Soviet Great Patriotic War Awards

[Taz]

Soviet officers and soldiers displayed great heroism during the 1941-1945 Great Patriotic War, and virtually every man and woman regardless of rank was decorated for bravery. Recommendations continuously arrived in Moscow from the front. In the midst of bloody battles, when critical situations arose time and again, a number of award recommendations were either lost on the front or later in archives. The Russian state has not yet fulfilled its sacred duty to its war heroes. In all, 1.5 million wartime awards still have to be presented. In the run-up to the 60th anniversary of Victory Day, President Putin has launched an unprecedented campaign to locate war heroes and present them (or their descendants) with these awards that became lost in time or circumstances.

Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov recently said that his department would do everything possible to locate war veterans who had not received their orders and medals. To date, he said 90,000 wartime awards had been presented. "But unfortunately," Mr. Ivanov said, "we have to award our veterans posthumously increasingly often." The country is to learn the name of the last hero to receive his or her award on March 1, 2005.

Well i hope that not all of the awards have been sold to collectors

Eddie.