How did Soviets determine what award to give?

[Rick]

I have been confused for some time about how the Soviet Government determined what award to give to someone versus the heroic deed or action that person performed. Can anyone shed some light on this?

For example, I recently bought an Order of Glory third class with research. The research showed that the gentleman was later recommended for the Order of Glory 2nd class for additional deeds at the front lines. However, the response back from headquarters said that his deeds were so great that he was more deserving to receive the Patriotic War 2nd Class rather than the Order of Glory 2nd. ????? To me, it would seem that the Order of Glory 2nd class would have been a more prestigious award than the Patriotic War 2nd class. He ultimately received the Patriotic war 2nd class instead.

I have seen other examples of this. It seems the definitions of what you needed to do to receive a particular order were so similar I wonder who or what determined which one to give to a particular person. Patriotic war 2nd? or Order of Glory 3rd? or Battle Merit? or Red Banner?

Any comments?

Rick