Russia - Soviet: Order of Glory, 3rd Class, silver and enamel, reverse numbered: ‘383878’, awarded to Rifleman later Efreitor F.P. Zolotov, 98th Independent Security Company, 26th Army, who saw service during the Second World War in the Red Army between 24th June 1941 and 24th August 1945, and was serving on the Karelian Front and fighting the White Finns when he was lightly wounded in action on 24th October 1941, on which occasion he also performed the majority of the act which led to his being recommended on 16th May 1945 for the Medal of Bravery, which was then upgraded to the Order of Glory 3rd Class. On 24th October 1941, during an offensive on the Maselga axis, he was first to burst into the enemy trenches and in hand-to-hand combat shot 4 White Finns, and was lightly wounded but did not leave the battlefield until the mission was accomplished. A member of the 98th Independent Security Company from February 1942 onwards, he went on to fight on the 3rd Ukrainian Front, being also awarded the Medal for Bravery.
Russia - Soviet: Order of Glory, 3rd Class, 2nd type, silver and enamel, reverse numbered: ‘383878’, mounted for wear on an alloy frame.
Condition: enamel work good, light contact marks and evidence of wear, overall Good Very Fine.
Fyodor Petrovich Zolotov was born in 1905 in the village of Antonovo in the Romantsevsky selsovet in the Buisky District of the Kostroma Oblast, and then saw service during the Great Patriotic War in the Red Army between 24th June 1941 and 24th August 1945, and was serving on the Karelian Front when he was lightly wounded in action on 24th October 1941, on which occasion he also performed the majority of the act which led to his being recommended on 16th May 1945 for the Medal of Bravery, which was then upgraded to the Order of Glory 3rd Class, as confirmed by the Decree of the 26th Army No.0181 on 29th May 1945.
The citation reads: ‘Comrade Zolotov has been a combatant of the Patriotic War since June 1941 on the Karelian Front and since February 1945 on the 3rd Ukrainian Front. On 24th October 1941, during an offensive on the Maselga axis, he was first to burst into the enemy trenches and in hand-to-hand combat shot 4 White Finns, and was lightly wounded but did not leave the battlefield until the mission was accomplished. He is a courageous and brave warrior. Comrade Zolotov has been with the 98th Independent Security Company since February 1942. He is a disciplined, enterprising, and diligent soldier who has received a number of gratitude certificates from Command. Comrade Zolotov deserves the award of the Medal for Bravery.’
As can be seen from the citation, Zolotov had been serving in another unit at the time of his actions against the White Finns on 24th October 1941, and had then been serving as a Rifleman in the 98th Independent Security Company of the 26th Army since February 1942, and he would later be promoted to Efreitor (Corporal). He was also awarded the Medal for Bravery by Decree of the 26th Army No.0200 on 1st June 1945, and would be discharged on 24th August 1945. As of his August 1956 record card, he is shown as living in the village of Globenovo in the Baranovsky selsonet of the Buisky District of the Kostroma Oblast, and was working as a worker locally at the Talitsky Co-operative “Iskra”.
