Russia – Soviet: An Assistant Chief of Staff’s Order of the Patriotic War 2nd Class to Senior Lieutenant B.P. Solopaev, 325th Rifle Division who served with his unit throughout the War from the liberation of the Kalinin Oblast to the clearing of the Samland Peninsula maintaining quality encrypted communications with superior staffs.
Order of the Patriotic War 2nd Class, type 2, concave reverse, reverse numbered 419676
Condition: one or two small enamel chips, otherwise Good very fine
Boris Pavlovich Solopaev was born in the city of Lukoyanov, Gorky Oblast in 1924, joining the Komsomol in 1939, he served in the Red Army from December 1942, being awarded three decorations for gallantry during the Patriotic War.
His first award was a Medal for Combat Merits issued to him by decree of 22nd Army on 17th February 1944. The second was an Order of the Red Star issued to him by decree of the 22nd Army on 6th September 1944, and his third and final award was this Order of the Patriotic War 2nd Class issued to him by decree of the 2nd Guards Army on 22nd April 1945.
Awarded as a Senior Lieutenant and Assistant Chief of the 6th Section of the Staff of the 325th Rifle Division, it was issued as a result of the following recommendation:
‘Senior Lieutenant Solopaev, Boris Pavlovich, has covered the division’s entire campaign route since the moment of its formation: the liberation of the Kalinin Oblast, the Belarussian SSR, Latvia, Lithuania and Eastern Prussia from the Neman to the Samland Peninsula, and in offensive operations to clear Eastern Prussia from the German fascist invaders. In all combat conditions, under heavy enemy artillery and mortar fire, he has provided the division’s command with uninterrupted and quality encrypted communications, which allowed the division’s command to execute the orders of superior staffs coming by cypher in a timely fashion, and facilitated the division’s successful completion of missions to crush German forces on the Samland Peninsula.’
Solopaev was also in receipt of the Medal for the Capture of Konigsberg and the Medal for the Victory over Germany.
In March 1946 at the time of receipt of this final award, Solopaev was serving as the Assistant Chief of the 8th Department of the Staff of the 43rd Army, he was living at building 31, Gorky Street, Gorky Oblast, city Lukoyanov.
