The Order of the Badge of Honor became, in fact, the last major award among those instituted in the Soviet Union in the pre-war period. The need for this distinctive sign arose as the government sought to find methods of additional incentives for the workers of the Land of the Soviets, not related to direct economic incentives.
How the Order of the Badge of Honor appeared
In the mid-thirties of the last century, the labor enthusiasm of the masses spread widely in the Soviet Union. The government of the USSR thought about how it could stimulate the people and motivate them for labor achievements. Cash bonuses are just one of the ways to create work motivation. An equally important incentive was the desire of the workers to receive a high state award - the Order of the Badge of Honor.
This order was established by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on November 25, 1935. The corresponding decree stated that the "Badge of Honor" is awarded to individual citizens and entire teams who have demonstrated the highest performance in industry, agriculture, and other sectors of the economy.
The order was also supposed to be awarded for merits in scientific and research activities, for achievements in culture and sports, as well as for active participation in improving the country's defense capability.
The oval order depicted a worker and a collective farmer. This image was a reflection of the movement of society forward towards a brighter future; he personified labor freed from oppression. In the hands of the figurines, the artist placed banners with a slogan calling the proletarians to unite. In the upper part of the composition there was a red star and gilded letters "USSR", and at the bottom there was an inscription "Badge of Honor".
Labor Valor Award
Among those who were the first to be awarded this high government award was A. Tillyabaev, the chairman of one of the collective farms located near Tashkent. He was encouraged for his successes in increasing the yield of cotton crops and for the labor heroism shown at the same time (Orders and Medals of the USSR, GA Kolesnikov, AM Rozhkov, 1983).
One of the first collectives to receive the Order of the Badge of Honor was the metallurgical workshop of the Makeevka Kirov Plant. The workers of the workshop exceeded the planned indicators and demonstrated a high organization of production while fulfilling important tasks of the state.
By the beginning of the war with Germany, more than fourteen thousand workers were awarded the order.
During the war against German fascism, the order was awarded to tens of thousands of home front workers who, with their heroic labor, and sometimes at the cost of their lives, helped the front. Most of the awardees were given by the Urals, Siberia, Transcaucasia, Kazakhstan and Central Asia. A significant number of industrial and agricultural enterprises were concentrated in these regions during the war years. By the time of the collapse of the Soviet state, the order had been awarded to over one and a half million people and collectives of workers.
