Order of St. Anne. Order of the Russian Empire

The Order of St. Anne was founded in 1735 by Duke Carl Friedrich, a German by birth. He married in 1725 with the daughter of Emperor Peter the Great Anna. Initially, the order was supposed to be a dynastic award, but in the future its status changed significantly.

Duchess Anna did not live long in a happy marriage and died in 1728 almost immediately after the heavy birth of the future heiress. After the death of his beloved wife, Carl Friedrich decided to perpetuate her memory, passing the image of the duchess with the help of an image on the order to the next generations of heirs to the throne. During the life of the Duke, 15 German subjects were awarded this order.

Since that time, the rulers of Russia did not remain in power for long, leaving the throne for reasons beyond their control.

Heir Elizabeth II

The future heir of the Russian and Holstein thrones was called Karl-Peter-Ulrich. He inherited the throne after Elizabeth II, who had no children of her own, decided to place her nephew on the throne with an official decree, after which the boy was transported from the Holstein principality to Russia.

State Order Status

Since the Order of St. Anne was a dynastic award, having moved to Russia, Peter III, who became Grandmaster of this Order by inheritance from his father, took the highest honor of the Holstein principality with him. After in 1742 he officially ascended the throne, the order was decided to be elevated to the rank of state award in Russia.

The new heir to the throne

The history of the Russian Empire directly to our day is filled with tragic events, the most significant of which was an incident that left an indelible mark on modern history. It happened in 1762, when the reign of Paul III, lasting about 6 months, tragically ended. This happened as a result of a conspiracy to remove from the throne, which was arranged by his own wife. After his death, pre-revolutionary Russia received a new heir to the throne - Paul I, who was born in 1754.

The reign of Catherine II

Since at the time of the death of the incumbent Emperor Paul I was still too small to rule the throne, the whole weight of government fell on the shoulders of his mother, who was directly guilty of the death of his father. The history of the Russian Empire at this time receives a significant impetus to development under the leadership of Catherine II. No doubt, being the most famous empress of that time outside of Russia.

Secret meaning of reward

Despite the fact that the awards of the Russian Empire were distinguished by a special grace, Paul I felt tremulous feelings precisely in relation to the Order of St. Anna. It was explained quite simply. At one of the Moscow receptions, arranged in 1762, Paul I was presented to the first beauty of the time, Anna Petrovna, the daughter of a local senator P.V. Lopukhin.

She liked the emperor so much that he insisted on moving her entire family to St. Petersburg. The father of the beauty received from the emperor the princely title and family motto. From that time the Hebrew translation of the name Anna - "grace" - became the pride of the entire princely family of the Lopukhins.

It is from this moment that the main history of the Order in pre-revolutionary Russia begins. According to the official documents of the imperial family, preserved to this day. Catherine II considered the quivering attitude of her son to the Order as a funny child's play, but since the future emperor met at the reception with Anna Petrovna, he began to carry a secret meaning. Now the Order of St. Anne meant as much to him as to the founder of the Order of Karl Friedrich.

Copies of the Order, received state status

According to the preserved correspondence between Empress Catherine II and the tutor of Paul I, a special imperial decree was created, according to which Paul I had the legal right to award in his name this order to any nobleman who distinguished himself with special valor.

But for the recalcitrant emperor this was clearly not enough, and he decided secretly from a formidable mother who did not consider the Order of St. Anna as a worthy reward, to create many small copies in order to informally inform their subjects. They were supposed to be worn on the hilt of a sword so that if necessary, it could easily be hidden from prying eyes, and in case of an armed collision, cover it with a hand.

The refusal of the German principality

In 1773 Catherine II completely refuses all the rights, privileges and titles that the Holstein throne provided her and her heirs. Since that time, the Order of the 1st degree is no longer awarded to the heirs of the imperial dynasty, but since Paul I remained the official Grandmaster of the Order, he had the official right to reward them at his own will.

Coronation of Paul the First

The coronation of Paul I fell on November 12, 1797. On this day, he officially ascends to the throne, and pre-revolutionary Russia receives in his history a new emperor, one of the first decrees of which is the erection of the Order of St. Anna is in the rank of state awards and dividing it into 3 basic degrees. Now the copies of the Order, which were made in the youth of the emperor, received legal status and belonged to the third degree.

Initially, it was assumed that the rulers of Russia will award this order only officers. The appearance of the Order directly depended on the degree to which he treated. Its dimensions, depending on the degree, ranged from 3.5 cm to 5.2 cm.

1. Order of St. Anne of the 1st degree - encrusted with diamonds. To wear this kind of order relied on a wide red ribbon with yellow stripes running along the edges. They had him at the same time as a silver star. And the star had to be thrown over the right shoulder, and the order through the left. On a gold background there was an eight-pointed star, in the center of which was placed a red cross. The motto of the Order of Amantibus Justitiam Pietatem Fidem was derived from its circumference by Latin letters, therefore, it can be concluded from the translation that they were rewarded with faithful and pious people.

Red coloring of the cross was achieved by covering the enamel in the environment of a thin golden fringe. In the center of the cross there was an image of the Duchess Anna on a white rosette full-length. It was also surrounded by a golden rim. On the reverse side of the order was the monogram of the Duchess, executed with the help of enamel blue. Above the obverse image of Anna, two angels hovered, holding the imperial crown.

In 1829, diamond inserts remained only on awards awarded to foreign citizens, and since 1874 the image of the imperial crown on the orders of the first degrees was canceled.

2. Order of St. Anna of the 2nd degree - inlaid with rock crystal. Wearing was necessary on the neck, fastened to a narrow ribbon. Mostly it was awarded to people who did not accept the Christian faith, and merchants. However, on this order the image of Anna was replaced by a two-headed eagle. On the reverse of the order, made of azure color, the abbreviation of the motto of the Order of AIPF is depicted, the purpose of which was to remind the awarded that the countess was the daughter of Peter I. The silver star did not rely on it.

3. The Order of St. Anne of the 3rd degree is the most common variant. It was supposed to be worn on the hilt of a sword. It was a small circle, inside of which was an enamel cross in a ring of the same material, both of which were made in a bright red color.

13 years after the official recognition as a state award, the rules of wearing were changed. Now it was necessary to pin her to the bow, the color of which should immediately indicate, belongs to the awarded to the military or civilians. According to the decree of 1847, the Order of the 3rd degree was decided to award officials who served at least 12 years in one position no lower than 13th grade. Since that time, the order actually began to rely as a reward for long service.

4. The Order of St. Anne 4 degrees - was founded by the son of Paul I - Emperor Alexander I. This degree was awarded only to military officers. The order was supposed to be worn on weapons, which is used in the form of troops, where the awardee serves.

Among the subjects of the Russian Emperor Alexander I, the Order of the 4th degree was called "Cranberry". The thing is that its size did not exceed 2.5 cm and was exactly the same color as this berry. If an officer who was previously awarded the Order of the 4th degree was awarded a higher reward, they were to be worn simultaneously.

The name of the Order of the 4th degree was changed exactly 1 year after the rule of wearing the Order of the 3rd degree was changed. Now he was supposed to add an obligatory prefix "For Bravery".

Award History

Since 1857, the emperor issued a decree in which the military officers were to be awarded not only the Order, where the image of the Duchess Anna was replaced by two crossed swords, but also a bow of bright red color, thanks to which the national insight was once again confirmed, Anyone seen with such a reward, for the eyes called "Knight of the Order of Cranberries."

The awarding of the Cranberry Orders was carried out until the revolution of 1917 , when all the awards of the tsarist empire were officially abolished by the new government.

The order of decorating the 1st and 2nd degree with precious stones was significantly changed, although this innovation did not affect the award of foreign subjects.

Modernization of the Order

At the end of the XIX century, the order of awarding the Order of the third degree also changed. Already from 1847, in order to be assigned to the award, it was required to serve in the army or as an official for at least 8 years. In addition, the appearance of the Order of the third degree has also changed. Since 1855, 2 crossed swords have been added to it.

Until the middle of the XIX century, each person, assigned to the award, received in addition certain benefits for the Order. So, in addition to any degree of the order, noble rank was also supposed, however, because of the high prevalence of the awardees, this rule was changed, leaving the receipt of the title of patrimonial nobility only for people awarded the Order of the 1st degree. The rest received a solemn noble title, which did not pass to heirs.

In the event that the awards were awarded to merchants or persons who did not accept Christianity, they became honorary citizens of the Russian Empire, without receiving the noble rank.

The most famous personalities awarded with the Order:

• General lieutenant Vasily Ivanovich Suvorov - awarded Elizaveta Petrovna.
• Generalissimo Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov - received the Holstein Order of St. Anne.
• Kutuzov, who received the Order of St. Anna as her first award in 1789.

Lifetime Achievement Award

The insignia of St. Anna, or Anninsky medal, was founded in 1796 by Paul 1 and was a gilded medal, in the center of which was a red cross. She was awarded military, whose service exceeded 20 years.

In addition to the award, a monetary reward was also supposed, the amount of which directly depended on merit and status, rewarded and could reach 100 rubles.

Order 3 or 4 degrees without a bow and monetary encouragement were awarded to non-commissioned officers whose length of service was more than 10 years.

Awards of the Russian Empire

• The Order of St. Andrew was founded by Peter I in 1698. They were rewarded for their courage and loyalty to their homeland and emperor. According to legend, Peter the Great, who returned from a trip to England, wanted to have an order in Russia like what he had seen.
• The Order of Liberation was founded by Peter the Great in 1713. During the lifetime of Peter I this order was received from the hands of the emperor only by his wife, Ekaterina Alekseevna. A memorable event occurred on November 24, 1714.

Later, they were awarded wives of prominent Russian figures for useful public activities. Originally was conceived as a reward for the worthy conduct of the imperial wife during the unsuccessful Prussian campaign in 1711.

According to the legend, after the Russian troops were surrounded by Turks, Catherine donated her jewels to bribe the Turkish commander, thanks to which the troops managed to achieve peace and return to their homeland. Eyewitnesses of this event did not confirm the transfer of jewelry as a bribe, but the worthy behavior of the pregnant Empress was noted by all the military. The Order had 2 degrees, differing in various decorations with precious stones. The first degree was encrusted with diamonds, and the second - rock crystal.

• Order of Alexander Nevsky - was founded by Catherine I in 1725. It was intended for rewarding of average state ranks. For the first time the awarding of this order was made on the day of the wedding of Peter I at Catherine I. The award was given to 18 people.
• Military Order of St. George - was founded by Catherine II in 1769. Awarded to soldiers who showed special courage in the course of hostilities. Had four degrees of difference.
• The Order of Prince Vladimir was founded by Catherine II in 1782. Employees of middle ranks and officers were rewarded. The number of awarded was not limited to anything. It was produced in four different degrees.
• The Order of St. Anna and the Maltese Cross - founded by Paul I and his son Alexander I, who supplemented the Order of St. Anna's 4th degree in 1797. Military and civilians were awarded, equally distinguished before the emperor. There was an order of the Maltese cross, when Napoleon, who had captured Egypt and directly Malta, invited Emperor Paul I to take the rank of Grand Master of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.
• Order of the White Eagle, the Order of St. Stanislaus and the Order of Virtuti Militari - established by Nicholas I in 1831. These orders were part of the Russian orders after Poland joined Russia. He was awarded Polish soldiers for the courage shown in battle. Moreover, the awarding of these orders could be made only within five years from the date of the end of hostilities.
• Order of Princess Olga - founded by Nicholas II in 1913. Women were awarded for their civil service. To award this order could either the emperor himself, or a person in whose hands had a special emperor's letter.

In conclusion of this article, I would like to once again emphasize the invaluable contribution of the ruling dynasty of pre-revolutionary Russia to the creation of a modern state, the whole history of its formation up to the revolution of 1917 can be traced by the orders received by the most outstanding personalities of that time.