The Medal For the Development of Virgin Lands (Var-1)

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 a 32 mm in diameter circular medal, on its obverse, the image of a C-4 combine harvester in a field with a grain silo in the background on the horizon, at the bottom, the relief inscription on three rows "For the development of virgin lands" (Russian: «За освоение целинных земель»). On the reverse at the bottom, the relief image of the hammer and sickle with sun rays radiating upwards towards a five pointed star at the top, along the right circumference, ears of corn, along the left circumference, a panicle of wheat.

The Medal "For the Development of Virgin Lands" was secured by a ring through the medal suspension loop to a standard Soviet pentagonal mount covered by an overlapping 24 mm dark green silk moiré ribbon with 3 mm wide yellow edge stripes.