The 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Republic of Belarus from Nazi invaders and the Victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War are among the main events of 2024 and 2025. Numerous patriotic and cultural and educational events, scientific conferences, exhibitions, publishing projects, electronic resources and much more will be dedicated to these anniversaries for two years.
It is noteworthy that there is another important anniversary date in 2024, closely related to the events of the Great Patriotic War – the 90th anniversary of the establishment of the high title "Hero of the Soviet Union". This honorary title as the highest degree of distinction was established by a Decree of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR on April 16, 1934. The reason for the establishment of the title was the rescue of the Chelyuskinites, a famous scientific expedition trapped in the Arctic ice captivity. The pilots who transported the polar explorers to the mainland accomplished an unprecedented feat and became the first Heroes of the Soviet Union.
The magnificent seven pilots who saved Chelyuskintsev: Anatoly Lyapidevsky, Vasily Molokov, Nikolai Kamanin, Mauritius Slepnev, Mikhail Vodopyanov, Ivan Doronin and Sigismund Levanevsky.
Photos from open sources.
Subsequently, the title began to be awarded for personal or collective merits associated with the accomplishment of a heroic deed both in wartime and in peacetime. On August 1, 1939, another badge of special distinction for the Heroes of the country was established – the Gold Star medal, the architect M.I. Merzhanov became the author of the sketch of the award. Since 1939, the Heroes of the Soviet Union have been awarded the Order of Lenin, the Gold Star Medal and the Certificate of Honor of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.
In total, 12,772 people were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union in the USSR from 1934 to 1991. The highest degree of heroism during the Great Patriotic War was shown by 11,635 soldiers who became Heroes of the Soviet Union. Of these: Russians – 8,182, Ukrainians – 2,072, Belarusians – 311, Tatars – 161, Jews – 108, Armenians – 99, Kazakhs – 96, Georgians – 89, Uzbeks – 69, Chuvash – 44, Azerbaijanis – 43. In total, there are representatives of over 100 nationalities among the Heroes of the Soviet Union.
In the Belarusian State Museum of the History of the Great Patriotic War, the names of the Heroes of the Soviet Union who received this high rank in the battles for the liberation of the Belarusian land – 1,643 people - are stamped in gold letters on the marble walls of the memorial hall. Besides Belarusians, Russians and Ukrainians, there are representatives of more than 30 nationalities. 448 Belarusians and natives of Belarus were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. 4 Belarusians became Heroes of the Soviet Union twice (P.Ya. Golovachev, I.I. Gusakovsky, S.F. Shutov, I.I. Yakubovsky).
The war is a thing of the past, but we will keep the feat of the people in our memory and in our hearts forever. Of course, all participants in the bloody battles of the Great Patriotic War are heroes, but Heroes of the Soviet Union are a special category. It is to them – the Heroes who stepped into immortality, who did not spare their lives and remained forever young, the Heroes who performed unprecedented feats and survived - that the information and patriotic project of the scientific research department of bibliography "The Names of Heroes are immortal" is dedicated.
The aim of the project is to contribute to the preservation of the historical memory of the Great Patriotic War by attracting the attention, first of all, of the younger generation of users of the National Library of Belarus to the exploits and contribution to the Great Victory of the War Heroes.
Documentary sources from the Library's collections and open Internet sources are used in the preparation of information materials about the Heroes.
The material was prepared by the Research Department of Bibliography.
