Medal "For the Development of Virgin Lands"

Medal "For the Development of Virgin Lands"
Medal "For the Development of Virgin Lands" (obverse)
Awarded by  USSR
Type	Civilian medal
Eligibility	Soviet citizens
Awarded for	Development of virgin and fallow lands in Kazakhstan, Siberia, the Ural, the Volga and the North Caucasus.
Status	No longer awarded
Statistics
Established	October 26, 1956
Total awarded	1,345,520
Ribbon of the Medal "For the Development of Virgin Lands"

The Medal "For the Development of Virgin Lands" (Russian: Медаль «За освоение целинных земель») was a civilian award of the Soviet Union established on October 26, 1956 by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR to recognise individuals who displayed superior performance in labour over two years connected with the Virgin Lands Campaign started in 1954 by Nikita Khrushchev to cultivate 36,000,000 hectares of previously uncultivated lands in Kazakhstan, Siberia, the Urals, the Volga area and the northern Caucasus, it was intended to serve as an example for good achievements in the performance of civic duties.

The Medal "For the Development of Virgin Lands" was awarded to farmers, workers of state farms, MTS, construction and other organisations, the Party, government, labour and Komsomol workers for their good work in the development of virgin and fallow lands in Kazakhstan, Siberia, the Ural, the Volga and the North Caucasus for a period of usually at least two years. This Medal was also awarded to Yuri Gagarin right after his space flight. It became a tradition to award the Medal to many Soviet cosmonauts after that.

Names of potential recipients of the Medal "For Development of Virgin Lands" were submitted in alphabetical lists by the chairmen of collective farms, heads of enterprises, institutions and organizations, as well as secretaries of Party organizations or of the chairmen of trade union organizations and sent to the executive committees of district Soviets who selected recipients and forwarded the lists to the Presidium of the Supreme Soviets of Autonomous Republics and the executive committees of territorial and regional councils of deputies workers for final approval.

The Medal "For the Development of Virgin Lands" was awarded on behalf of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR by chairmen, deputy chairmen and members of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviets of Autonomous Republics and the executive committees of regional, provincial, district and city Soviets in the communities of the award recipients.