Russia Top 5 Including the Rare Hero of the Soviet Union

June 20, 2012

The Hero of the Soviet Union was the highest award that could be bestowed by the state to a civilian or soldier.  It largely replaced the Order of Lenin which could be given for feats that did not qualify as heroic.  During the lifepan of this award there were more than twelve thousand awarded with most coming during World War II.  There were a few individuals who received it multiple times (although only rarely more than twice).  An interesting group of recipients are the Soviet cosmonauts.  It was also given to Leon Trotsky's assassin which is a little ironic.  The first recipient was a little more deserving.  Anatoly Vasilyevich Liapidevsky took part in an arctic rescue of the crew of a doomed ship.  He landed on a man made air strip on floating ice and ferried the ship's crew to a safe return.  The aviator eventually was promoted in his career to the rank of Major General of the Soviet Air Force.  Interesting for those familiar with the trials and tribulations of fighting a war in Afghanistan, the Soviets decade long struggle in that country resulted in sixty-five awards being presented. With the fall of the Soviet Union the award was discontinued although it was replaced by awards such as the "Hero of the Russian Federation".   The remainder of these auctions were among the best selling eBay auctions for the Russian category.

Click The Text Links To See What The Top Pieces Sold For

Bids	eBay Item Title - Link to Auction	Image Link
54	Soviet Russian Gold medal HERO OF USSR with documents
27	SOVIET RUSSIAN ORDER AND MEDAL WITH DOCUMENT
28	SOVIET RUSSIAN ORDER AND MEDAL WITH PAPERS AND PHOTOGRAPH
40	Russian Soviet order medal group with document
1	Soviet Banner 6 Republics!