The Medal for the Salvation of the Drowning

• Time Period: Post-WW2
• Year of Institution: 16 February 1957
• Country: Russia & USSR

The Medal for the Salvation of the Drowning (or Медаль «За спасение утопающих», Medal «Za spasenie utopayushchikh» in Russian) was established on 16 February 1957 by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and awarded to any person (of any nationality) for courage, bravery, and selflessness whilst rescuing a person/people from water or for outstanding vigilance and resourcefulness preventing drowning or for excellence in organizing of rescue operations in Soviet waters or of Soviet citizens.

Each medal came with an attestation of award, this attestation came in the form of a small 8 cm by 11 cm cardboard booklet bearing the award’s name, the recipient’s particulars and an official stamp and signature on the inside.

Its statute was twice amended by further decrees of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, first on August 1, 1967 and lastly on July 18, 1980. The medal ceased to be awarded following the December 1991 dissolution of the Soviet Union and replaced in 1994 by the Russian Federation’s Medal “For Life Saving“.

The Medal for the Salvation of the Drowning Design

The medal is circular and struck in oxidized brass with raised rims on both sides, and measures 32 millimeters in diameter.

On the obverse at the center, the relief image breaking the surface of the water of a rescue swimmer pulling a drowning victim to safety, along the upper circumference, the relief inscription «За спасение» (“For the Salvation”), along the lower circumference, the relief inscription «утопающих» (“of the Drowning”). On the reverse at the center, the relief image of a laurel branch from bottom left to upper right, above it, the relief image of the hammer and sickle, below the branch, the inscription «СССР» (“USSR”).

The medal was secured to a standard Soviet pentagonal mount by a ring through the medal suspension loop. The mount was covered by a 24 mm wide blue silk moiré ribbon with a 1 mm wide central white stripe and three 1 mm wide white stripes separated by 1 mm starting 1,5 mm from both edges.