How to properly hang medals on a dress uniform

State and departmental awards are awarded to a person for various merits, including heroism and courage. Most often, due to the specifics of their professional activities, they are awarded to military personnel and other employees of law enforcement agencies. They are worn mainly on special occasions. They look especially impressive on dress uniforms. The main thing is to attach them in the right place and in the right order.

Requirements for the placement of medals on dress uniforms

Awards on uniforms, including those intended for special occasions, are arranged in a certain sequence. Here are the official documents of the current legislation, where you can find comprehensive information on this issue:

1. Presidential Decree No. 1099 of September 7, 2010 (as amended on June 19, 2020) regulates the state award system of the Russian Federation. It includes a description and "ranking" of insignia in descending order, as well as the order in which they are received and worn.
2. Orders of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation No. 300 of June 22, 2015 (section VI) and No. 677 of November 26, 2018 regulate the specifics of wearing military uniforms, as well as insignia.

General rules

1. Awards from the Russian Federation are considered to be of higher rank than those received in the USSR.
2. Other insignia, including departmental ones, are located after the state ones.
3. Of several orders or medals with the same name, the one with the most significant meaning is worn.
4. Most awards are attached to special pentagonal metal plates with fastenings, covered with ribbons. They are located on the left side of the chest. The most important ones are worn on the shoulder (right) and neck ribbon, chain and bow.
5. The top edges of the pads should be in a perfect horizontal line. Each subsequent one slightly overlaps the previous one. Direction from side to shoulder. If there are more than five medals, a second line is formed under the first line, also starting from the center.

Layout principle

All orders and medals on the left alternate, starting with the most “dear” in accordance with the status list.

The most valuable are the gold stars of Heroes, they are located above all other award signs.

Below the special insignia are placed:

• orders;
• St. George's Cross;
• medals.

Their sequence is also described in detail in the fifth section of Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 1099.

By the way! Some orders, for example Suvorov, have medals of the same name. If both insignia are in the same “hands,” the more significant one is attached to the uniform. The only exception to the rule is the medal “For Services to the Fatherland” with swords.

Next in a separate row are the stars attached to the orders worn on ribbons, chains and bows.

Attachment points on holiday uniforms

The badge of special distinction is fixed so that there is 1 cm between it and the edge of the top line of orders and medals.

The top line of the block of the first row of awards should be below the beginning of the line connecting the front and collar:

• on the jacket - by 10 cm;
• on the jacket - by 5.5 cm.

In this case, orders and medals of a higher row must completely cover the blocks of the next one.

On the right side, the distance from the beginning of the collar to the bottom edge of the largest order of the top line is 9 cm. If there is more than one row, there should be a space of 1 cm before the next one.

Planned "optimization"

Over the past year, information has periodically appeared in the press about the preparation of a bill concerning changes in the rules for wearing awards on dress uniforms. Offered:

• place not all the insignia of the order bearer, but only the most important of them, first of all, state and departmental ones;
• limit the number of orders and medals on the bars on the left to 10: a maximum of two rows of five insignia each;
• apply the new rules regardless of the occasion for which the ceremonial uniform is worn: an official event or a walk with the family.

Such harsh measures are designed to increase the value of truly noteworthy awards and combat the so-called “iconostasis”. It is no secret that there are people who like to decorate themselves with insignificant insignia and demand special attention and privileges.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu is already demonstrating new trends. His dress uniform looks neat, strict and concise.

However, there is no official document confirming these changes yet. Therefore, the rules for wearing awards are regulated by current legislation.