received not only by military officers, but also by class civil officials.

Awards for long service in the USSR

In the Soviet Union, to be presented to the award for long service in the ranks of the Red Army began in 1944. Decrees on such awards were issued on June 4 for the Red Army, September 25 - Navy and October 2 - for the NKGB and NKVD officials. But since military orders were used for rewarding , this led to a devaluation of their significance. For example, the Order of the Red Banner - one of the most honorable military awards - was about 300,000 times awarded for long service. In this regard, such awards in the period from 1954 to 1957 were terminated. But already in 1958 the decision was made to assign to the servicemen and employees of security agencies, whose length of service was more than 10 years, the USSR Medal "For Irreproachable Service".

Who was awarded

Representatives of the Russian Federation who are officially appointed to the government service represent the award. The medals "For Irreproachable Service" are handed over to the servicemen of the Navy, the Soviet Army, the troops and bodies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the State Security Committee, who served in these divisions for at least 10 years and do not have any penalties during the service period. Delivery takes place on the basis of the Decree, which regulates the awarding of orders and medals. Awarded the Minister of Defense and is different: the medal "For impeccable service" 3 degrees, 2 and 1.

Order of awarding

The lists of the awarded persons are drawn up on the basis of the Decrees approved by the defense ministers in the regions. The medals "For Irreproachable Service" of the first degree are given to citizens whose term of service has exceeded 20 years and who do not have active penalties or other shortcomings in their official activities. The second-degree medal is given to persons who have served 15 years. The medal "For Excellence" is awarded to 3-degree citizens whose lifetime has exceeded 10 years. At the same time, if the service life is more than 15 or 20 years for the award period, it is possible to award a medal of 2 or 1 degree, bypassing the rest. Applications for the award ceremony are submitted until May 10. Presentation of the medal "For impeccable service" is, as a rule, on November 7 or February 23. The award is considered departmental, worn on the left side and, in the presence of other medals, the USSR and Russia are located after them.

Appearance

The medal is a circle whose diameter is 32 millimeters. In the center of the obverse is a five-pointed star, from under the concave angles of which the beams of rays diverge. The rays can be either sharp or blunt. In the center of the star, along the circumference of which is a laurel wreath, there is a sickle and a hammer. For all departments, the front side has the same pattern. An exception is the Merit Medal issued by the GB Committee. On her obverse between the lower rays of the star are the Roman numerals XX, XV and X, respectively, on medals 1, 2 and 3 degrees.

By means of a ring and a lug the medal is attached to a pentagonal, covered with a red moiré band ribbon, the width of which is 24 millimeters. A narrow green strip runs along the edge of the tape. In the center pass narrow yellow stripes. At a medal of 1 degree - one, at the award of 2 degrees - two. The medal "20 years of impeccable service" has three golden yellow strips on the moire ribbon.

Material of manufacture

Medals of the 1st degree, produced during the years 1958-1965, were made of silver. Later samples of awards were made from silvered brass or tombak. A distinctive feature of the 1st degree medal was the surface of the star, covered with red enamel. Awards of the second degree were also made of brass and nickel silver, while their surface, with the exception of the star, was covered with silver. Medals of the third degree have no silvering. The reverse of the medals is different for each of the three (the Armed Forces, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the KGB) departments.

A few more facts

To date, the medal "For Perfect Service" exists in Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Belarus, but their appearance differs from the Russian award. The Ukrainian award has the form of a cross, located on a blue ribbon. The Kazakh award, which was established in 2002, like the Russian one, has a round shape. Just like the Russian medal, it has a laurel wreath and a five-pointed star on the obverse, but there is also an inscription in the Kazakh language. The medal is fixed to a blue ribbon with yellow stripes. The Belarusian award has a green ribbon.

Despite the fact that the divisions of the Ministry of Emergency Situations are equated with the departments of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, their employees can not receive the medal "For impeccable service". And all because the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation in 2010 approved its own award, bearing the same name. However, its appearance is significantly different from the government medal. On the obverse instead of the five-pointed star is the logo of the Ministry of Emergency Situations. It is in connection with the issue of its own departmental medal that the awarding of employees of various services of the Ministry of Emergencies takes place separately from the rest of the military.

And in the end, a little information for collectors. In the USSR, officers of the Ministry of the Interior of the Union republics wore different insignia, including this medal. For merits and impeccable service in some republics since 1960 medals of the ministries of internal affairs were issued: the Moldavian, Lithuanian, Tajik and Armenian SSR. Later (in 1962), the ministries of the Republican VDs were transformed into MOP (Ministry of Public Order Protection) and the production of medals was started already with the indication of these departments. However, in 1970 an order was issued to surrender the medals of the MEP for remelting, which makes them, in terms of faleristics, significantly more valuable. For example, the Lithuanian and Tajik medals "For Perfect Service" are quite rare, the price for which varies from ten to twenty-seven thousand rubles. On average, collectors, depending on the year of release and departmental affiliation, can offer from one to seven thousand rubles. The greatest demand is for the 1st degree medal of the 1958 KGB of the USSR. For them can offer from four to seven thousand rubles.