Order of Alexander Nevsky (USSR)

The Order of Alexander Nevsky was awarded to the commanders of the Red Army , who showed personal courage, courage and courage in the battles for the Fatherland in the Patriotic War and ensured the successful actions of their units with skillful command.

The order of Alexander Nevsky was awarded by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the USSR.

The Order of Alexander Nevsky was awarded to the commanders of divisions , brigades , regiments , battalions , companies and platoons :

• For the manifestation, in accordance with the combat mission, of the initiative to choose the right moment for a sudden, bold and swift attack on the enemy and inflicting a major defeat on him with small losses for his troops;
• For the performance of a combat mission, the persistent and clear organization of the interaction of the combat arms, and the destruction of all or most of the existing superior enemy forces;
• For commanding an artillery unit or unit that quickly suppressed enemy artillery, superior in strength, or destroyed enemy firing points, interfering with the advancement of our units, or destroyed a group of bunkers and bunkers , or persistently repelled the attack of a large group of tanks, causing heavy damage to it;
• For the command of a tank unit or unit that successfully completed a combat operation, caused great damage to the enemy’s manpower and equipment and completely preserved their material part;
• For the command of an air unit or unit, persistently and successfully completing a number of sorties, inflicting severe damage to the enemy’s manpower and equipment and returning to their base without loss;
• For swift actions and initiative to disrupt or destroy enemy engineering structures and ensure the development of success in the offensive impulse of our units;
• For the systematic organization of uninterrupted diverse communications and the timely elimination of its damage, which ensured the success of major military operations of the troops;
• For the skillful and rapid execution of the landing operation with the least losses for our troops, which caused a great defeat to the enemy and ensured the success of the overall combat mission.

The Order of Alexander Nevsky is worn on the right side of the chest and is located after the order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky, III degree.

The badge of the order of Alexander Nevsky is a convex, covered with ruby-red enamel, five-pointed star on the background of a ten-pointed regular figure, on the surface of which diverging polished rays are located. The red star has gilded rims. In the middle of the star there is a round bounded shield with a relief image of Alexander Nevsky and an inscription around the circumference with convex letters: “ALEXANDER NEVSKY”. The shield is bordered with a laurel gilt wreath. The lower ends of the branches of the wreath are covered with a figured shield with a gilded image of a sickle and hammer on it. Against the background of the rays of the ten-pointed figure, the ends of two gilded berdys are crossed, crossed behind a round shield. In the lower part of the order are gilded crossed behind the figured shield: a sword, a spear, a bow and a quiver with arrows.

The badge of the Order of Alexander Nevsky was made of silver. The silver content in the order is 37,056 ± 1,387 g. The total weight of the order is 40.8 ± 1,7 g.

The size of the order between the end of the red star and the opposite apex of the ten-pointed figure is 50 mm. The distance from the center of the order to the top of any of the enamel rays of the five-pointed star is 26-27 mm.

Initially, the Order of Alexander Nevsky was worn on a rectangular block covered in red moire ribbon. The block was made in two sizes: 30 × 21 mm or 29.5 × 20 mm. In June 1943, the pads were canceled, and the order began to be made with a threaded pin with a nut for attaching the order to the clothes.

Ribbon of the order, to be worn on the order bar instead of the order, blue silk moire with a longitudinal red stripe in the middle. The width of the tape is 24 mm, the width of the strip is 5 mm.

In the Russian Empire, there was the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky , which was awarded to both military and civilians. In 1917, it was abolished along with other royal orders.

On July 29, 1942, a new order of Alexander Nevsky was established in the USSR as a military order to reward the commanding staff of the Red Army .

The sketch of the order, chosen for execution, was drawn by Igor Telyatnikov , senior architect of the Tsentrvoenproekt Institute. Since the lifetime portraits of the commander were not preserved, Telyatnikov placed on the order a profile image of the artist Nikolai Cherkasov , who played the role of Alexander Nevsky in the movie of the same name . The drawing of the order was approved on July 20, 1942 .

The statute initially determined that only commanders of military units from platoon to regiment, inclusive, can be awarded the order. By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of November 10, 1942, the possibility of awarding the order was also established for division commanders and brigades.

The Order of Alexander Nevsky was the youngest of the "commander" orders. He was the only one with only one degree.

The Order of Alexander Nevsky No. 1 was awarded to the commander of the battalion of the marine corps of the 154th Marine Rifle Brigade, senior lieutenant (later lieutenant colonel) Ivan Nazarovich Ruban for repelling the attack of an entire fascist regiment, supported by tanks, in the area of ​​the Don bend in August 1942 (Decree of November 5, 1942 of the year). Ruban divided his battalion into three groups, and using one of the groups as bait, ambushed the large forces of the enemy, after which the two remaining groups attacked the enemy. Ruban's battalion destroyed 7 tanks and more than 200 enemy soldiers.

For the exploits and merits committed during the Great Patriotic War , more than 42 thousand awards were awarded with the Order of Alexander Nevsky. Three people were awarded three orders, about 100 people - two. Among the awarded more than 1,470 military units and formations of the Soviet Army and Navy ^[3] . During the Great Patriotic War, the order was awarded to soldiers of more than 13 foreign countries (before the collapse of the USSR). On the banner of one of the military units after the reorganization of the Armed Forces in the 1990s - 2000s, there were three orders of Alexander Nevsky. After the events of 1956 in Hungary, the order was awarded to generals and officers.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the order was kept in the system of state awards of the Russian Federation by resolution of the Supreme Council of March 20, 1992 No. 2557-I, however, until 2010 the Russian order did not have a statute or official description, no awards were awarded to it. On September 7, 2010, by decree of the President of Russia No. 1099 “On measures to improve the state award system of the Russian Federation”, the statute and description of the order were approved ^[4] . In accordance with the new statute, the Order of Alexander Nevsky became a civil award, and its sign now reproduces the design of the pre-revolutionary order.

• The Order of Alexander Nevsky is the only award that existed (with certain changes) in the award systems of the Russian Empire , the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation .
• The order was awarded almost twice as often as all the other "commander" orders combined. Despite this, it is found much less often than many other orders, which is explained by the frequent death of the order gentlemen in subsequent battles ^[5] .
• Major General Iosif Ivanovich Khorun , who at the time of the award was incomplete 60 years, became the oldest holder of the order.
• There are cases when representatives of the same family were awarded the Order of Alexander Nevsky. So, the awards were awarded to brothers Alexander Georgievich ^[6] and Vasily Georgievich ^[7] Peshtereva.
• The Order of Alexander Nevsky was often found on the banners of military units as a collective award. This order, for example, was awarded to the Normandy-Niemen air regiment.
• For the collective feat of the soldiers of the 1st Rifle Battalion of the 215th Guards Rifle Regiment of the 77th Guards Rifle Division, the Military Council of the 69th Army appropriated the honorary name "Battalion of Glory" ^[8] . All soldiers and sergeants were awarded the Order of Glory , all platoon commanders were awarded the orders of Alexander Nevsky , company commanders were awarded the orders of the Red Banner , and guard battalion commander Major Emelyanov B.N. and guard platoon commander Senior Lieutenant M.N. Guryev by a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 27 February 1945, the titles of Heroes of the Soviet Union were awarded.

Multiple Knights of the Order of Alexander Nevsky

3 orders

• Borisenko, Ivan Grigorievich (1911—?) - lieutenant colonel, commander of the 536th anti-tank artillery regiment (05/04/1945; 05/25/1945; 06/04/1945)
• Kuprinenko, Pavel Andreevich (1903-1967) - major guard, deputy commander, commander of the 146th Guards Rifle Regiment of the 48th Guards Rifle Division (04/03/1944; 04/19/1944; 03/27/1944)
• Nevsky, Nikolai Leontyevich (1912-1990) - lieutenant colonel, commander of the 818th artillery regiment of the 223rd rifle division (11/07/1944; 12/02/1944; 06/20/1945)

Cavaliers of the Soviet and Russian orders of Alexander Nevsky

• Zhugan, Nikolai Pavlovich (1917-2017), Hero of the Soviet Union , Major General of Aviation (07/18/1945; 05/18/2017)
• Mikhailik, Dmitry Ivanovich (1920—2019), lieutenant general (02/13/1944; 07/03/2013)
• Gareev, Makhmut Akhmetovich (born 1923), retired army general (awarded the Russian Order in 2018)

Women Knights of the Order of Alexander Nevsky

• Amosova (Taranenko) Serafima Tarasovna (1914-1992) - guard captain (awarded on 04/26/1944)
• Bershanskaya (Bocharova) Evdokia Davydovna (1913-1982) - major guard (awarded on 04/26/1944)
• Lomanova (Tenueva) Galina Dmitrievna (1920—) - guard lieutenant (awarded on 12/27/1944)
• Nikulina, Evdokia Andreyevna (1917-1993) - Guard Senior Lieutenant (awarded on 10/25/1943)
• Kravchenko (Savitskaya) Valentina Flegontovna (1917-2000) - guard captain (awarded on 04/29/1945)
• Sanfirova, Olga Alexandrovna (1917-1944) - Guard Senior Lieutenant (awarded on 04/26/1944)
• Smirnova, Maria Vasilievna (1920-2002) - Guard Senior Lieutenant (awarded on 10/25/1943)
• Tikhomirova, Vera Ivanovna (1918—) - Guard Lieutenant (awarded on 04/26/1944)
• Sholokhova, Olga Mitrofanovna (1915-2001) - guard captain (awarded on 04/29/1945)

Foreigners Knights of the Order of Alexander Nevsky

United States of America :

• Boren, William - Major, U.S. Army (02/18/1944)
• McBride, Horace - Division General, Commander of the 80th Infantry Division (Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of June 13, 1945)
• Gilliard, Harry L. - colonel, commander of the 66th tank regiment of the 2nd American Panzer Division (order of the commander of the armored and mechanized forces of the 1st Belorussian Front No. 93 / n dated June 10, 1945) ^[9]
• Dongville, Henry S. - senior lieutenant, platoon commander “I” of company 314 of the infantry regiment 104 of the infantry division (order of the Military Council 1 of the Ukrainian Front No. 60 of May 13, 1945)
• Kellogg, William - US Army Senior Lieutenant (02/18/1944)
• Kotienby, Albert L. - senior lieutenant, platoon commander of the 273rd infantry regiment of the 69th infantry division (order of the Military Council 1 of the Ukrainian Front No. 60 of May 13, 1945)
• Leverett, William - Major, U.S. Army (02/18/1944)
• Robertson, William D. - junior lieutenant, platoon commander of the 273rd Infantry Regiment of the 69th Infantry Division (Order of the Military Council 1 of the Ukrainian Front No. 60 of May 13, 1945)
• Shank, Harland V. - senior lieutenant, commander of the reconnaissance squadron of 104 infantry divisions (order of the Military Council 1 of the Ukrainian Front No. 60 of May 13, 1945)

Great Britain :

• Krombay, J. G. F. - Captain of the British Navy (03/21/1944) ^[10]
• Williams (Williams), V.R.B. - Lieutenant Colonel of the British Army (Indian Army) (03/21/1944) ^[10]
• Bennett, Donald Clifford Tyndall (1910-1986) - Vice Marshal of Aviation (British Royal Air Force) (03/21/1944) ^[10]

Romania :

• Cambrai, Nicolae (1900-1976) - major general, commander of the 1st Romanian Volunteer Infantry Division named after Tudor Vladimirirescu (11/13/1944) ^[11]
• Teclu, Jacob (1899—?) - Colonel, chief of staff of the 1st Romanian Volunteer Infantry Division named after Tudor Vladimirirescu (11/13/1944) ^[11]
• Haupt, Mircea (1899-1981) - lieutenant colonel, etc. commander of the 1st Romanian volunteer infantry Red Banner Debrecen division named after Tudor Vladimirirescu (11/13/1944) ^[11]
• Bad, Marine (1901—?) - Lieutenant Colonel, etc. Chief of Staff of the 1st Romanian Volunteer Infantry Division named after Tudor Vladimirirescu (11/13/1944) ^[11]

France :

• Risso, Joseph (1920-2005) - pilot of the Normandie-Niemen regiment (02.23.1945) ^[12]
• Mattress, Pierre Emil (1914-1998) - pilot of the Normandie-Niemen regiment (06/04/1945) ^[13]
• Sauvage, Roger (1917-1977) - pilot of the Normandie-Niemen regiment (06/04/1945) ^[14]
• Delfino, Louis (1912-1968) - commander of the Normandie-Niemen regiment (05/05/1965)
• Kuffo, Leon (1911-2002) - pilot of the Normandie-Niemen regiment (05/05/1965)
• Puyad, Pierre (1911-1979) - commander of the Normandie-Niemen regiment (05/08/1965)

Czechoslovakia :

• Gash, Imrich Andreyevich - captain, commander of the battalion of 1 separate Czechoslovak tank brigade (Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of August 10, 1945)
• Ondik Andrey Andreyevich - lieutenant, commander of a tank company of the 1st separate Czechoslovak tank brigade (Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of August 10, 1945)
• Petras Sergey Vladislavovich - lieutenant, commander of a motorized rifle battalion of 1 separate Czechoslovak tank brigade (Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of August 10, 1945)

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• Site dedicated to the Knights of the Order of Alexander Nevsky
• Appeal to the leaders of Russia. 2010
• Response of the Heraldic Council under the President of the Russian Federation (No. A72-7353 dated 07/19/2010) to the appeal of the AUTO EVERYTHING project “Alexander Nevsky’s Silver Ring”
• Russian folk line