The Soviet Military Awards Page..Orders and medals on Soviet postage stamps

Orders and Medals on Soviet Postage Stamps By Mahdi Bseiso continued

II. Awards Given to Institutions:
Orders and medals were not only given to individuals, but also to institutions and military units. The Soviet stamp authorities made sure that they tribute such institutions as well. For example, pictured to the right is a stamp honoring the Ukrainian Science Academy, which was awarded an Order of Lenin. Naturally, the awards of the VLKSM were shown more than any other institution. The Young Communist League was awarded several awards, including three Orders of Lenin, an Order of the October Revolution, an Order of the Red Banner, and an Order of the Red Banner of Labor. The souvenir sheet below pictures the ribbons for five of these six awards (since the Order of the October Revolution had not been awarded yet at that time), combined into a "fantasy" award.

VLKSM commemoration with 3 orders of Lenin

It is interesting to note that the stamps shown at the left picture the 3 distinct types of The Order of Lenin awarded to the VLKSM. Gold Head (Type 2, awarded 1934-1935), Silver Head (Type 3, awarded 1935-1936), and Platinum Head (awarded 1936-1943) The stamp at the bottom right was issued later in 1968, as soon as the VLKSM was awarded the Order of the October Revolution. The stamp above is from 1978, commemorating the 60th anniversary of the institution. This one pictures all six orders.

VLKSM commemoration with Order of the October Revolution

Article concludes next month..

For comments and questions the author can be reached directly by writing to him via email:
Mahdi Bseiso

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Serial Numbers Database

Look up recorded serial numbers of Soviet and Mongolian orders and medals.