Honorary Title "Hero Of The Russian Federation".

[Simon]

Surely there are other benefits besides more annual vacation time? Does the government still give housing preferences/privileges to certain people in the larger cities?

I found a reference to the law governing benefits for HSU, full Glory cavaliers, and HR:
Закон РФ от 15.01.1993 N 4301-1 (ред. от 28.04.2009) "О статусе Героев Советского Союза, Героев Российской Федерации и полных кавалеров ордена Славы"
There is a lot of lawyer language. Here is what I managed to figure out. A hero of retirement age is entitled to a monthly pension equivalent to 10 minimum pensions. A hero gets tax breaks, medical and sanatorium benefits, free prescriptions and, if approved by the doctor, free home delivery of medicines, free apartment rent, home phone, electricity, reimbursement of home alarm service, additional 20 sq m of apartment space, two-way rail ticket twice a year. Here is my favorite: when staff at the place of employment is laid off, heroes have a right to preferential treatment. The list of benefits goes on...

I believe at his age and prominence, no one is going to tell him anything about how he wears his awards.;) It may also be that he feels his "greatest moments" in life were recognized by the Soviets and therefore his pride and memories supersede current regulations (or nobody told him).:chuckle

Nobody will tell him, "Drop down and give me 20." Still, it is fun to observe how he wears his decorations.

And during the Soviet period, that was a huge sum, which together with his other "benefits" would have allowed him to have and do just about anything he wanted. But greed is just like any other addiction, after the first taste of real money, people want and then need more and more to stay happy.

Just thoughts,
Phillip

:cheers