History

The Order of the Patriotic War was the first Soviet award established during the Second World War, on May 20, 1942. Originally it was intended to be awarded to servicemen, civilians, foreigners, units and institutions for actions against German invaders, however on December 16, 1947, it was changed and no longer included civilians, units and institutions. On July 18, 1980, foreigners were also dropped from the statutes.

This Order was conferred upon enlisted and officer ranks of the Army, Navy, NKVD Troops, and Partisan Detachments in recognition bravery and courage during the Great Patriotic War. This Order was awarded for many acts of bravery such as attacking enemy positions, destroying enemy vehicles, showing initiative, saving life and other such acts of courage. By the end of the war, there were 951,652 II Class decorations awarded, and by the end of 1991 a total of 6,688 497, including the 1985 issues.

Type III denotes the 1985 issue, and is considered an anniversary piece. The II Class decoration is made from one piece, with a screwpost soldered to the back. The II Class is entirely silver, without any gold. A raised Monetny Dvor mark is located at the top of the reverse, and the serial number is engraved with a rotating tool. The serial numbers range from roughly 1,000,000 to 6,500,000. The lowest observed is 1,062,945 and the highest is 6,473,737.

The obverse Russian inscription translates to: "Patriotic War".