Order of the Red Banner, 2nd award, Type 2, Var. 2, Sub-var. 1, #1596, awarded in March 1943 to the Deputy Chief of the Bryansk Regional Partisan Command. A career NKVD officer in the pre-war years, the recipient was one of the key people credited for saving the city of Tula from falling into enemy hands during the Battle of Moscow. In 1942, he greatly distinguished himself by organizing large- scale sabotage operations in the German rear in the forests near Bryansk - at the time, the key area of operations of the up-and-coming Soviet partisan movement - and in the Kursk Region. His leadership directly contributed to the great expansion of partisan activities: in just the period from August - first third of October 1942, the partisans of Bryansk Region derailed 121 railway freight trains, blew up 2 armored trains, destroyed 45 German tanks and huge number of other vehicles and weapons, and killed nearly 18000 enemy soldiers. Soon after being awarded with the Second Red Banner for his role in partisan warfare, he was promoted to Major General. In 1944, he was decorated with an Order of Kutuzov 2nd cl. for his work as Deputy Chief of the Soviet liaison team with the Tito's communist partisans in Yugoslavia. In the second half of the 1940s decade, he got appointed to top positions in the NKVD of Moldavia and Ukraine, and for two years was the Minister of Internal Affairs of Kabardino-Balkar Autonomous Republic. He was made an Honor Citizen of Tula and Bryansk; had a street named after him in the city of Tula; and in 2016, posthumously received the Title of Hero of Russian Federation.
The order has been converted to a suspension to comply with post-1943 regulations and then restored to its original screw back appearance, but it is nevertheless still an attractive original piece with well-preserved enamel. Comes with archival research. A rare award to an extraordinary individual.