The Next Hero of the Soviet Union

On December 18, 2019, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to impeach President Donald Trump on the charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress by votes of 230–197–1 and 229–198–1, respectively. The votes were partisan, with all Republicans voting against both articles of impeachment. Four Democrats dissented to varying degrees; Collin Peterson (MN) and Jeff Van Drew (NJ) voted against both charges, Jared Golden (ME) voted against the obstruction charge, and Tulsi Gabbard (HI) voted “present” on both. Independent Justin Amash (MI) supported both charges.[1,2] Three representatives who will soon retire abstained from voting.[3] The House majority alleges that Trump sought foreign interference in the 2020 presidential election by withholding foreign aid and a White House invitation to influence the Ukrainian government to investigate current Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden, then obstructed the Congressional investigation of the aforementioned activities by ordering his subordinates not to cooperate.[4]

One way to view the impeachment of Trump is as the culmination of efforts to thwart his presidency that began before he took office. There were efforts to use faithless electors to alter the Electoral College result in favor of 2016 Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.[5] Once he was in office, there were allegations that Trump only won because of Russian collusion and interference.[6] Impeachment efforts began in 2017, led by House Democrats Brad Sherman (CA) and Al Green (TX).[7] The actual case against Trump is weak compared to the cases against Bill Clinton (who was ultimately acquitted) and Richard Nixon (who resigned before impeachment came to a vote, but almost certainly would have been convicted and removed had he not resigned).[8] Even the case against Andrew Johnson in 1868 had more substance, and it was based on his violation of a law that was later deemed unconstitutional in Myers v. United States (1926). The greater long-term concern is that the precedent established by impeaching Trump on such spurious grounds means that future presidents may be impeached simply because the House of Representatives is controlled by a different party.[9]

Hero of the Soviet Union

The allegations against Trump of collusion with Russia, along with the aforementioned concerns of lowering standards, bring to mind an element of the previous iteration of Russian statecraft. The Hero of the Soviet Union (Russian: Герой Советского Союза) was the highest honor that one could acquire, and was introduced in 1934 to be awarded to individuals or groups for “heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society.” Individuals who received the award were entitled to special privileges, including a pension, better housing, free bus travel, a first-class airline trip every year, entertainment, and medical benefits. A second award entitled a person to have a bronze bust with a commemorative inscription placed in one's hometown. A third award entitled a person to have another bronze bust erected in Moscow near the Palace of the Soviets, but the Palace was never built and the busts were never erected.[10,11] The title was awarded to 12,862 people, though 72 people were stripped of the title and 13 awards were later annulled, leaving 12,777. 154 of these people received the award twice, three people thrice, and two people received four. The vast majority (11,572 single awards, 107 doubles, and 3 triples) were awarded for actions during World War II (known in Russia as the Great Patriotic War). Twelve cities were declared Hero Cities during this time, and Brest was declared a Hero Fortress.

The Hero of the Soviet Union was supposed to be awarded a maximum of three times, but Marshal Georgy Zhukov and Chairman Leonid Brezhnev each received a fourth award. Zhukov's fourth medal was awarded as a 60th birthday present on December 1, 1956 (his first three were given under proper circumstances in 1940, 1944, and 1945). This eroded the award's prestige, as it was supposed to be awarded for immediate heroism rather than any sort of anniversary. But Brezhnev did far worse, as all four of his awards were self-granted birthday presents in 1966, 1976, 1978, and 1981. Especially toward the end of his rule, he developed a cult of personality, and granted many undeserved awards to himself.[12] Such practices were halted by a 1988 decision by the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, but the damage to the award had long been done.

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References

1. Fandos, Nicholas; Shear, Michael D. (2019, Dec. 18). “Trump Impeached for Abuse of Power and Obstruction of Congress”. New York Times.
2. Haberkorn, Jennifer; Wire, Sarah D.; Megerian, Chris; O'Toole, Molly (2019, Dec. 18). “U.S. House impeaches President Trump”. Los Angeles Times.
3. Daly, Matthew (2019, Dec. 18). “3 Lawmakers Miss Historic Impeachment Votes”. Associated Press.
4. U.S. House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (2019, Dec. 3). “Report of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Pursuant to H. Res. 660 in Consultation with the House Committee on Oversight and Reform and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs” (PDF).
5. Samuels, Robert (2016, Dec. 17). “In last-shot bid, thousands urge electoral college to block Trump at Monday vote”. Washington Post.
6. Prokop, Andrew (2017, Dec. 1). “What the evidence shows about potential Trump-Russia collusion”. Vox.
7. Singman, Brooke (2017, Jun. 7). “Reps. Green and Sherman announce plan to file articles of impeachment”. Fox News.
8. Woodward, Bob; Bernstein, Carl (2005) [1976]. The Final Days (Paperback ed.). New York, New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 413–7.
9. Wallison, Peter J. (2019, Oct. 30). “Factually Weak Impeachment Will Alter the Nature of Our Government”. RealClearPolitics.
10. Prokhorov, Aleksandr Mikhaĭlovich (1982). Great Soviet Encyclopedia, Vol. 6. New York: Macmillan. p. 594.
11. “Resolution of the Central Executive Committee of the Soviet Union of May 5, 1934” (in Russian).
12. Bacon, Edwin; Sandle, Mark (2002). Brezhnev Reconsidered. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 8–9.
13. United States Constitution, Article II, Section 4.
14. Levillain, Philippe (2002). The Papacy: Gaius-Proxies. Psychology Press. p. 1047.
15. Richards, Jeffrey (1979). The Popes and the Papacy in the Early Middle Ages, 476–752. Routledge. p. 246.
16. Abbott, Frank Frost (1901). A History and Description of Roman Political Institutions. Elibron Classics. p. 385.