Hero of Belarus Medal

The medal was established along with the title of Hero of Belarus by Decree of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Belarus No. 3726-XII of April 13, 1995 ^[1]

Then the decision was replaced by the Law of the Republic of Belarus dated May 18, 2004 No. 288-З ^[2]

The title is awarded by the Decree of the President for exceptional services to the state and society. ^[2]

The assignment of the title “Hero of Belarus” is carried out by the President of the Republic of Belarus. The decision on conferring the title is made out by adoption of the Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus ^[2] .

The Hero of Belarus medal is usually awarded by the President of the Republic of Belarus or, on his behalf, by other officials, the list of which is established in Article 65 of the Law ^[2] . Presentation is made in a festive atmosphere no later than two months from the date of signing the decree ^[2] .

The medal is made in Gomel (Jeweler factory, a branch of the Gomel production association Crystal ^[3] ).

Medal from 1996 to 1999

The description of the medal until 1999 was set out in Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus dated January 15, 1996 No. 26. According to this regulatory legal act, the medal was a five-pointed asterisk inscribed in a circle with a diameter of 33 mm, made of 585th gold and weighed 14 grams. Arrow-like inserts of artificial ruby were located at the inner obtuse corners of the star in the radial direction. The reverse side of the coin had a smooth surface, in the center was the number of the coin. The pendant was a trapezoidal block, to which the medal was attached using an eye and a ring. The pad was covered with a moire ribbon of red color with a longitudinal green stripe from the right edge. The block was made of silver with gilding. ^[4] This design of the medal lasted until the entry into force of Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus of September 6, 1999 No. 516. ^[5]

Medal since 1999

The current description of the medal is regulated by Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus of April 8, 2005 No. 168, which replaced the decree of 1999 . In the last two decrees, the description of the medal is the same. Differences from the medal until 1999 are insignificant: artificial rubies are not attached to the obtuse corners of the star, the block has become rectangular and is now made of gold, like the medal. ^{[5] [6]}

A modern description of the medal can be seen on the stamp issued by the Ministry of Communications and Informatization of the Republic of Belarus in 2008 . ^[7]

The ribbon in the pendant of the Hero of Belarus medal is red-green, symbolizing the flag of the Republic of Belarus , while the medal of the Hero of the Soviet Union medal is red. On the back of the Hero of Belarus medal is the number of the medal, and on the Hero of the Soviet Union medal is not only the number of the medal, but also the inscription “Hero of the USSR”. The medal block of the Hero of the Soviet Union was made of silver, the medal block of the Hero of Belarus was made of 585 gold. The medal of the Hero of the Soviet Union itself was 3 mm smaller than the medal of the Hero of Belarus and was made of 950 gold ^{[8] [9]} .

The pin mount is worn on the left side of the chest on top of other awards ^[2] .

• Isaeva I.K. Awards of the Republic of Belarus. - Mn. : Belarus, 2007 .-- 120 s.
• Simon Barys. Heroes of Belarus // Belarus_ gistarychny chasopis. - Minsk: Institute of History, National Academy of Sciences of Belarus; - S. 54–55 .