An unprecedented case: the deceased General Gudkov became the first twice Hero of Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree posthumously awarding Major General Mikhail Gudkov a second Gold Star medal for courage and heroism displayed during the SVO. He received his first Hero of Russia medal in October 2023, as commander of the 155th Separate Guards Marine Brigade, which participated in the battles in the southern Donetsk direction.

Gudkov was also awarded the Order of Courage, the Zhukov Medal, and other awards and medals. In March 2025, he was appointed Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Navy. The 155th Separate Guards Marine Brigade was named after twice Hero of Russia Major General M. E. Gudkov.

Gudkov died on July 2 during combat operations in the border area of ​​the Kursk region, the Defense Ministry reported. According to AiF-Primorye , the officer was in the field headquarters of the Marines during the missile strike by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Acting Governor of Kursk Region Alexander Khinshtein emphasized that Gudkov continued to personally travel to units and visit positions, despite his position as deputy commander-in-chief.

"He was a Hero and died as a Hero. As deputy commander-in-chief, he was not obliged to be at his positions, but he could not leave his servicemen. We will certainly perpetuate the memory of Gudkov on the Kursk land for which he gave his life," Khinshtein promised .

Before the case with General Gudkov, there were no precedents for double awarding of the title Hero of Russia. In the modern history of the country, there is another unique example of the highest awards - a combination of the titles Hero of the Russian Federation and Hero of Labor of the Russian Federation. The only person awarded both of these titles is Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov.

General Kirillov, the head of the radiation, chemical and biological defense troops of the Russian Armed Forces, received the title Hero of Labor in 2021. The title Hero of Russia was awarded to him posthumously in December 2024. He died in an IED explosion on Ryazansky Prospekt in Moscow as he was leaving his apartment building. A criminal case has been opened on the terrorist attack .

It is worth noting that Russian history knows other examples of combining the highest state awards, especially at the junction of two eras - the Soviet and Russian. Only four people were awarded the title of Hero of the USSR and Hero of Russia, and each of them is associated with space exploration or service in aviation. These are cosmonauts Sergei Krikalev and Valery Polyakov, helicopter pilot Nikolai Maidanov and polar explorer, scientist Artur Chilingarov.

Another striking example is Mikhail Kalashnikov. His case is unique in that he is both a Hero of the Russian Federation (2009) and twice a Hero of Socialist Labor (1958 and 1976). He received all these awards during his lifetime. Mikhail Kalashnikov died in 2013.

Since the beginning of the special military operation, hundreds of servicemen have been awarded the title Hero of the Russian Federation. In his article, which was included in the collection of articles by members of the Security Council of the Russian Federation for the 80th anniversary of the Victory, Defense Minister Andrei Belousov stated that more than 330 SVO participants received the "Gold Star".

According to Hero of Russia, intelligence veteran Rustem Klupov , since February 24, 2022, 423 servicemen have been awarded the honorary title, 200 of whom were awarded posthumously. He told the publication "Military Affairs" about this in April 2025. The difference in data may be due to the fact that some of the decrees on awarding are not published openly.