Of the Patriotic War 1st Class, the Order of the Red Star ...

of the Patriotic War 1st Class, the Order of the Red Star,

and many medals and foreign orders including the United

States Legion of Merit.

MDRF ministerial medal. The right half of the ribbon is

white with two narrow (2mm) red stripes 2mm from the

edges of the white field.

Medal Major General Alexander Alexandrov

The Medal Major General Alexander Alexandrov (Figure

13) was established on August 2, 2005 by Order 317 of

the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation. It

is awarded to members of the armed forces, to civilian

personnel of the armed forces, and to veterans of the

armed forces in reserve or retired, as well as to other

citizens of the Russian Federation for great personal

contribution to the creation and promotion of Russian

patriotic military music and to the development of the

military music culture.

Figure 14: Major General Alexander Alexandrov.

Figure 13: Obverse (left) and reverse of the Medal Major

General Alexander Alexandrov.

Obverse: The left profile of the bust of Major General

Alexandrov over a harp on a laurel wreath with

the inscription MAJOR GENERAL ALEXANDER

ALEXANDROV.

Reverse: The circular inscription: MINISTRY OF

DEFENSE RUSSIAN FEDERATION. In the center, a

parchment over military banners bearing the inscription

FOR CONTRIBUTION TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF

MILITARY MUSIC.

Suspension: The award is always bestowed as displayed

here mounted on the pentagonal mount and is worn on

the left breast with other medals in the prescribed order of

precedence. The left half of the ribbon is yellow (10mm)

with a narrow (2mm) black edge stripe indicating a

Alexander Vasilyevich Alexandrov (Figure 14) was born

into a peasant family on April 13, 1883 in the village of

Plakhino in the Ryazan region. Gifted with an incredible

singing voice, he became a chorister in St Petersburg¡¯s

Kazan Cathedral at an early age. A prot¨¦g¨¦ of the best

musical talents of the Era, he studied in Saint Petersburg

and Moscow eventually becoming a music teacher in

1918. He founded the Alexandrov Ensemble around 1928

and soon found favor with Stalin himself. As director

of the ever-growing Ensemble, he pioneered musical

development in the young Soviet regime by encouraging

soldiers¡¯ interest in music and the arts.

In 1941, he composed the music to the song ¡°Sacred

War¡± (lyrics by Vasily Lebedev-Kumach) which became

what is probably the most iconic of Soviet World War

II related songs and is still played yearly during the

Victory parade in Moscow. Commissioned by Stalin in

1942, he composed the music to what would become the

Soviet National Anthem in 1944 (lyrics were by Sergey

Mikhalkov). This anthem, first abandoned by the new

Russian Federation in 1991 was readopted with new

lyrics in 2000 (again by Sergey Mikhalkov). Alexander

Alexandrov died of a heart attack in Berlin on the night

of July 8-9, 1946 while on a European tour. He was

succeeded as head of the Alexandrov Ensemble by his

son Boris. Major General Alexander Alexandrov was

awarded the Order of Lenin, the Order of the Red Star,

the honorary title People¡¯s Artist of the USSR, the Order

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of the Red Banner of Labor, a Stalin Prize 1st Class (all

monetary proceeds of which he donated to the war effort)

and the Czech Order of the White Lion 3rd Class.

decoration. The right half of the ribbon is white with

two narrow (2mm) red stripes, one at the right edge of

the ribbon, the second 2mm to its left.

Commemorative Decoration Major General Boris

Alexandrov

The commemorative Decoration Major General Boris

Alexandrov (Figure 15) was established on October 6,

2005 by Order 425 of the Minister of Defense of the

Russian Federation. It is awarded to military and civilian

personnel of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation

for great personal contribution to the development of the

musical culture of the armed forces, as well as to others,

for assistance in the tasks entrusted to the Music Services

of the Armed Forces of Russia.

Figure 16: Major General Boris Alexandrov.

Figure 15: Obverse (left) and reverse of the Decoration

Major General Boris Alexandrov.

Obverse: The bust of Major General Alexandrov over a

harp on a laurel branch with the inscription 100 YEARS

MAJOR GENERAL BORIS ALEXANDROV.

Reverse: In the center, below the relief image of a harp,

and surrounded by a laurel wreath, the relief inscription

TO GRACE LIFE AND MARSHAL NEW EXPLOITS

THROUGH ONE¡¯S ART ¨C THIS IS OUR HIGHEST

DUTY.

Suspension: The award is always bestowed as displayed

here, mounted on the small square mount and is worn

above the right breast pocket. The left half of the ribbon

is yellow (10mm) with two narrow (2mm) black edge

stripes indicating a MDRF ministerial commemorative

Vol. 63, No. 4 (July-August 2012)

Boris Alexandrovich Alexandrov (Figure 16) was

born on July 22, 1905 in the Tver region. The son of

the famous Alexander Alexandrov, he followed in his

father¡¯s footsteps opting for a career in music. At age

13 he was already playing the viola as a member of

Moscow¡¯s renowned Bolshoi Theatre¡¯s children¡¯s choir.

He attended the Moscow Music Conservatory from 1923

to 1929, and then ran the music department of the newly

established Central Theatre of the Red Army from 1929

to 1937 doubling as an associate professor at the Moscow

Conservatory from 1933 to 1941. In 1937, he became the

Deputy Artistic Director of the Alexandrov Ensemble

under the leadership of his father.

During the Great Patriotic War, Boris Alexandrov co-led

the Alexandrov Ensemble with his father, giving over

1,500 front line concerts. He assumed leadership of the

ensemble in 1946 upon the death of his father taking it

all over the world on more than 68 extensive tours until

his retirement in 1987. Although officially retired, he still

acted as the ensemble¡¯s principal conductor until 1994.

Adding over 150 works to the Russian musical repertoire,

his contribution to Russian folkloric and patriotic music

was monumental. Major General Boris Alexandrov

was awarded the honorary title of People¡¯s Artist of the

USSR three times (1944, 1948, 1958), he also received

the honorary title of Hero of Socialist Labor (1975), the

Lenin Prize (1978), the Stalin Prize (1950), three Orders

33

of Lenin, the Order of the October Revolution, the Order

of the Red Banner of Labor, the Order of the Patriotic War

1st Class and many other domestic and foreign orders and

medals. He died June 17, 1994 in Moscow.

Medal Army General Komarovskii

The Medal Army General Komarovskii (Figure 17) was

established on May 2, 2006 by Order number 175 of

the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation. It is

awarded to soldiers with impeccable service of 10 years

or more in the Service of Quartering and Settlement of the

Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation for courage

and bravery displayed in the performance of military

duties or special tasks, to civilian personnel of the armed

forces who have worked in the service of quartering and

settlement of troops for 15 years or more, and to veterans

of military service, for great personal contribution to

the development of military construction and/or to the

organization and arrangement of the quartering of troops,

and to other persons for assistance in addressing the tasks

assigned to the service of quartering and settlement of

troops.

breast with other medals in the prescribed order of

precedence. The left half of the ribbon is yellow (10mm)

with a narrow (2mm) black edge stripe indicating a

MDRF ministerial medal. The right half of the ribbon

is divided into two equal (6mm) red and black stripes

representing the colors of the Service of Quartering and

Settlement of Troops.

Figure 18: Army General Alexander Komarovskii.

Alexander Nikolayevich Komarovskii was born on May

7, 1906 in St. Petersburg. He graduated from the Moscow

Institute of Transport Engineers in 1928. He held senior

positions in the 1930s in the construction of the Moscow

Canal, in the Kuibyshev hydro engineering complex and

in various other major national projects.

Reverse: The circular inscription: MINISTRY OF

DEFENSE RUSSIAN FEDERATION . The center

inscription: CREATION, LABOR AND DEFENSE.

During the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 he served

on the Southern and South-Western Fronts as Head of

the Department of Defense, as commander of the 5th

Combat Engineer Army and as Deputy Chief of the Main

Directorate of Defense Construction of the People¡¯s

Commissariat for Defense. Between 1945 and 1962 he

served in various leadership positions. He earned a Ph.D.

in 1956. In December 1963 he was appointed Deputy

Minister of Defense of the USSR for construction and the

quartering of troops. He was directly responsible for great

strides in the improvement of quality of life of Soviet

troops in the field of lodging. Later, he was a Deputy of

the 8th Convocation of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

Suspension: The award is always bestowed as displayed

here on the pentagonal mount and is worn on the left

General Komarovskii was awarded the honorary title

Hero of Socialist Labor in 1949, he also received the State

Figure 17: Obverse (left) and reverse of the Medal Army

General Komarovskii.

Obverse: The bust of Army General Komarovskii with

the inscription ARMY GENERAL KOMAROVSKII.

34

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