The medal For the Victory Over Japan (Russian

Russian language

Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...

: Медаль «За победу над Японией») was a Soviet

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 military decoration

Military decoration

A military decoration is a decoration given to military personnel or units for heroism in battle or distinguished service. They are designed to be worn on military uniform....

, awarded to all the soldiers, officers and partisans

Partisan (military)

A partisan is a member of an irregular military force formed to oppose control of an area by a foreign power or by an army of occupation by some kind of insurgent activity...

 who directly participated in the live combat actions against Japan during the Second World War. c1,831,000 people were awarded with this medal.

History

The official statue of the medal was established on 30th September 1945. Most of the awards were granted right after the end of the war. A proof of participation in the combat military operations against Japan was usually required, in order to be eligible for this decoration. After the war this medal, along with its more widespread sister medal For The Victory Over Germany

Medal For the Victory Over Germany

The Medal For The Victory Over Germany In The Great Patriotic War 1941–1945 was one of the most widespread military decorations in the Soviet Union. 14,933,000 people were awarded this medal...

, it was commonly used to distinguish between the actual veterans of World War II and all non-combat participants.

Construction details

The medal is made out of brass

Brass

Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties.In comparison, bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin...

 with three variations and features the profile of Stalin at the front, surrounded by the text ""For the Victory Over Japan" and the "September 3, 1945" text on the reverse. The ribbon of this medal is red, white and orange.

Stalin's image

It is interesting to note that Stalin is facing the right, indicating the east, while in the medal "Victory over Germany" he is facing left, signifying the west.