{"id":9807,"date":"2016-12-04T20:01:40","date_gmt":"2016-12-04T20:01:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/informnapalm.org\/en\/?p=9807"},"modified":"2016-12-04T20:51:02","modified_gmt":"2016-12-04T20:51:02","slug":"russian-medal-standings-military-operation-syria-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/informnapalm.org\/en\/russian-medal-standings-military-operation-syria-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Russian medal standings in military operation in Syria. Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro have come to an end, but the medal count for the Russian unsporting military \u201cachievements\u201d in Syria is still in making. In a series of publications about the Russian medals InformNapalm will sum it up as follows:\u00a0the undeclared war in the Middle East is running its course for the Russians; many people do not give it due importance, but, apart from the current classified losses, Russia will receive a generation of veterans of undeclared wars in 5\u201310 years.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Officially, Russia has been at war in Syria for less than a year, but this operation has already gratified medal collectors with several new items. Any war is a chance for the military men to be awarded battlefield promotions and decorations, which are hard to come by in times of peace. In Syria, the Russian military have no shortage of awards.<\/p>\n

The first \u201cSyrian\u201d awards were made as far back as 2013\u20132014, when the Russian military took part in the transportation and destruction of Assad\u2019s chemical weapons stockpile. Russian cruiser Pyotr Velikiy<\/em>, the flagship of the Northern Fleet, made then several cruises for the purposes of the special cargo transportation and security.<\/p>\n

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Background information:\u00a0in the medal hierarchy of the Russian Federation one should distinguish between the state and departmental awards. The state awards include two Gold Hero Stars, 22 Orders, 7 badges of distinction and 17 medals. However, besides the state awards, each department\/ministry may establish its own awards. Thus, the Russian Ministry of Defense has a lot of departmental awards: 60 medals, over 60 badges of distinction, over 40 commemorative badges, plus about 20 more decorations and medals from\u00a0federal agencies providing service to the army. Actually, nearly each ministry has such a list.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

First Medal<\/strong><\/p>\n

The first medal \u201cfor Syria\u201d was established a month after the start of operation, on November 30, 2015. Medal to Participant in Military Operations in Syria with the map of Syria and the ships and airplanes pictured against its background was intended to show that Russia was not involved in the ground part of the operation.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The medal looks like a combat award.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

On March 28, 2016 the Russian Ministry of Defense put out a tender<\/a> for the production of 10 thousand 300 medals (archive<\/a>). Unlike other cases, the Russian military did not care much about concealing that figure; other medals are produced without open tendering.<\/p>\n

The first reports on making awards began to appear after Putin had signed the order on withdrawal of Russian troops from Syria (on March 14, 2016). The military objective was achieved, and it was necessary to show the electorate how the heroes happily return home:<\/p>\n