page_title: Hero of the Russian Federation
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Hero of the Russian Federation / History
caption_attribution_description: Михаил Калашников
context_page_description: Hero of the Russian Federation, also unofficially Hero of Russia, is the highest honorary title of the Russian Federation. The title comes with a Gold Star medal, an insignia of honour that identifies recipients.
  The title is awarded to persons for "service to the Russian state and nation, usually connected with a heroic feat of valour". The title is bestowed by decree of the president of the Russian Federation. Russian citizenship or being in the service of the Russian state is not obligatory.
  The title was established in 1992 and, as of 2015, was awarded more than 970 times, of which more than 440 were posthumously.
context_section_description: The title "Hero of Russia" is a successor to Hero of the Soviet Union (Russian: Герой Советского Союза), which was established by Resolution of the Central Executive Committee of the Soviet Union of 5 May 1934. The corresponding Gold Star is derived from the Soviet design, created by architect Miron Merzhanov and approved by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of 1 August 1939.
  Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russian Federation under president Boris Yeltsin retained a modified award by Law of the Russian Federation No. 2553-1 20 March 1992. Article 71 of the Constitution of Russia permits titles, orders and medals to be presented by the government, and Article 89 gives the Russian president power to create state awards. This is the highest honour that can be presented by the Russian president to a citizen.
caption: Mikhail Kalashnikov, designer of Kalashnikov assault rifles, wears the Gold Star of Hero of the Russian Federation and two Stars of Hero of Socialist Labour
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