Silver, enamels; measures 58.0 mm in height and width, weighs 63.0 g without the screw plate. Massive multi-piece construction: the center star, center medallion disc, and silver starburst are separate parts superimposed on the four-sided blue star. This is the late version of the order, featuring "slender" points on the reverse of the horizontal rays of the starburst (as opposed to the "stubby" points on the early issues.) Note the serial number which is significantly lower than the six-digit numbers of the mostly unissued specimens of the award that usually appear on the mar

Silver, enamels; measures 58.0 mm in height and width, weighs 63.0 g without the screw plate. Massive multi-piece construction: the center star, center medallion disc, and silver starburst are separate parts superimposed on the four-sided blue star. This is the late version of the order, featuring "slender" points on the reverse of the horizontal rays of the starburst (as opposed to the "stubby" points on the early issues.) Note the serial number which is significantly lower than the six-digit numbers of the mostly unissued specimens of the award that usually appear on the market.

In excellent condition. There is practically none of the usual wear to the apex of the center star; its facets remain pristine and the ridges are crisp. The sky-blue enamel has a single very shallow flake at the tip of the rocket in the upper left, practically unnoticeable to the naked eye. The enamel is otherwise perfect and retains a beautiful luster throughout. The metal parts are likewise free of visible wear. The screw post is of full length, well over 9.5 mm measured from the retaining nut, and includes an original screw plate.

Mikhail Dragun was born in 1941 to a family of Russian ethnicity in the stanitsa (Cossack village) of Stepnaya, Krasnoyarsk Territory of Siberia. Nothing is currently known about his military career other than the fact that as of 1989, he had the rank of Military Justice Colonel and was - that goes almost without saying - a member of the Communist Party. At the time, Dragun served as Deputy Military Prosecutor with the Military Unit #70431, a part of the Soviet army of occupation in Afghanistan. This is evident from the fact that Dragun's award card was filled-out on 23 December 1988 in the Afghan capital of Kabul (the Soviet withdrawal from the country was already fully underway, with some remaining troops leaving within weeks). Just shortly prior, Dragun was awarded with what was apparently his first decoration, the Order for Service to Homeland, 3rd cl. bestowed on 8 December 1988. As is often the case, the award commendation explaining reasons for the award could not be found in the archives and may still be classified. It is well-known however that the Soviet forces in Afghanistan suffered from low morale, one of the reasons for the ultimate Soviet defeat, so Dragun must have been busy in his military prosecutor's role during the final months of the war.

In the following year, when already out of Afghanistan and posted to Leningrad, Dragun received two additional decorations that became his final awards of the Soviet period: a Medal for Combat Service on 25 July and the Order of the Red Star (#3796473) on 25 December. Interestingly, his second award card listing the latter decorations was filled-out in the recently renamed St. Petersburg in June 1992, soon after the dissolution of the Soviet Union (the card does not show if Dragun was still on active duty in the military but to no surprise, his political party affiliation in the archival form was left blank: the CPSU had just been banned by the new Yeltsin government of Russia.)

A very interesting and unusual award from the twilight of the Soviet era, the Order for Service to Homeland to Col. Dragun certainly deserves further research. We hope that with the gradual opening of the Russian archives and publication of memoirs, more information about this individual and especially his service in Afghanistan may come to light.

Research Materials: photocopy of 1989 and 1992 award record cards.
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