The document is lavishly decorated, enclosed in a fine-quality leather folio measuring approx. 10" x 14" with gold-plated metallic bas-relief of Lenin and Stalin on the cover above the embossed gold-plated title "To a Laureate of the Stalin Prize".

Inside, the page preceding the title page has the lettering reading "The Soviet of Ministers of the USSR" followed by the year, 1946. The title page is adorned with an embossed bas-relief of the State Emblem of the USSR above the title, "Diploma of a Laureate of the Stalin Prize, first class".

The citation on the page opposite Stalin's portrait states that the Stalin Prize 1st class is bestowed by decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR of 26 January 1946.

The document lists, in the order of importance, five participants of the crew that produced Part Two of the two-part feature film Georgiy Saakadze in 1942. This diploma was issued to Aleksandr Digmelov (Александр Давыдович Дигмелов), the cameraman. The citation bears the seal of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, the facsimile signature of Stalin, and the hand signature of Yakov Chaadaev, executive secretary of the Council of Ministers.

The document comes in its original celluloid dust jacket, and is in excellent condition. The bas-relief on the cover shows mild wear to the background but no wear whatsoever to the high-3D profiles in the artwork. The golden lettering is pristine and retains its original luster. The leather of the cover shows minimal wear, not very noticeable or detractive The head and foot of the spine show tiny scuffs, not intrusive to the eye. The paper of the document shows a couple of barely visible finger smears. The front and back sheets of the document show mild discoloration areas due to uneven exposure to light, accenting the age and authenticity of the item.

NOTE: the order for this award was issued by the Council of People's Commissars on 26 January 1946. By order of the Supreme Council of the USSR of 15 March 1946, People's Commissariats were reorganized into Ministries. Evidently, this laureate's diploma was issued after this reorganization became official, adding to its value as the first post-WW2 issue of Stalin's Prize.

The 1942 film Georgiy Saakadze was a two-part historical drama about the struggle of Prince Aleksandr Saakadze in late XVI - early XVII C. for unification of Georgia and formation of a strong unified state. No doubt, this theme was very close to Stalin's imperialistic aspirations.

Considering the time of issue, subject of the award, and excellent condition, this certificate will make a jewel of any serious collector's Stalin Era display.

Moreover, 1946 was the first year when the Stalin Prize resumed being awarded after a two-year break. Generally speaking, the quantity of awards increased from year to year, adding value to the awards of the first year after the 1944-45 break. Of course, they are not as exquisitely rare as 1942 or 1943 awards, but those were hand-signed by Stalin and are exorbitantly expensive. Another interesting detail is that all 1946 Stalin Prize medals can be exhibited with any 1946 award certificate, the year being the only time identifier for both of them.

Please note that the pen in our photo is for size reference.