The reward system of Tsarist Russia was carefully thought out and regulated. It finally formed by the middle of the eighteenth century. Only immigrants from privileged estates were presented to the state awards of the Russian Empire: nobles, clergy and officials. One of the last in the register was included the order of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir. The establishment of this insignia was joyfully greeted by titular advisers and warrant officers, for whom no state awards had previously been provided.
Prince Vladimir the Red Sun, or Vladimir the Baptist, a descendant of the Rurikovich, a talented politician and commander, made an invaluable contribution to the unification of Russian lands and the creation of the Russian state. For his contribution to the spread of Christianity in Russia, the church awarded him the title "Equal-to-the-Apostles."
Statute of the Order
Empress Catherine the Second instituted a new award on September 22, 1782, in honor of the twentieth anniversary of the reign. According to the statute, military and civilian ranks became especially distinguished by the imperial order of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir. Like most Russian orders of the time, the order was established in four degrees. The first and second were called degrees of the Big, the third and fourth - of the Small Cross.
In the hierarchy of awards, the Order of Vladimir took an honorable second place, following the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called, established by Peter the Great in 1698.
The motto of the order was the words "Benefit, Honor and Glory", that is, precisely those qualities that have always been especially appreciated by the Russian people.
Empress Greek "project"
The design of the Order of Vladimir and the badge for it was developed by the honorary member of the Academy of Arts A. Lvov (1751-1803). The outline and color scheme of the badge for the order reflects in the drawing the "Greek project" of the empress. Catherine the Second dreamed of “liberating” the former Orthodox city of Constantinople and making it the capital of the new empire. The ruler of this empire, she saw her grandson Konstantin Pavlovich.
A. Lvov brilliantly reflected this plan of Catherine II in the badge for the order of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir. In Christian symbolism and heraldry, the east was depicted in gold, and the north in silver. And the form of the order in the form of a Byzantine cross was also not chosen by chance. When looking at the badge of the order, it immediately becomes clear who the Empress saw as the head of the union of two empires.
Description of the Order of St. Vladimir
The order is made of gold in the traditional design of nineteenth-century awards. It has the shape of an equilateral Byzantine cross, covered with red translucent enamel, with gold and black fringes along the contour. The obverse of the order shows the crown of the empire, under it is the monogram of St. Vladimir - the letters "C" and "B", in which the letter "B" is inscribed inside the letter "C" stylized in Old Slavonic script.
On the reverse there is a central medallion of black color with the date of foundation of the award minted in gold.
Included with the order were awarded the octagonal badge. In the center of it was a cross and the full monogram name of Prince Vladimir. A motto was minted around the cross in gold on a red background.
Initially, there were no differences between the orders, graciously granted for military feats or civic merits. Since 1855, a pair of crossed swords was added to the Order of Military Merit.
Orders of the first, second, third and fourth degrees differed in the diameter of the cross and the rules for wearing the order.
Since the size of the cross was not precisely determined in the Empress’s Decree on the establishment of the order, approximate parameters were followed in the manufacture of awards: I-st degree - 54 × 54 mm, II-nd degree - 51 × 51 mm, III-nd degree - 47 × 47 mm, IV degree - 37 × 37 mm.
Privileges for the Knights of the Order
Cavaliers of the Order of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir were also entitled to additional privileges. All of them were entitled to an annual pension. The first degree was awarded a pension in the amount of 600 rubles, the second - 300 rubles, the third - 150 and the fourth - 100 rubles.
Persons awarded the Order of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir of the first three degrees had the right to receive hereditary nobility.
Awarding persons of a different faith
To award non-Christians, orders and badges were made in which the image of the cross was replaced by the image of a two-headed eagle.
Rules for Wearing the Order
The Order of Vladimir was established in four degrees, and for each of them the rules of wearing were prescribed in the statute of the order.
Cavaliers of the order of the first degree were required to wear it on a moire tricolor ribbon over their right shoulder. The width of the tape was 10-12 cm, the stripes were of equal width, the central strip was red, and the extreme ones were black with a red border. The star of the order was supposed to be worn on the left side of the chest.
Cavaliers of the Order of the second degree wore a cross on a neck ribbon of the same colors and a star on the left side of the chest.
Cavaliers of the Order of the third degree wore a cross on a neck ribbon, of the fourth degree - in a buttonhole or on an order block.
Order of Vladimir: the history of the change of statute
The first change in the statute of the Order of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir was made in 1789. By the highest decree of the empress, a bow from the order ribbon was added to the order of the fourth degree for military merits.
Since 1855, the Order of St. Vladimir began to be awarded for the length of service. They differed from previously approved awards with an inscription on the horizontal rays of the cross. Civil ranks were entitled to an order for excellent service for thirty-five years. Officers who served in the ground forces for twenty-five years received a cross with a bow from a sash.
For the officers of the Navy, two types of orders of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir were established for their length of service. Eighteen naval campaigns were enough for officers who had been in at least one battle to get a cross with a bow. Officers who did not participate in the battles could receive a cross with a bow after twenty naval campaigns.
Since 1855, distinctions were introduced between orders for military and civilian ranks. Crossed swords were added to the Order of Merit. Since 1857, they also decorated badges to the crosses for military feats, bows from the sash were also relied on them. Civil servants who served in the theater of operations received a badge with crossed swords without a bow.