![Kutuzov by Volkov](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/Kutuzov_by_Volkov.jpg)
The Order of Kutuzov (russian: орден Кутузова ''orden Kutuzova'') is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named after famous Russian
Field Marshal
Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...
Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov
Prince Mikhail Illarionovich Golenishchev-Kutuzov ( rus, Князь Михаи́л Илларио́нович Голени́щев-Куту́зов, Knyaz' Mikhaíl Illariónovich Goleníshchev-Kutúzov; german: Mikhail Illarion Golenishchev-Kut ...
(1745–1813). The Order was established during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
to reward senior
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...
officers. The Order of Kutuzov has three classes and was retained by the Russian Federation after the
Dissolution of the Soviet Union
The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...
.
History
The order was established during the German-Soviet War by decree of the
Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR
The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet (russian: Президиум Верховного Совета, Prezidium Verkhovnogo Soveta) was a body of state power in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).[Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...]
for skillful avoidance of enemy attacks and successful
counter-attack
A counterattack is a tactic employed in response to an attack, with the term originating in "war games". The general objective is to negate or thwart the advantage gained by the enemy during attack, while the specific objectives typically seek ...
s.
The Order of Kutuzov was established in three classes: 1st class, 2nd class, and 3rd class. General
Ivan Galanin
Ivan Vasilievich Galanin (; –12 November 1958) was a Red Army lieutenant general during World War II.
Galanin was drafted into the Red Army in 1919 and fought as an ordinary soldier in the Russian Civil War. He became an officer during the inte ...
who distinguished himself during the
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad (23 August 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II where Nazi Germany and its allies unsuccessfully fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad (later re ...
became the first recipient of the Order 1st class. During World War II, 669 Orders of Kutuzov 1st class were awarded.
The Order of Kutuzov 1st class was also awarded to
Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant
Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant (russian: Челябинский тракторный завод, Chelyabinskiy traktornyy zavod, abbreviated , ) also known as CTZ-Uraltrak (''ЧТЗ-УРАЛТРАК'') is a tractor construction plant in the Russian ...
in 1945, to recognize the enormous contribution of its workers towards the defeat of
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
.
The Order 2nd class was awarded to 3,325 corps, division, and brigade commanders. The Order 3rd class was awarded to regimental commanders, their chiefs of staff, battalion and company commanders and was only established on February 8, 1943.
3,328 3rd class orders were awarded.
Following the 1991
dissolution of the USSR
The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...
, the Order of Kutuzov was retained unchanged in both design and statute by decree of the
Supreme Soviet of the Russian Federation No 2424-1 of March 2, 1992.
The present Order was modified to its current design and award criteria by
Presidential Decree
A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used for ...
1099 of September 7, 2010.
Award statute
The Order of Kutuzov is awarded to commanders of military units and their deputies, as well as to commanders of battalions and companies: for skilful organization and conduct of operations during which, despite the numerical superiority of the enemy, the objectives of the operation were met; for tenacity in repelling enemy attacks from the air, land or sea, for retaining the
combat readiness
readiness is a condition of the armed forces and their constituent units and formations, warships, aircraft, weapon systems or other military technology and equipment to perform during combat military operations, or functions consistent with the ...
in designated areas of responsibility, for the creation of conditions for conducting subsequent operations with offensive purposes; for skilful organization and control of troops (forces), establishment of prepared defences, maintaining close interaction between the troops (forces) involved in the operations, ensuring the defeat of the enemy or depth of damage inflicted depriving him the opportunity to continue his offensive; for skilful conduct of combat on land and/or in the air, surrounded by superior enemy forces, for the organization of a breakthrough with the withdrawal of troops from the area without significant loss of combat effectiveness; for the capture, with minor losses, of a major site of resistance, its communications, the defeat of his rear garrisons and bases, the capture and retaining of vital areas, repelling strong counterattacks by air, land and/or sea; for successful execution of combat missions, displaying personal courage leading to the destruction of critical enemy military facilities and equipment on land, air and sea.
It can also be awarded to military units that participated in operation, during which, despite the stubborn resistance of the enemy, the objectives were met with full operational capability of military units retained. May also be awarded to foreign citizens - soldiers of allied forces from among the officers who took part along with soldiers of the Russian Federation in organizing and conducting a successful operation of allied troops (forces).
The Order of Kutuzov is worn on the left side of the chest and when in the presence of other Orders and medal of the Russian Federation, is located immediately after the
Order of Zhukov.
Award description
The badge of the Order of Kutuzov is a 40mm wide silver
cross pattée
A cross pattée, cross patty or cross paty, also known as a cross formy or cross formée (french: croix pattée, german: Tatzenkreuz), is a type of Christian cross with arms that are narrow at the centre, and often flared in a curve or straight ...
with gold rays protruding between its arms at an
obtuse angle. In the center of the
obverse
Obverse and its opposite, reverse, refer to the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags, seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, ''o ...
, a silver medallion bordered by a wide white enamelled band surrounded by a gilt laurel and oak wreath. In the medallion, the gold plated left profile bust of M.I. Kutuzov with the image of the Kremlin wall in the background. On the sides of the medallion's white enamelled band, the gilt inscription "Mikhail Kutuzov" (russian: «Михаил Кутузов»). The reverse is plain, the award serial number is inscribed on the reverse of the cross lower arm.
The Order of Kutuzov is suspended from a standard Russian pentagonal mount by a ring through the suspension loop. The mount is covered by an overlapping dark blue silk
moiré ribbon with a central 5mm wide orange stripe.
See also
*
Awards and decorations of the Russian Federation
The State Award System of the Russian Federation has varied and distinct origins. The first being pre-1917 orders of the Russian Empire re-established after the 1991 dissolution of the Soviet Union, the second is from former Soviet orders that w ...
*
Awards and decorations of the Soviet Union
Awards and decorations of the Soviet Union are decorations from the former Soviet Union that recognised achievements and personal accomplishments, both military and civilian. Some of the awards, decorations, and orders were discontinued after the ...
References
External links
Указ Президиума Верховного Совета СССР «Об учреждении военных орденов: Ордена Суворова, первой, второй и третьей степени, Ордена Кутузова, первой и второй степени и Ордена Александра Невского» от 20 июля 1942 года// Ведомости Верховного Совета Союза Советских Социалистических Республик : газета. — 1942. — 5 августа (№ 30 (189)). — С. 1.
The Commission on State Awards under the President of the Russian Federation Legal Library of the USSR
{{Russian Awards
Awards established in 1942
Military awards and decorations of the Soviet Union
Military awards and decorations of Russia
1942 establishments in the Soviet Union
ru:Орден Кутузова (Россия)