- Time Period: Post-WW2
- Year of Institution: 18 January 1974
- Country: Russia & USSR
The Veteran of Labor Medal (or Медаль «Ветеран труда», Medal «Veteran truda» in Russian) was established on 18 January 1974 by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and awarded to deserving state workers at retirement to honor workers for many years of hard work in the national economy, sciences, culture, education, healthcare, government agencies, and public organizations.
The medal was awarded to workers, farmers, and employees in recognition of their lifelong labor on reaching the seniority required for a long-service pension or retirement age. Recommendations for the award were made jointly by administrators of Party and trade union organizations, enterprises, institutions, and organizations based on nominations from working groups or workforce councils. Award ceremonies of the Medal “Veteran of Labor” usually took place in the work place of the recipients.
Although it only had a relatively short eighteen years of existence, it was awarded nearly forty million times. Its regulations were detailed and approved by decree number 5999-VIII of May 20, 1974. The medal ceased to be awarded following the December 1991 dissolution of the Soviet Union.
The Veteran of Labor Medal Design
The medal was designed by artist SA Pomansky. It’s circular, struck in tombac and then silver-plated and oxidized, and measured 34 millimeters in diameter.
The obverse bears the relief image of the hammer and sickle over the inscription «СССР» (“USSR”) with diverging rays, a laurel branch spans the width of the obverse from right to left passing under the sickle’s handle in an upward curve, along the lower and right circumference, a ribbon bearing the relief inscription «ВЕТЕРАН ТРУДА» (“VETERAN OF LABOUR”). The otherwise plain reverse bears the inscription on four lines «ЗА ДОЛГОЛЕТНИЙ ДОБРОСОВЕСТНЫЙ ТРУД» (“FOR LONG DILIGENT WORK”).
The Medal “Veteran of Labor” was secured by a ring through the medal suspension loop to a standard Soviet pentagonal mount covered by a 24mm wide overlapping silk moiré ribbon with 1 mm wide white edge stripes and colored from left to right by a 7 mm wide dark grey stripe, an 8 mm wide light grey stripe, and three 2 mm wide red stripes separated by two 0.5 mm wide white stripes.
