History

The Veteran of the Armed Forces of the USSR Medal was established on May 20, 1976. This medal was conferred upon military personnel in recognition of 25 years of service in the Army. More than 600,000 were awarded.

The medal is composed of aluminum alloy and red enamel, and measures 32mm in diameter. There are two variations.

Variation I has a dark patina applied to the obverse, ring and the edges of the medal.

Variation II is entirely gold-plated. It is not known why a Variation II exists - some speculate it may have been only for officers.

The obverse Russian inscription translates to: "Veteran of the Armed Forces". The obverse also features the Cyrillic script for the USSR.