Silver gilt, enamels. Measures 51.4 mm in height, 50.1 mm in width; weighs 41.3 g without the screw plate. This specimen features a slight "shadow" counter-relief of the tips of the rays visible on the reverse.

In outstanding, excellent condition. The enamel is exceptionally well-preserved, essentially pristine; it shows a beautiful luster and has no wear visible to the naked eye, only a couple of microscopic contact marks that are hard to find even with a 10x loupe.

The medallion has a few tiny dings but is otherwise perfect, with its details exceptionally crisp and

Silver gilt, enamels. Measures 51.4 mm in height, 50.1 mm in width; weighs 41.3 g without the screw plate. This specimen features a slight "shadow" counter-relief of the tips of the rays visible on the reverse.

In outstanding, excellent condition. The enamel is exceptionally well-preserved, essentially pristine; it shows a beautiful luster and has no wear visible to the naked eye, only a couple of microscopic contact marks that are hard to find even with a 10x loupe.

The medallion has a few tiny dings but is otherwise perfect, with its details exceptionally crisp and free of noticeable wear even at the high points of the bas-relief. There is a very attractive toning to silver on both the obverse and reverse, while the original gilt finish on the battleaxes and wreath is clearly visible. The screw post is full length, over 13.5 mm, and includes an original screw plate of WW2 era.

Anisim Naydenov was born in 1918 in a village of the Vitebsk region of Belorussia. In late summer of 1938, he joined the Red Army and during the summer of the following year, took part in the series of battles against the Japanese at Khalkhin Gol as an NCO ("junior commander"), an antitank gun commander of the 603rd Rifle Regiment, 82nd Rifle Division. He apparently proved to be an outstanding soldier, judging by the fact that he was awarded with the Order of the Red Banner (#6903). At the time, it was a very rare honor: there were only 595 issues of the Order of the Red Banner for Khalkhin Gol in total, including those awarded to units, commissioned officers, NCOs, and enlisted men (by comparison, there were almost four times as many issued for the 1938 Battle of Lake Khasan and many times as many for the 1939-40 Winter War with Finland).

Although Naydenov had only an elementary school education prior to joining the military, being awarded with the Order of the Red Banner apparently opened for him a path to become a commissioned officer. During the Patriotic War, he took part in the fighting starting from September 1941 and as of September 1942, had the rank of lieutenant serving as an antitank gun battery commander with the 941st Rifle Regiment, 265th Rifle Division, 8th Army, Leningrad Front. He showed heroism while storming the heavily fortified German positions near the settlements of Tortolovo and Estovskiy during the Battle of Sinyavino Heights, an early Soviet attempt to relieve the blockade of Leningrad. On 5 September, he was recommended for the second Order of the Red Banner by his regiment commander; within less than two weeks, the recommendation was approved by the division command but then downgraded to the Order of the Red Star by the command of the 8th Army. In the meantime, the battle was turning out exceptionally bloody and soon afterwards ended in a catastrophic failure for the Red Army, due in large part to the incompetence of the Leningrad Front command. The 8th Army was cut off by late September and suffered particularly badly: Naydenov was one of only 2610 of its men who got out of the German caldron alive. Probably for that reason, the recommended and well- deserved high decoration was drastically downgraded again to the Medal for Valor by the Commander of the Leningrad Front, General of the Army Mekhlis and the infamous Stalin's crony, Chief Political Commissar of the Leningrad Front Lev Mekhlis. The Medal for Valor, an uncommon award for a commissioned officer, was awarded to Naydenov on 17 October 1942.

In the last months of the war, Naydenov, who by then had the rank of captain, commanded an artillery squadron with the 290th Artillery Regiment, 104th Rifle Division, 133rd Rifle Corps, 57th Army, 3rd Ukrainian Front. On 16 March, during the last German strategic offensive of the war at Lake Balaton in Hungary, his squadron repelled four counterattacks of enemy infantry and tanks. Over the course of the skirmish, Naydenov's artillerymen destroyed an armored personnel carrier and up to a company of infantry. During the following month, he and his squadron took part in the Soviet Vienna offensive. On 8 April, the squadron advanced with the forward ranks of their division's infantry and after crossing a canal under intensive enemy fire, suppressed three weapon nests and one mortar battery, and eliminated up to a company of infantry. It thus greatly helped Soviet infantry to move forward. From 10-14 April, Naydenov commanded an ad-hoc artillery and machine gun group which provided close support for the infantry in the storming of the city of Bad Radkersburg (referred to as Radkersburg in the award commendation) in southeastern Austria near the borders with Yugoslavia and Hungary. Precise strikes at the enemy strongholds dislodged the defenders from the first line of trenches; as a result of actions of Naydenov's group, Soviet infantry was able to break into the outskirts of the city and capture a position near the canal. On 22 May, Capt. Naydenov was recommended for the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st cl. by his regiment commander. Although the recommendation was approved by the chain of command through Commander of the 133rd Rifle Corps, on this occasion the decoration was elevated to the Order of Alexander Nevsky by the Chief of Artillery of the 57th Army. The award was officially bestowed upon Naydenov on 1 June 1945.

After the war, Naydenov remained on active duty in the military and in 1949, was awarded with the Medal for Combat Service for length of service. As of October 1947, he had the rank of Guards major and was serving as a squadron commander with the 10t5th Guards Mechanized Regiment, 33rd Guards Mechanized Division.

Research Materials: photocopy of two award record cards (incl. the pre-Patriotic War version showing the Red Banner for Khalkhin-Gol) and award commendations for the Medal for Valor and Order of Alexander Nevsky.
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