The historical value of insignia, no matter what era or an important event they belong to, will grow steadily over the years, as the number of collectors who choose medals, orders or all kinds of badges to collect is growing. Some private collections amaze even the wildest imagination with a list of exhibits - their total value can be in the hundreds of thousands and even millions of American money. Today we will consider one direction of collectors' interest - orders and medals from the time of Tsarist Russia.
Order of Merit
According to the annals the first orders of the Russian Empire appeared during the reign of Peter the Great - recognized by historians and political scientists of the entire world community of the reformer of Russia. But the time of the appearance of the very first domestic insignia can be safely attributed to the beginning of the second millennium. Historical documents dating back to 1100 mention the reward of the golden hryvnia of a certain Alexander Popovich for the reflection of the Polovtsy during the raid on Kiev. It was under Vladimir Monomakh, he awarded a massive gold hoop (gold hryvnia), which was worn around the neck, the future, as you might assume, hero of epic tales Alyosha Popovich.
The appearance of tsars in the Russian state changed centuries-old foundations, and the honoring of especially distinguished persons changed. In addition to land allotments, an increase in money allowance, raising to ranks, and an increase in rank, gifts were given to those who were worthy of pendants, rings, brooches, that could be worn on bare parts of the body or on clothes as a special difference from others.
The first orders of the Russian Empire
The appearance of the first full-fledged insignia, closely resembling those that were established in our century, historians, as already mentioned, are attributed to the reign of Peter the Great. The revered and today’s Order of St. Andrew the First-Called was established precisely by Peter in 1698. There is no exact date of its appearance, in some sources the 1699th is indicated. While traveling around Europe, Peter decided that it was time for the world to recognize the Order of the Russian Empire. A photo The Order of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called is today included in all historical catalogs.
The king’s patron saint was not chosen by chance. He explains the church tradition, which tells of the first Christian sermon of the Apostle Andrew on Russian soil. In 1720, the status of the award was registered, which explained that this insignia was founded for suppressing the ancient Scottish order - subjects of the emperor of Russia should follow Orthodox Christian traditions.
Cavaliers of the Order of St. Andrew
They could pretend to the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called from the military - the general from the cavalry or the general from the infantry. His first cavalier was Fedor Alekseevich Golovin - a diplomat, adviser to the emperor Peter, the first tsarist admiral who was Russian in origin, before him, foreigners who were in the service of the tsar were appointed admirals. The orders and medals of the Russian Empire in those days were generously distributed to foreigners. The Order of St. Andrew and the ribbon were received at different times by Napoleon I and his younger brother Jerome, Marshals Bertier and Murat, Prince Talleyrand and the Duke of Wellington.
But even under Peter, the second holder of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called was the hetman Ivan Mazepa - a rather significant person in Russian history. In total, during the reign of Peter the Great, about 40 people became cavaliers of the order, among them the tsar himself (he was the seventh holder of the order), as well as his faithful subject Alexander Menshikov.
During the reign of Paul I, the order of St. Andrew the First-Called began to favor clergymen. So, in 1796, the Metropolitan of Novgorod and St. Petersburg Gabriel received Andreev insignia.
The establishment of some Russian orders
Orders of the Russian Empire, a collection of which is striking in its beauty and grandeur, were established by all Russian tsars. Before the reign of Paul, who introduced not only some new awards, but also changed the rules for awarding the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called, much was done by Catherine the Great. On November 26, 1769, the highest order of the Holy Great Martyr and Victorious George was established by it. Only the highest officer ranks of the Russian army were vested with the right to wear it. He was awarded for military exploits: neither high origin, nor early merits to the Fatherland could serve as a reason for awarding the order - only fidelity to the oath, duty and honor, which brought glory to Russian weapons. He had an order of four degrees.
Another insignia, the highest order of the Russian Empire - “For Faith and Loyalty” - was founded by Peter himself in 1699 and had the status of the highest award. Both military ranks and civilians could become his gentlemen. He was awarded for particularly rare and revered occasions. The color of the tape was blue, the degree is only one. Signs of the order was a blue cross and an eight-pointed star. The cross was worn on a ribbon thrown over the right shoulder, a star - on the left side of the chest.
In the name and glory of the Russian Order
In 1725, the Order of Alexander Nevsky was founded. “The Russian Empire has something to be proud of,” said Peter the Great, who planned the establishment of the order. In 1710, he founded the Alexander Nevsky Monastery in St. Petersburg, where in 1742, on August 30, the relics of the saint were transferred. The award was created as a distinction for military merits and was awarded only to military ranks.
The Order of “Freedom” was also conceived by Peter to perpetuate the merits of Tsarina Catherine, the beloved wife of the Tsar, who saved the Tsar from captivity by the Princes in 1711. The order itself appeared in 1714 and was soon renamed the Order of St. Catherine the Great Martyr.
The sign in the name of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duke Vladimir in September 1782 was established by Empress Catherine the Second. That year, the 20th anniversary of her reign was celebrated, and Catherine herself became the first holder of the Order of the 1st degree.
Orders of the Russian Empire mainly appeared to commemorate some important event. So, the memory of Princess Olga was decided to perpetuate the order in later times. The year of its foundation is the 1913th. It was established by Nicholas II and marked the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty.
Order of the empire as a reflection of the statehood of the church
In Tsarist Russia, it was no coincidence that most of the awards were named after Orthodox saints. The indivisibility of the leadership of the state and the church was recognized by the parties and the population of the country at all times during the existence of the empire. Therefore, St. Olga was honored to commemorate the three hundredth anniversary of the tsar’s house, over which in 955 the sacrament of baptism was performed during her journey to Constantinople. Olga’s grandson, Vladimir Svyatoslavovich, after the legendary “test of faith” tried his best to instill true faith in his people and set his grandmother as a worthy example in everything. Princess Olga was canonized, despite all her transgressions and hardheartedness, precisely for the true carrying of the holy faith.
If you look at the entire list of awards established in imperial Russia, it becomes obvious that the rare award did not bear the name of one or another Orthodox saint. And the highest order of the Russian Empire was renamed not only because of Peter's love for his wife.
Anniversary and commemorative medals. Reasons for the appearance
All the insignia, among which were not so much the order as medals and badges, it is impossible to remember and list - there are thousands of them. Most appeared after memorable events of a political or military nature. If we talk about the ancestor of the imperial award collection, then many event medals were established with the light hand of Peter. Using them you can learn the history of the Russian state.
So, after the victory in the Battle of Poltava, at the Battle of Gangut, near Borodino, corresponding medals were issued to reward especially distinguished persons who participated in these military campaigns. The capture of Ishmael, the defense of Sevastopol, the defeat of Napoleon at Austerlitz, the passage of Suvorov through the Alps. All these are milestones of history, and the established orders and medals of the Russian Empire tell about each of them. It is important to note here that Russia is the first European power where not only the highest officer ranks were awarded with medals, but also ordinary soldiers.
Award Collecting: Originals and Copies
For the manufacture of imperial orders, precious stones and metals were required: gold, platinum, silver, which was previously valued an order of magnitude higher than in our time. They were produced by the Mint, the materials were kept with all severity. Of the stones, the diamond was especially popular; rubies, emeralds, turquoise were also in price. Needless to say, the originals and exact copies of the orders of the Russian Empire today have no price - besides museums, not every collector can possess such a rarity, and there are many of them around the world.
It's a shame that only a few can admire most of them, and everyone has the right to see this beauty with their own eyes. That is exactly what the founder of the Order of the Russian Empire AiF collection judged - the weekly most popular weekly in the Russian Federation and throughout the post-Soviet space. By that time, Arguments and Facts already had experience, and quite successful, in the production of magazine series with collections of orders.
Collections of the Argumenty i Fakty newspaper
Today, hundreds of Russians who honor the history of their Fatherland have already acquired illustrated magazines and exact copies of Soviet Union awards made by order of the weekly. They use samples of the highest insignia of a number of foreign states. The AiF Order of the Russian Empire collection was invented and created just a few years ago - in the spring of 2012, but has already managed to cause considerable stir in collection circles.
It represents 22 copies of orders that convey the exact detail of the originals, but, of course, made of simple metal, decorated with hot enamels. The set of orders includes magazines that describe in detail the history of the emergence of orders, the award itself, and also lists all the most prominent and outstanding cavaliers who have been awarded various marks of distinction in different years. In addition to the orders listed above, the collection includes the Badge and Star of the Order of Military Dignity, the Order of St. Anne, St. Stanislav, St. John of Jerusalem, St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, and some other awards. All of them, as was said, twenty-two.
Signs. Stars. The Order
Awarding orders meant not only the promotion of merit. No less valuable was the fact that the order served as a kind of additional advantage during promotion, and until 1826 possession of the order gave the right to receive hereditary nobility. True, then this privilege was left only to the holders of several highest awards.
The highest orders of the Russian Empire before the revolution totaled eight items, but some of them had several degrees. The distinctive signs were the Cross, Star and Ribbon. The Order in the form of a Cross was attached to the order ribbon worn over the shoulder, and was worn on it at hip level. A star of the same order was worn on the chest. A ribbon of a certain color had the same value as the Cross and the Star themselves. Thus, the highest order immediately had three distinctive signs, mostly they were worn simultaneously. Purely female awards, and there were such, possessed equally with men's all privileges relying on orders.
Museum exhibits - witnesses of the glory of the empire
The Russian Federation has many museums worthy of respect, which contain priceless exhibits reflecting the great glory of the Fatherland. In one of them - the museum-treasury "Armory" - the originals of the royal vestments, crowns, signs of imperial power are stored. In a way, this is no longer a museum, but a repository of objects of invaluable artistic and historical significance. The orders of the Russian Empire are worthy of just such a museum, but the originals of the tsar's awards are stored mainly in private collections.
Today, the only and most likely opportunity to purchase a real order from the time of Russian emperors is to attend all kinds of auctions, where originals quite often come across. But those wishing to purchase them should remember: it will cost a lot. For most of us, their exact copies, made by numerous jewelry workshops, are quite accessible. At production of copies alloys of non-ferrous metals, Swarovski crystals are used. The products have a very attractive artistic value and are in high demand among collectors.
The legacy of a great power, reflected today
As already mentioned, the signs of the Orders of the Russian Empire included order ribbons. All of them had a unique color for each award. Three of them, belonging to the orders of St. George, St. Andrew the First-Called, and St. Catherine (formerly the Order of Liberation), were destined for a special fate - to become symbols of our time.
The significance of the St. George ribbon is known to each of us - on the Day of the Great Victory over fascism, everything is pinned to her chest - from small to large. The blue Andreev ribbon and the red Catherine’s have their continuation. The original signs of the orders of the Russian Empire are familiar to us from infancy.
In the reign of Paul the First, the custom was introduced to assign the Grand Dukes at the baptism of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called - they tied them with a blue sash immediately after their designation. The Grand Duchesses also received orders and ribbons - red with a gold border - signs of the Order of St. Catherine. The highest dignitaries, wishing daughters the fate of the court ladies, introduced the custom of bandaging their baptized daughters with a red ribbon. The custom that has come down to our times is the best evidence of the greatness and significance of high imperial awards.