The Order of Georgi Dimitrov (or Order of Georgy Dimitrov, Bulgarian: Орден Георги Димитров) was the highest award of the People's Republic of Bulgaria. It was instituted on 17 June 1950 and awarded to Bulgarians and foreigners for outstanding services to the defence and freedom of Bulgaria, or for contributions to socialism.[1][2] The award was the Bulgarian equivalent of the Order of Lenin, whose general design it imitated.[3]