The order is in silver and enamels; measures 58.2 x 58.2 mm; weighs 63.0 g without the screw plate. Massive multi-piece construction: the center star, center medallion disc, and silver starburst are separate parts superimposed on the four-sided blue star. A late version featuring the reverse with characteristically "slim" tips of the horizontal rays of the starburst (as opposed to the "stubby" points on earlier issues.)

Excellent condition. The enamel is essentially perfect, completely free of the typical flaking near the tips of the rockets or any other wear visible to t

The order is in silver and enamels; measures 58.2 x 58.2 mm; weighs 63.0 g without the screw plate. Massive multi-piece construction: the center star, center medallion disc, and silver starburst are separate parts superimposed on the four-sided blue star. A late version featuring the reverse with characteristically "slim" tips of the horizontal rays of the starburst (as opposed to the "stubby" points on earlier issues.)

Excellent condition. The enamel is essentially perfect, completely free of the typical flaking near the tips of the rockets or any other wear visible to the naked eye; there is just a single microscopic flake to the white band at 10 o'clock and a few microscopic contact marks, all of it unnoticeable without magnification. The raised details are likewise nearly pristine, having only a barely detectable wear to the apex and ridges of the star. The factory-applied dark silver finish on the wings and anchor is perfect. The screw post is full length, approx. 9.5 mm long measured from the round retaining nut, and includes an original screw plate.

Unlike the vast majority of other specimens in its serial number range, this piece was actually awarded - it did not come from an unissued stock leftover after the breakdown of the USSR.

The Order Booklet (Series L) #931496 was filled-out on 9 April 1992 and shows only one decoration, the Order for Service to Homeland bestowed on 29 February 1988. Note the unusually late issue date of the document, several months after the collapse of the USSR in Dec. 1991. At the time, the new Russian Federation documents had not yet been printed and the available stock of Soviet-era documents was used instead. Interestingly, the document is not even the last Soviet version: the typographically printed text next to Mikhail Gorbachev's facsimile signature refers to the Soviet premier as the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet (his last official position was President of the USSR).

The order booklet is in excellent, near mint condition. The cover is perfect: the only sign of wear are a few tiny indentation marks. The binding is tight; the interior pages are clean and crisp.

Viktor Kleymenov was born in 1956. Interestingly, his place of birth shown in the archival documentation is the city of Magdeburg in what used to be at the time East Germany. This indicates that in all likelihood, one or both of his parents served with a Soviet military unit stationed in the area.

As of February 1988, at the time when he was awarded with the Order for Service to Homeland, Kleymenov had the rank of major and was serving as the Chief of Radio Electronic Warfare in a unit identified only as the Military Unit #18556 in the award card. An Internet search shows that it was definitely the 911th Fighter-Bomber Regiment of the 105th Fighter-Bomber Division, at the time based out of the city of Lida in Belorussia. During the next year, the regiment was temporarily redeployed to an airfield in the town of Brand, Brandenburg Province of East Germany, where it was a part of the 16th Air Army of the Group of Soviet Troops in Germany (GSVG). The regiment remained in Germany until 1992, at which point it returned to Lida over the course of Russian troop withdrawal from the former Eastern Bloc countries.

By March 1992, Kelymenov had been transferred to the Military Unit #57655 stationed in Kaliningrad (former Koenigsberg). Nothing else could be found at this time about his military career prior to receiving the decoration, but more details may come to light with the gradual opening of Soviet-era archives.

Research Materials: photocopy of the 1992 award record card.
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