Medal "For Distinction in Competitions"

According to the Regulation, the medal “For Distinction in Competitions” is awarded to:

• The military personnel of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation , who took 1st, 2nd and 3rd places at the All-Army competitions at the final stage of the field training contest among units of military branches of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, troops not included in the types and types of troops of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, and crews combat (special) vehicles of military districts conducted in accordance with the plan for the preparation of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation for a year;
• head coaches of teams that took I, II and III places in the All-Army competitions;
• personnel of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, who took 1st, 2nd and 3rd places in championships, cups, sports and athletics competitions and commander starts held in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation;
• Specialists in physical training of types, branches of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, troops not included in the types and types of troops of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, military districts whose teams took 1st, 2nd and 3rd places according to the results of the year in the sports contest of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

The medal is awarded by order of the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation on the proposal of the head of the Main Directorate of Combat Training of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation or the head of the Department of Physical Training of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

The medal is awarded to the solemnly awarded Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation or another official on his behalf. Together with the medal, a certificate of the established form is issued.

The medal “For Distinction in Competitions” is worn on the left side of the chest and is located after state awards of the Russian Federation and other medals of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation in accordance with the rules for wearing military uniforms ^[2] .

The medal is made of metal:

• golden color for those who took 1st place in the competition;
• silver color for those who took the II place;
• bronze color for those who took III place;

and has the shape of a circle with a diameter of 32 mm with a convex rim on both sides.

On the front side of the coin: in the center - a relief image of a five-rayed star framed by an oak wreath, in the lower part of which there is a shield.

On the reverse side of the coin: in the center, above, there is a single-colored relief image of the emblem of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation (a two-headed eagle crowned with a crown with spread wings. In the right paw of the eagle is a sword, in the left is an oak wreath. On the chest of the eagle is a triangular shield with a rod extended downward) ascending to the crown. In the shield field there is a rider striking with a spear of a dragon), under it there is a relief inscription in three lines “For difference in competitions I (II, III) place”, in a circle there is a relief inscription: in the upper part - “MINISTRY DEFENSE ", at the bottom hour and - "Russian Federation".

The medal is connected with an eye and a ring to a pentagonal block covered with a silk moire ribbon 24 mm wide. From the right edge of the ribbon there is an orange strip 10 mm wide, bordered on the right by a black strip 2 mm wide, to the left is a white strip 12 mm wide, in the middle of which: for a medal of the 1st degree - a red strip, II degree - a blue strip, III degree - a green strip. The width of the strip is 2 mm.

Elements of the medal symbolize:

• five-pointed star (a symbol of accomplishments and high achievements) - courage and dedication of the participants of the competition;
• oak wreath (a symbol of reward and glory) - loyalty to military and official duty;
• the emblem of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and the orange strip of the ribbon of the medal bordered by a black strip - the medal belongs to the system of insignia of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation;
• the white stripe of the medal ribbon, divided in the middle by a red (blue or green) stripe - the purpose of the medal is to reward competitors who took 1st, 2nd and 3rd places respectively.

Some critics believe that the appearance of the medal “For Distinction in Competitions” most clearly reflects the situation that has developed with the award system of the Ministry of Defense of Russia , when the quality of normative legal acts is noticeably reduced in conditions of an increase in the medal cult.

So a member of the SAMMLER.ru Scout portal writes:

Try to find in the Regulation an answer to a simple question: how many times can you award a medal of each dignity of an athlete and, most importantly, a coach or another “training supervisor” (direct for coaches and athletes)?
With a good “alignment” by the end of the service, the nachfiz, in addition to the “ sand ”, will be able to collect such a “chest” from these newly established medals, and it is not a fact that they will be of different values. Imagine an extreme situation when such a figure in 17 out of 20 bars will be “crowded with a bunch” of the ribbon of the indicated medal!
A medal cult in the RF Ministry of Defense will be able to create a situation where athletes and their coaches, who previously occupied the FIRST places, will INTERESTLY go down a little, claiming to replenish the “chest” and pads with medals of the second and third degrees!
And such questions in connection with the absurdity of the very idea of ​​rewarding a specific BEST medal for a SPECIFIC (one-time) sporting achievement - there is still plenty!
Maybe it makes sense to return to the Soviet experience, when athletes and their coaches wore the badges of winners they deserved on SHOULDER ribbons and only on solemn (official, regulated) occasions!
Therefore, my opinion is that either the Regulation needs to be seriously reworked, or together with the order immediately to the scrap (in the "annals of history").

• Order of the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation No. 675, dated September 18, 2014.

• Sergei Shoigu awarded Colonel General Valery Kapashin with the medal “For Distinction in Competitions”. / journal "Chemical Disarmament";
• More than a thousand military personnel of the Baltic Fleet were awarded medals. / www.flot.com;
• On the establishment of the medal "For Distinction in Competitions". / site "Arguments of time";
• On awarding the winners of the Pan-Biathlon 2014 All-Army Competitions. / blog of Alexei Pelevin;
• The Pacific Fleet team took the "golden BMP" at the tank biathlon competitions. / Agency "Primorye 24";
• Tank biathlon. On awarding the medal of the winners. / rubric "Life in uniform";
• In Alabin near Moscow, the final of the 2nd All-Army Competition was completed. Award photo. / site of the Ministry of Defense of Russia.