☆

From left to right:

1. For Valiant Labour in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945

Created 6th of June 1945, this award was given to industrial workers who worked 1 year or longer (6 months if there were exceptional circumstances).

We gather from this that Ilya's father worked in the industry, but not necessarily as a civilian, as many disabled military veterans also worked in the industry. Based on the other WW2 commemoration awards, I believe Ilya's father belonged to the latter group, however there's also a possibility he worked in the industry before being conscripted.

2. Order of Lenin

Created 6th of April 1930, this is the highest civil award of the USSR although soldiers received it as well, and the second highest overall (only outranked by the Hero of the Soviet Union). It was given for 'outstanding service to the motherland' and was awarded to only around 460,000 people.

Based on the WW2 commemoration awards and the medal of bravery (discussed later), I believe Ilya's father exhibited outstanding bravery during WW2 and was awarded for it. It's also possible that he was born into an already politically influential family. Even if he wasn't, this award would have made him into a big deal. This was an insanely big honour.

3. Thirty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945

Quite self explanatory, this was a jubilee award, created 25th of April 1975, thirty years after the victory in WW2 (called the Great Patriotic War in the USSR). Everybody who participated in WW2 was awarded one.

Small flex; I actually have this one in my collection. This is our final confirmation that Ilya's father is a WW2 veteran. It's interesting that he displayed this one but not the 40 year anniversary, although there may be some cultural or traditional behind it that I'm missing.

4. 50 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR

Created 27th of December 1967, this award was given to celebrate 50 years after the establishment of the Soviet Armed Forces. There's quite a lot of groups covered under this medal, like active and retired military personnel and those awarded medals for bravery and the like.

While Ilya's father could be in any of these groups, I believe there are two categories we know for sure he is covered by: combat veteran and those awarded an order for individual service or bravery (Order of Lenin).

Order of Courage

A post-Soviet Russian award first established in 1994, awarded for 'selfless courage and valour'. It's not strictly a military award and is given to those who fits the criteria, like fire fighters or rescuers.

Given Ilya's father's age, I believe this was a way of commemorating whatever brave act he committed while in the military (although it is possible he went on to do something courageous again). It does however show us that Ilya's father continued to be a big deal after the collapse of the USSR.

Summary

While this is all speculation, this is what I believe to be the most likely series of events: Ilya's father served in WW2, and either before or after his service he was in the industrial work section, most likely in a factory. During his service in WW2, he committed some kind of act of bravery that most likely left him disabled or injured in some way. Once the war was over, he was properly decorated for it and became well respected in many high end circles, if he wasn't already. As for the act of bravery itself, it's hard to judge, but based on the frequency of types of acts of bravery, I'd say he saved someone or a group of people by putting his life in danger directly OR he was an exceptional serviceman (sniper, mortar man etc.) with many attributed deaths.