Jubilee Medal "XX Years of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army"


The Jubilee Medal "XX Years of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army" was a state military commemorative medal of the Soviet Union established on January 24, 1938 by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR to denote the twentieth anniversary of the creation of the Soviet Armed Forces.

Medal Statute

The Jubilee Medal "XX Years of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army" was awarded to staff and commanding officers of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army and Navy who had, as of February 23, 1938, served for 20 years in its ranks, and to those honoured during the Civil War and the war for freedom and independence of the motherland in units of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army and Navy; to those awarded the Order of the Red Banner for distinguished service during the Civil War.
The time served in the units and detachments of the Red Guards and the Red guerrilla groups that operated against the enemies of Soviet power between 1917 and 1921 counted towards award of the medal.
The Jubilee Medal "XX Years of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army" was worn on the left side of the chest and when in the presence of other medals of the USSR, it was located immediately after the Medal "For Tapping of the Subsoil and Expansion of the Petrochemical Complex of Western Siberia".

Medal description

The Jubilee Medal "XX Years of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army" is a 32 mm in diameter oxidised silver matte finished circular medal with a polished 2.5 mm rim. On the obverse, a large red enamelled five pointed star with a silvered edge, the tip of each point reaching the medal's edge; at the bottom sitting on the rim, in deep relief, the prominent 8 mm high gilded Roman numeral "XX" going up between the star's lower rays to superimpose it over 4 mm.
On the reverse, a 25 mm high relief image of a Red Army soldier clad in the winter uniform of the Red Guard and firing a rifle, at the lower right side of the soldier, the dates "1918-1938".

From its establishment in 1938 to 1943, the medal was secured by a ring through the medal suspension loop to a small rectangular mount covered by a red silk moiré ribbon. In 1943, this changed to the now standard Soviet pentagonal mount, now covered by a 24 mm wide silk moiré grey ribbon with a 2 mm red edge stripe on each side.

Recipients (partial list)

From January 1938 to the end of December 1940, 32,127 people received the medal.
All individuals listed below are recipients of the Jubilee Medal "XX Years of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army".