July 8, 1944 in the Soviet Union was introduced the Order of "Maternal Glory." On August 18 of the same year, the status of the state award was approved.
Subsequently, the statute of “Maternal Glory” was repeatedly amended and supplemented. The first changes and additions to the statute were made on December 16, 1947. Subsequently, the document was edited twice more: in May 1973 and 1980.
History of the Order
The date of appearance of the Order of "Motherly Glory" largely explains the reason for its establishment: there was a war, the country suffered enormous casualties, the demographic situation was critical.
To really assess the catastrophic nature of the situation at that time, it is enough to compare the results of the pre-war and post-war censuses of the USSR population. If before the war there were 7.1 million more women than men, then after the war this difference amounted to 20.8 million people. In total, the USSR lost 26.6 million citizens. It is clear that the main losses occurred in the early years of the war.
In order to somehow improve the demographic situation in the country, the government is taking measures to support Soviet women and children. Among these measures was the establishment of the Order of “Maternal Glory” of the USSR, which provided for the rewarding of Soviet mothers with many children.
The author of the award marks was the chief artist of the "State Sign" Ivan Dubasov, who took part in the development of the State Emblem of the Soviet Union.
The final coat of arms of the USSR belongs to Dubasov.
Order I degree
The Order "Mother Glory" of 1 degree is made of silver in the form of a convex oval. Contains 19.788 ± 1.388 g of silver of the 925th test.
The width of the badge is 29 mm, the height is 36 mm. The weight of the mark is 21.79 ± 1.73 g.
At the top of the sign is a banner enameled in red. The banner has a convex inscription “Motherly Glory” and a Roman numeral “I”, indicating the degree of the order.
Below is a shield. The shield is covered with white enamel and has the inscription "USSR". On the shield, in its upper part, there is a red star covered with enamel. The bottom of the shield is decorated with oxide-coated sickle and hammer.
In the upper left of the sign is an oxidized figure of a woman holding a child in her arms. The lower part of the figure is covered with a bouquet of roses and gilded leaves.
All inscriptions of the order are gilded.
The order is connected to a block made of metal in the form of a bow. The shoe is covered with white enamel. On a white background, one blue strip is applied to the pads, confirming the degree of the order.
The sign is worn on the chest on the left. If the woman awarded the order has other awards, then “Mother Glory” is placed above them. This underlines the high level of this award. Fastened to clothes with a pin.
Order of the II degree
The order "Mother Glory" of the 2nd degree is made of silver in the form of a convex oval. Contains 19.788 ± 1.388 g of silver of the 925th test.
The width of the badge is 29 mm, the height is 36 mm. The weight of the mark is 21.41 ± 1.50 g.
The sign differs from I degree in the color of the banner and the color of the inscriptions and leaves. The banner is dark blue, the inscriptions and leaves are not gilded. The shoe is decorated with two blue stripes, which indicates its belonging to the Order of the II degree.
The order is worn on the chest on the left, above other awards, if any, for the awarded woman. Fastened to clothes with a pin.
Order of the III degree
The order of maternal glory of the 3rd degree is made of silver in the form of a convex oval. Contains 19.669 ± 1.388 g of silver of the 925th test.
The width of the badge is 29 mm, the height is 36 mm. The weight of the mark is 21.29 ± 1.50 g.
The order stands out among other degrees for its modest, one might say, gray appearance: it has practically no enamel, which previous degrees have been awarded with. Three strips of blue color are applied on the block according to the degree of the sign.
The order is worn on the chest on the left, higher than other awards, if any, for those women who have been awarded the “Maternal Glory”. Fastened to clothes with a pin.
Who was awarded the Order
Government awards were awarded to mothers who gave birth to more than six children. At the same time, there was a certain gradation in the number of children, which determined the degree of reward (seven children - the third degree, eight children - the second degree, nine children - the first degree). The first degree is considered the highest.
Not only children who were alive on the date of the award, but also the dead, whose death was connected with the fulfillment of state tasks to protect the country and protect socialist property and the rule of law, were taken into account. Children who went missing while carrying out tasks related to the protection of the socialist homeland and its interests were also classified in this category.
The war gave rise to many orphans. In order to somehow resolve the issue with their future, it was decided to motivate Soviet women to adopt orphans. Therefore, the order “Maternal Glory” was also awarded to mothers who had in their family not only their own children, but also foster children who were legally adopted.
Also, the regulation on the order stipulated that on the date of rewarding the youngest child of the awarded woman must have been one year old, and the older ones should be alive.
Awarding was held on behalf of the Presidium of the Armed Forces of the country, but by order of the Presidiums of the Armed Forces of the republics. Signs of the second and first degree were awarded only once, that is, twice the order bearers were not provided for by the statute of the order.
Benefits to mothers with many children
Women awarded the Order of "Maternal Glory" had the benefits established by Articles 10-14 of the General Regulation on Orders of the USSR. The list of these benefits and advantages was mentioned in order books, but since 1946 this information has disappeared from the document for unknown reasons.
In order to stimulate the further birth of children, mothers were given state cash benefits at the birth of their third child. The birth of the next child increased this allowance.
For mothers with many children, maternity leave increased to 77 calendar days (against 63 days).
Benefits were provided for low-income parents of many children: fees for kindergartens and kindergartens were much lower than fees for other families. A similar benefit was provided when paying utility bills.
Significantly reduced the age of a mother with many children to obtain the right to retire. The Order of "Mother Glory" allowed the awarded to leave on a well-deserved rest at fifty. Upon retirement, a mother with many children received the right to use public transport services for free.
Order number 1
The first orders found their heroines at the end of 1944. 74 mothers were awarded this honor, 21 of them were awarded the Order of the 1st degree.
The Order of the first degree under No. 1 was awarded to M.S. Aksenova, mother of 9 children, collective farmer.
The Order of the second degree under No. 1 was awarded to E.S. Avvakumova, the seller of the store, who had 8 children.
The order of the third degree under No. 1 was awarded to housewife A.S. Andrievsky, in whose family there were seven children.
The heirs of Maternal Glory today
With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the order was abolished, like all other state awards. Nevertheless, the work of parents did not go unnoticed by the state: on May 13, 2008, the Order “Parental Glory” was introduced by presidential decree. The order is accompanied by a one-time monetary reward of 100,000 rubles. This order does not provide benefits, that is, there is no regular assistance from the state.
