Soviet Union USSR. Order of the Red Star, serial number “2405”, awarded to the aviator and explorer Cherevichny in 1936.

This decoration is classified as a Type 2, Variant 2 Order of the Red Star. Around one hundred awards from this serial number range were issued to aviators of the Red Army.

It shows minor enamel damage, and the reverse is scratched with various drawings, but overall it is preserved in good condition.

Ivan Ivanovich Cherevichny was born in 1909 in what is now Ukraine and began his career as a military pilot after joining the Red Army in 1928. After graduating from several aviation and flight training schools, he developed a solid career as a flight instructor and, from 1934 onward, became part of Soviet Polar Aviation. There, he took part in opening new air routes in Siberia, ice reconnaissance in the Arctic seas, and support for navigation along the Northern Sea Route, distinguishing himself in 1938 for his participation in the rescue of the drifting station North Pole–1 expedition.

His greatest achievement took place between March and May 1941, when he led an aerial expedition that, for the first time in history, reached the Arctic Relative Pole of Inaccessibility, carrying out multiple landings on ice and covering more than 26,000 kilometers. A veteran of the Great Patriotic War, he also carried out a strategic flight to the United States in 1941 to negotiate the Lend-Lease program and participated in naval and rescue operations in the north. In the postwar period, he led major high-latitude aerial expeditions and took part in Antarctic exploration. For his bravery and exceptional contribution to polar aviation, he was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union in 1949. He died in Moscow in 1971, leaving a lasting legacy in Arctic exploration, reflected even in geographical locations that bear his name.

Pre–Second World War Order of the Red Star.