Editing Order of Victory (section)

==History==
The order was proposed by Colonel N. S. Neyelov, who was serving at the Soviet Army Rear headquarters around June 1943.  The original name that Colonel Neyelov suggested was ''Order for Faithfulness to the Homeland''; however, it was given its present name around October of that year.<ref>Dmitry Markov, [http://www.russian-medals.net/chkord3.htm Order of Victory - 1943] (Russian-medals.net)</ref>

On October 25, 1943, artist A. I. Kuznetsov, who was already the designer of many Soviet orders, presented his first sketch to Stalin. The sketch of a round medallion with portraits of Lenin and Stalin was not approved by the Supreme Commander. Instead, Stalin wanted a design with the [[Spasskaya Tower]] in the centre. Kuznetsov returned four days later with several new sketches, of which Stalin chose one entitled "Victory". He asked Kuznetsov to slightly alter the design, and on the 5th of November a prototype was finally approved. The order was officially adopted on November 8, 1943, and was first awarded to [[Georgy Zhukov]], [[Aleksandr Vasilevsky]], and [[Joseph Stalin]]. All three were awarded a second order a year or more later.{{fact|date=July 2023}}

The order was also bestowed to top commanders of the [[Allies of World War II|Allied forces]].  Every order was presented during or immediately after [[World War II]], except for the controversial 1978 award to [[Leonid Brezhnev]], who was not given a personal award, but an older one, originally awarded to [[Leonid Govorov]], Marshal of the Soviet Union. (Govorov was already deceased, with his award returned to the state)<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/russian/features-43117580|title = Орден для генсека: как Брежнева наградили за победу, которой не было|newspaper = BBC News Русская Служба}}</ref> Brezhnev's award was revoked posthumously in 1989 for not meeting the requirements for the award.{{fact|date=July 2023}}

Like other orders awarded by Communist nations, the Order of Victory could be awarded more than once to the same individual. In total, the order was presented twenty times to seventeen people (including Brezhnev).{{fact|date=July 2023}}

Unlike all other Soviet orders, the Order of Victory had no serial number on it, the number was only mentioned in the award certificate. After a holder of the Order of Victory died, the award was to be given back to the state. Most of awards are now preserved by the [[Diamond Fund]] in the Moscow Kremlin.  Notable exceptions are [[Michael I of Romania|King Michael I of Romania]]'s Order of Victory, which is held in the collection of the [[Romanian Royal Family]], Dwight D. Eisenhower's Order of Victory, which is on display at the [[Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum]] in Abilene, Kansas, Field Marshal [[Bernard Montgomery]]'s Order of Victory, which is on display at the [[Imperial War Museum]] in London, and [[Josip Broz Tito]]'s Order of Victory, which is kept in the [[Museum of Yugoslav History]] in Belgrade.{{fact|date=July 2023}}