Measures approx. 3 ½" x 4 ½", printed on thin glossy photo paper. In the photo, we see sgt. Popov in his M43 gimnasterka tunic without shoulder boards, wearing three Orders of Glory, two Orders of the Red Star, Medal for Valor, Medal for Capture of Koenigsberg, Medal for Victory over Germany, and a Red Army proficiency badge. The verso shows his full name and year of birth.

In very good to excellent condition. The paper is slightly wrinkled, the corner bumps are minimal and not too obvious. Tilting the photo to reflect a bright light reveals minimal storage wear to the emulsion, however the wrinkles and storage wear are practically invisible when looking at the photo at a normal viewing angle. The image is in very sharp focus providing an excellent opportunity to have a close look at the decorations.

Nikolai Popov (1913 - 1992) was born to a peasant family in a village in the Nizhny Novgorod Region. Finished four classes of elementary school, worked at the Shakhunya railway station. Conscripted into the Red Army in 1935, and then a second time in December 1942. On the frontlines since August 1943.

On 3 February 1944, cpl. Popov, squad commander with the 44th Combat Engineers battalion, 51st Rifle Division, 6th Guards Army, 2nd Baltic Front, infiltrated the enemy positions with his squad and cleared a corridor in a minefield, personally defusing many mines. For that, Popov was awarded with the Order of Glory 3rd class.

On the night of 23 June 1944, jr. sgt. Popov, together with his squad, defused a minefield near the village of Rovnoye, Vitebsk Region, and then destroyed two enemy pillboxes with anti-tank grenades. For that, he was awarded with the Order of Glory 2nd class.

On the night of 30 October 1944, a group of combat engineers under Popov's command penetrated the enemy's frontline near the village of Pungas, Latvia, on a reconnaissance mission, and encountered a detachment of German military police. A firefight ensued during which Popov personally killed five enemy soldiers and captured three. For that he was awarded with the Order of Glory 1st class.

On the night of 23 January 1945, sgt. Popov with his squad, with the same division but now part of the 49th Army, 2nd Belorussian Front, cleared a corridor in a minefield near the city of Ortelsburg (now Szczytno, Poland), personally defusing and removing over twenty mines. For that, he was awarded with the Order of the Patriotic War 2nd class, but the award was changed by decree of Commander of the 2nd Belorussian Front Marshal of the Soviet Union Rokossovsky to the Order of Glory 1st class.

This last award added Nikolai Popov to the very exclusive group of only six people in the entire Soviet Armed Forces who were awarded with the Order of Glory 1st class twice. Since this "double award" violates the statute of the Order of Glory which specifically states that it can only be awarded once, all of the six "double awards" were later rescinded and other awards were issued instead. In Nikolai Popov's case, his second Order of Glory 1st class was reverted to the Order of the Patriotic War 2nd class, for which he was originally recommended.

Very detailed statistics on Popov's Orders of Glory are available on p.22 of Bruce Emprit's book Onward to Berlin!: Red Army Valor in World War II - The Full Cavaliers of the Soviet Order of Glory

Research Materials: photocopies of the award commendations for all four Orders of Glory; photocopy of the article about Popov in the Russian-language catalog Cavaliers of All Three Classes of the Order of Glory.

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