Old postcards Order of the USSR

Every card in this section comes from a single 1972 series, and each shows one Soviet decoration with its name and class. Taken together, these Soviet postcards work as an illustrated guide to the USSR award system, from the Order of Lenin to the Gold Star medal given to Heroes of the Soviet Union, introduced on 1 August 1939.

The Order of Lenin, established on 6 April 1930, was the country’s highest decoration. The newest order in the set is the Order of the October Revolution, created in 1967 for the revolution’s fiftieth anniversary; the oldest by origin is the Order of the Red Banner, which goes back to a 1918 award of Soviet Russia (the RSFSR).

Most cards cover orders created during the Second World War. The Order of Victory and the Order of Glory, a decoration for privates and sergeants, were established by the same decree on 8 November 1943; Glory appears here in all three classes. The commanders’ orders of Suvorov, Kutuzov and Alexander Nevsky date from 29 July 1942, and the naval orders of Ushakov and Nakhimov from 3 March 1944. A separate group honours mothers of large families: the Mother Heroine order and the three classes of the Order of Maternal Glory, both introduced on 8 July 1944.

For students of phaleristics, the study of orders and medals, the set makes a compact visual reference.