History

The Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky was instituted on October 10, 1943 by a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. This Order was instituted during the Ukrainian Liberation of 1943 by Nikita S. Khrushchev, who convinced Stalin of the award's validity. It was named for the Ukrainian leader Bogdan Mikhailovich Khmelnitsky (1595-1657).

This Order was largely awarded to officers and men engaged in the liberation of Ukraine. The Ukrainian front had the largest number of partisan units operating in its area and it is the only order with statutes covering specific partisan activities as an eligibility factor in receiving the award.

The III Class medal was conferred upon privates, sergeants, officers, commanders of partisan detachments, and partisans, in recognition of: initiative and decisiveness by a small unit commander in conducting operations that significantly hinder the enemy or capture a population area; resourcefulness displayed by a partisan detachment commander causing enemy losses; personal initiative and courage in completing combat missions

The Type II, III Class is identical to the Type I, except the medallion and the base ten-point star are struck as one solid silver piece. The serial numbers range from roughly 3,600 to 9,900, the lowest witnessed being 3,3603 and the highest, 9,837. Later issues present concentric tuning or finishing circles on the reverse.

The obverse Russian inscription translates to:" Bogdan Khmelnitsky". The reverse is hallmarked "МОНЕТНЬИI ДВОР".