How to use the Labour Ukaz site.

[CtahhR]

Now I'm going to do this a bit different to my podvignaroda guide but hopefully it will work just as well for all those who wish to find out more about their Labour awards.

First you need to find out which Ukaz you are looking for. That will be the date under where it says "Указом Президиума Верховного Совета СССР" in your award booklet and NOT the final date of the booklet. Not all booklets have the Ukaz date so they are still unable to be researched to any extent.

Once you have the date which will be a single or double digit followed by the Russian name for the month and then 19## you are ready to go to the site.

Here is a list of Russian months for you to copy and paste into the site to make things easier for you.

January - января
February - февраля
March - марта
April - апреля
May - мая
June - июня
July - июля
August - августа
September - сентября
October - октября
November - ноября
December - декабря

The main area is Here. You may be able to navigate from here using google translate if English is not the language you wish to use I'm sure you can change it to one of many others.

Here are links to individual years. If you need 3rd April 1966 click on 1966 then search "3 апреля 1966".

1966 1967 1971 1972 1973-1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984-1989 1986

[RedMaestro2]

Thanks for posting this. Some more details:

I discovered this database over the summer while I was in Moscow and actually visited the archive. There, I surfed this catalog and some digitized records, which contained the information seen online plus some more (generally, more accurate accounting, but nothing about individuals or their specific feats). I placed orders for several thousand pages of decrees and award lists. I thought I was on the verge of a major breakthrough... And then the bureaucracy struck.

My requests were rejected because, as it turns out, the award lists are kept in an archive several thousand kilometers from Moscow near the Kazakh border. The name of the place escapes me at the moment, but I have it written on my canceled order form, which I'll find when I get a chance. As far as I noticed, this remote storage wasn't indicated anywhere in the catalog. I tried to look up the new archive and found a few comments about it being practically inaccessible, both because of transportation and bureaucracy.

Unfortunately, after hitting this dead end I didn't have time to research further. I hoped that I would find another lead by chance, but no such luck. So I apologize for not posting this info sooner.

I wonder if any Russians (Marc :D) could confirm this report? Have Russians looked into labor awards research? What's their take on the whole thing?

The good news is:
1. We have a reliable list of decrees.
2. We know something more about the situation of labor awards research.
3. There is potential for further discoveries.


Alex


PS - A caution about interpreting the database: Be careful not to jump to conclusions. There were often many decrees per day awarding a huge number of people for various reasons. Unless you have a unique decree date or other information about the recipient, it can be impossible to discern anything new.

PPS - I also tried to access TsAMO through a research contact, but apparently as a foreigner I would need the permission of the archive head. It was implied that this would not be possible. Maybe another time.