Unwarranted Honors: Civilian Awards in Rostov Region During World War II
https://doi.org/10.24224/2227-1295-2025-14-9-513-529
Abstract
This study explores the issue of unwarranted awards conferred upon civilians in the Rostov region during World War II by military units stationed in the area. The primary sources for this research include archival documents, which are introduced into scholarly discourse for the first time. It has been established that the regional prosecutor’s office promptly identified instances of unjustified awards granted to individuals among the local party, Soviet, and economic leadership. The findings indicate that the regional party leadership took decisive action to combat such practices, as reflected in the resolution passed by the Bureau of the Rostov Regional Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) on May 26, 1943. The measures implemented can be interpreted both as a proactive response by the regional party leadership to address identified abuses in the Rostov region, in accordance with state legislative directives (Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR Decree of May 2, 1943), and as an attempt to evade accountability to higher party authorities for violations committed by local party and economic officials, as well as for the negligence displayed by regional party authorities regarding these transgressions. It is noted that the special resolution adopted by the regional committee’s Bureau aimed at rectifying these violations and improving the prevailing situation played a crucial role in preventing similar infractions in the future.
About the Author
V. P. Trut
Don State Technical University
Россия
Россия
Vladimir P. Trut - Doctor of History, Professor, Department of Documentation and Language Communication.
Rostov-on-Don
References
1. And the saved world remembers... Sat. doc. archives of the Rostov region. (2020). Rostov-on-Don; Belgorod; Constant. 647 p. (In Russ.).
2. Barsukov, A. I. (ed.). (1997). An order announcing the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR “On granting the right to award orders and medals of the USSR and badges to commanders of fronts, fleets, armies and flotillas, commanders of corps, divisions, brigades, regiments. Order of the People’s Commissar of Defense of the USSR № 352 dated November 11, 1942. In: Russian Archive: The Great Patriotic War. Orders of the People’s Commissar of Defense of the USSR, 1943—1945 Institute of Military History of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, Russian State Military archive. Moscow: TERRA Publ. P. 307. (In Russ.).
3. Barsukov, A. I. (ed.). (1997). An order declaring the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on responsibility for the illegal awarding of orders and medals of the USSR and badges, for the assignment of orders and medals and badges and their transfer by awarded persons to other persons and in the order of the People’s Commissar of Defense of the USSR № 200 dated May 4, 1943. In: Russian Archive: The Great Patriotic War. Orders of the People’s Commissar of Defense of the USSR, 1943—1945. Moscow: TERRA Publ. 148—149. (In Russ.).
4. Bequeathed to remember… The Don Archives commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Great Victory. Collection of documents and materials. (2015). Rostov-on-Don: Altair. 280 p. ISBN 978-5-91951-261-5. (In Russ.).
5. Legislative and administrative legal acts of wartime. March 22, 1942 — May 1, 1943. (1943). Moscow: Law Publishing House of the NKYU of the USSR. 296 p. (In Russ.).
6. Memorandum by the prosecutor of the Rostov region, Polozkov, to the Secretary of the Regional Committee of the CPSU (b), T. Dvinsky, dated May 20, 1943, № 1k15. CDNIRO. F. 9. Op. 1. D. 378. L. 41. (In Russ.).
7. On granting the right to award orders and medals of the USSR and badges to commanders of fronts, fleets, armies and flotillas, corps, divisions, brigades, regiments. Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated November 10, 1942. (1943). In: Legislative and administrative legal acts of wartime. March 22, 1942 — May 1, 1943. Moscow: Law Publishing House of the NKYU of the USSR. 76—77. (In Russ.).
8. On responsibility for the illegal awarding of orders and medals of the USSR and badges, for the appropriation of orders, medals and badges and their transfer by awarded persons to other persons. Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated May 2, 1943. (1943). In: Legislative and administrative legal acts of wartime. March 22, 1942 — May 1, 1943. Moscow: Law Publishing House of the NKYU of the USSR. 186—187. (In Russ.).
9. TSDNIRO — Documentation Center for the modern history of the Rostov region. F. R-9 (“Rostov Regional Committee of the CPSU (b)”). (In Russ.).
10. Barsukov, A. I. (ed.). (1997). Russian Archive: The Great Patriotic War. Orders of the People’s Commissar of Defense of the USSR, 1943—1945. In: Institute of Military History of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, Russian State Military. Archive, 13. Moscow: TERRA. 408 p. (In Russ.).
11. Goncharov, A. I. (2005). Features of the Soviet award system of the 1941—1947 period. Gerboved, 7 (85): 128-137. (In Russ.).
12. Gorshkov, S. I., Ovcharenko, I. V. (1985). The Don Guards: An essay on the heroic path of the 5th Guards Don Cossack Cavalry Red Banner Budapest Corps. Rostov-on-Don: Growth. The book. publishing house. 160 p. (In Russ.).
13. Kalinin, D. A. (2022). The Soviet award system as a socio-political phenomenon. PhD Diss. Mytishchi. 247 p. (In Russ.).
14. Kislitsyn, S. A., Kislitsyna, I. G. (2012). The history of the Rostov region (from the Land of the Don Army to the present day). Rostov-on-Don: Rostovkniga. 416 p. ISBN 978-5-89778-110-4. (In Russ.).
15. Legislative and administrative legal acts of wartime. March 22, 1942 — May 1, 1943. (1943). Moscow: Law Publishing House of the NKYU of the USSR. 294 p. (In Russ.).
16. Lysenkov, S. G., Velezhev, S. I., Moldabaev, S. S. (2003). Criminal liability of military personnel during the Great Patriotic War of 1941—1945. Bulletin of the St. Petersburg University of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, 1 (17): 26—32. (In Russ.).
17. Markusenko, I. S. (1977). Don in the Great Patriotic War. Rostov-on-Don: Publishing house of Rostov University. 180 p. (In Russ.).
18. Oleynik, S. A., Lysenkov, S. G. (2010). Criminal liability of military personnel during the Great Patriotic War. History of the state and law, 9: 33—35. (In Russ.).
19. Shunyakov, D. V. (2019). The award system of the USSR during the Great Patriotic War (1941—1945). PhD Diss. Yekaterinburg. 294 p. (In Russ.).
20. Skomorokhov, I. G. (2002-2009). On a confrontation with the past. In 3 volumes. Rostov-on-Don: Priazovsky Krai. Vol. 1-3. (In Russ.).
21. The Fifth Donskoy. (1979). Memoirs of veterans of the 5th Guards Don Cossack Cavalry Red Banner Budapest Corps. Rostov-on-Don: Growth. the book. publishing house. 159 p. (In Russ.).
22. The Fifth Donskoy. (2025). About the 5th Guards Don Cossack Cavalry corps. Rostov-on-Don: Altair. 127 p. ISBN 978-5-91951-853-2. (In Russ.).
23. Trut, V. P. (2020). Don Cossacks during the Great Patriotic War. In: History of the Don Cossacks. In 3 volumes. The Don Cossacks at the turning point of the epochs (XX — early XXI century), 3. Rostov-on-Don: Omega Publisher. 177—218. ISBN 978-5-902441-60-1. (In Russ.).
Review
For citations:
Trut V.P. Unwarranted Honors: Civilian Awards in Rostov Region During World War II. Nauchnyi dialog. 2025;14(9):513-529. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.24224/2227-1295-2025-14-9-513-529
Views:
405
JATS XML
Email this article 