Established on 20 May 1942, The Order of the Patriotic War was an Order (decoration) of the Soviet Union, and was awarded to commanders in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to partisans regardless of rank for skillfully commanding units in the field during the Great Patriotic War. The Order came in first class and second class depending upon the merit of the deed. It was the first Soviet medal established during the war. Altogether, nearly 350,000 were issued of both grades to soldiers during the war. In 1985 during the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Great Patriotic War, it was decided that all surviving veterans of the war would be awarded either 2nd or 1st class of the Order. May 20 is the 140th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (141st in leap years). ... 1942 was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... An Order is a decoration, awarded by a government to an individual, usually for distinguished service to a nation or to humanity. ... Partisan may refer to: A member of a lightly-equipped irregular military force formed to oppose control of an area by a foreign power or by an army of occupation. ... The Eastern Front1 was the theatre of combat between Nazi Germany and its allies against the Soviet Union during World War II. It was somewhat separate from the other theatres of the war, not only geographically, but also for its scale and ferocity. ... 1985 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

It featured a red enamel five-pointed star with straight rays in the background (golden for 1st Class and silver for 2nd Class), and silver crossed sword and rifle. The central disc had a golden hammer and sickle on a red enamel background, surrounded by a white enamel ring with the words "Patriotic War." Originally the Order was attached to a plain red ribbon much like the Hero of the Soviet Union award, but later the Order was to be worn the right chest without ribbon; on less formal occasions a ribbon bar, dark red with a bright red central stripe for the 1st Class, or dark red with bright red edge stripes for the 2nd Class, may be worn instead. The hammer and sickle as it appeared on the Soviet flag The hammer and sickle is a symbol used to represent communism and communist political parties. ... Hero of the Soviet Union (ru: Герои Советского Союза) was the highest honorary title and the superior degree of distinction of the former USSR. It included the Order of Lenin (the highest Soviet award) and, as the sign of excellence, the Gold Star medal with the certificate of the heroic...