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Hero of the Russian Federation

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Military History and War

   Obverse of the "Gold Star" medal
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   Obverse of the "Gold Star" medal

   Hero of the Russian Federation (Russian: Герой Российской Федерации) is
   a Russian decoration and the highest honorary title that can be
   bestowed on a citizen by the Russian Federation. The President of the
   Russian Federation is the main conferring authority of the medal, which
   is bestowed on those committing actions or deeds that involve
   conspicuous bravery while in the service of the state. It has been
   presented about 750 times since its creation, primarily to cosmonauts
   or to those involved with military action in the region of Chechnya.
   Several artists, politicians, economists and athletes have also been
   awarded the title.

Creation

   The title was created from a decree issued by Russian President Boris
   Yeltsin on March 20, 1992, replacing the Soviet titles Hero of the
   Soviet Union and Hero of Socialist Labor. Decree No. 2553-I contained
   the criteria for the title (see below) and the design of a "Gold Star"
   medal that accompanies the title. Article 71 of the Constitution of
   Russia permits titles, orders and medals to be presented by the
   government, and Article 89 gives the Russian president power to create
   state awards.^ This is the highest honour that can be presented by the
   Russian president to anyone. Unlike the Soviet hero titles, there are
   no other medals or orders that are presented with the Russian hero
   title.

Criteria

   Decree No. 2553-I states that the title can be awarded to a person who
   performs a heroic deed while in the service of the state and the
   people. Both civilians and military personnel can receive the award.
   The title can also be awarded posthumously if the heroic act costs the
   recipient his or her life. The medal has been awarded posthumously
   approximately 340 times, primarily to people involved in the first and
   second wars in Chechnya.

Design and display

   The design of the Gold Star medal (медаль "Золотая Звезда"') was set
   out in Decree No. 2553-I and is similar to that of the medal for the
   Soviet title Hero of the Soviet Union. The ribbon that is used on a
   rectangle [boot-tree] suspension device is sized 19.5  mm high by 15
   mm wide and is colored white, blue, and red. The design of the ribbon
   was based on the flag of Russia. The pentagonal star that is suspended
   from the boot-tree device has a diameter of 15 mm and does not have any
   design on the front. On the reverse, the words "Hero of Russia" (Герой
   России) appear in a 2x4 mm convex font, and a 1 mm serial number is
   placed in the top ray. The serial number shows how many times the award
   has been presented (i.e. SN 164 indicates that the medal was the 164th
   one bestowed). On the reverse of the boot-tree device, there is a
   fastening device that consists of a pin and hook, which is used to
   affix the medal to clothing. The medal itself is made out of gold and
   weighs about 21.5 grams.^

   When the medal is worn in public, it is worn on the left side of the
   suit jacket above all other medals and decorations of Russia and the
   Soviet Union. The medal is always worn in full, so there is no ribbon
   bar that can be worn in place of it. There have been occasions where
   those who were awarded this title also wear their Soviet titles, such
   as Hero of the Soviet Union or Hero of Socialist Labor, together with
   the Gold Star medal of the Russian title.

Recipients

   The majority of recipients of the title fall into two categories:
   participants in the Chechnya conflicts or cosmonauts. While each
   cosmonaut that goes into space automatically receives the title, those
   who were awarded for service in Chechnya usually receive their titles
   for either heroism in combat or for leading the pro- Moscow government.
   On some occasions, the person who was awarded the title was killed
   while in the course of duty. This includes those killed in battle as
   well as assassinated government officials. An example of such a
   recipient was Akhmad Kadyrov, the former governor of Chechnya. The
   pro-Moscow leader was killed in a bomb attack during the 2004 Victory
   Day parade in the Chechen capital of Grozny. Several days after Akhmad
   was killed, President Vladimir Putin awarded him the title. Some time
   after the incident, Putin awarded Kadyrov's son, Ramzan, the same title
   for his work in Chechnya.^

   All Russian cosmonauts are awarded the title of Hero of the Russian
   Federation following their voyage into space; some may already have
   earned it, for example for long service as a test pilot. Cosmonauts are
   also awarded the title Pilot-Cosmonaut of the Russian Federation. Some
   recipients of the title, such as Sergey Krikalev, had also received the
   Soviet hero title, along with the Order of Lenin.^ Most of the
   cosmonaut double heroes were awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union and
   Hero of Russia titles "for successful realization of flight and the
   courage and heroism shown."^

   Outside of those two groups, athletes and other civilian and military
   officials have also received the title. One such case was submarine
   captain Gennady Lyachin, the captain of the Kursk, which sank after an
   explosion in 2000. Due to his heroism during the explosion and his
   attempts at preserving the lives of the crew, Lyachin was posthumously
   awarded the title, and the members of his crew were awarded with the
   Order of Courage.^ Athlete Larisa Lazutina was presented with the title
   for various medals won at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.^
   However, Lazutina was disqualified from the 2002 Winter Olympics in
   Salt Lake City, Utah, United States because of a positive result in a
   drug test.^ Another athlete, Alexander Karelin, was honored with the
   title for his Olympic success in wrestling.^

Controversial awardings

   In some cases, the title has been bestowed upon people who either
   committed dishonorable acts after they have been presented the title or
   whose actions to earn the title were questionable.

   In the first category, for example, was a military officer named Yuri
   Budanov, who was awarded the title for his actions in Chechnya. In
   2000, he went into the home of Elza Kungaeva, whom Budanov alleged was
   a sniper that killed some of his officers. The Russian government said
   that Budanov took Kungaeva from her home and brought her to a
   regimental base. Then, Budanov was accused of interrogating her and
   possibly raping her before allowing her to be beaten to death, and
   ordering three of his soldiers to place her in a shallow grave.^ Though
   the charges were dismissed in 2002 due to Budanov being declared
   "insane" during the incident,^ he was convicted of the charges and sent
   to prison for 10 years.

   Another Chechen veteran, Vladimir Glebov, was arrested for similar
   charges involving an incident with the Chechen civilian population. The
   prosecutors stated that Glebov shot unarmed Chechen men and planted
   weapons on the bodies. Glebov used to claim that he "wiped out" a small
   unit of Chechen forces, which might have earned him the title. Despite
   this, the government did not act further on the case and allowed Glebov
   to retire without this situation on his record.^
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