History

The Order of the Red Banner of Labour of the USSR was established on September 7, 1928. This Order was conferred in recognition of exceptional labour contributions to the fields of production, science, culture, literature, art education, or health care. It was awarded to USSR citizens, establishments, enterprises, organizations, autonomous and united republics, krais, oblasts, okrugs, regions, cities, and other types of population centres. It may also be awarded to foreign citizens and establishments.

This Order superseded the Red Banner of Labour awards of the individual USSR republics, although some continued to award these individual awards until 1933. The Order was awarded roughly 8,000 times before the Great patriotic War, and 30,000 by the end of the war. After 1991, it had been awarded 1,260,000 times.

There are six types of the orders, and several variations within each type. All types depict a dam a gold plated hammer and sickle in the center, and all have the Cyrillic letters USSR.

Type IV (semi-long, oval, five-sided suspension) was awarded from the early 1950s to the early 1960s. The only difference between Type III, Variation II is that Type IV is slightly smaller in height, measuring 46mm. The bar of wheat stalks are smaller on the obverse by 3mm. The serial numbers range from roughly 135,000-202,000. The lowest serial number observed is 135,463, and the highest is 194,944.

The obverse Russian inscription translates to: "Workers of the World Unite!" and "USSR".