The Medal For The Victory Over Germany In The Great Patriotic War 1941–1945 was one of the most widespread military decoration

Military decoration

A military decoration is a decoration given to military personnel or units for heroism in battle or distinguished service. They are designed to be worn on military uniform....

s in the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

. 14,933,000 people were awarded this medal. It was awarded to all the soldiers, officers and partisans

Partisan (military)

A partisan is a member of an irregular military force formed to oppose control of an area by a foreign power or by an army of occupation by some kind of insurgent activity...

 who directly participated in the live combat actions against the European Axis during the German-Soviet War.

History

The official approval of the medal was established on 9th May 1945, which is celebrated in Russia and Eastern Europe as a Victory Day

Victory Day (Eastern Europe)

Victory Day or 9 May marks the capitulation of Nazi Germany to the Soviet Union in the Second World War...

. Work on the medal prototype had already commenced at the end of 1944 in the anticipation of the upcoming victory. Most of the awards were granted right after the end of the war. A proof of participation in the combat military operations was usually required, in order to be eligible for this decoration. After the war, the medal, along with its less widespread sister medal For The Victory Over Japan

Medal For the Victory Over Japan

The medal For the Victory Over Japan was a Soviet military decoration, awarded to all the soldiers, officers and partisans who directly participated in the live combat actions against Japan during the Second World War...

, was commonly used to distinguish between the actual veterans of World War II and all non-combat participants.

Construction details

The medal is made of brass

Brass

Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties.In comparison, bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin...

 with three variations and features:

• (obverse): the profile of Stalin with text in Russian
  Russian language
  Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
  
   above and below, respectively:
  • НАШЕ ДЕЛО ПРАВОЕ (Our cause is just)
  • МЫ ПОБЕДИЛИ (We have won)

• (reverse): "For the Victory Over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945".

The ribbon of this medal is the Ribbon of Saint George

Ribbon of Saint George

The Ribbon of St George or St. George's Ribbon constitutes one of the most recognised and respected symbols of military valour in modern Russia. It is widely associated with the commemoration of World War II and especially with the units who were awarded the collective Guard battle honours during...

, three black stripes on orange.