Order of St. George the Victorious. Knights of the Order of St. George the Victorious

Perhaps the most respected in the Russian army was the military order of the Holy Great Martyr and Victorious George. It was founded by Empress Catherine II at the end of November 1769. Then the day of the foundation of the Order was solemnly celebrated in St. Petersburg. From now on, he was to be celebrated every year, not only at the High Court, but also where the Cavalier of the Great Cross turns out to be. It should be noted that formally the Order of St. George was lower than Andreevsky, but for some reason the military leaders valued the first one.

Holy patron

On the establishment of a purely military award, Peter the First once said, but his idea, as is well known, was realized by Catherine II. The patron of the Order was Saint George. His life and exploits are described in numerous legends and legends, including a well-known legend about the liberation of a beautiful princess from a terrible and evil dragon or serpent. It is interesting that not only in Kievan Rus, but throughout Europe in the era of the Crusades, this saint was extremely revered by the military.

For the first time the image of St. George the Victorious appeared on the seal of the founder of Moscow, Prince Yuri Dolgoruky, as this great martyr was considered his patron. Later this image in the form of a rider, striking with his spear serpent, began to decorate the coat of arms of the Russian capital.

Reason for rewarding

It should be noted that initially the Order of St. George was intended exclusively for the hierarchical elite of the Russian Empire. Later, Catherine II decided to expand the circle of the persons awarded to him, so this honorary mark was divided into 4 degrees. He was given the motto "For Service and Courage". Subsequently, the Order of St. George the Victorious was awarded only for military services to the Fatherland officers who performed the feat, which brought great benefits and was crowned with complete success.

Description

These breastplates were different from each other. The Order of St. George the First-Degree of the Great Cross was a four-pointed gold star, made in the form of a diamond. It was attached to the left side of the chest. A cross of the 1st degree was worn on the same side, at the hip, on a special striped orange-black ribbon. She was worn over uniforms only on especially solemn occasions, and on weekdays she had to hide under the uniform, while the ends of the ribbon with the cross were let out with a special cut made from the side.

The sign of the Order of St. George of the 2nd degree is a cross that must have been worn around the neck, on a narrow ribbon. In addition, like the award of the previous degree, he had a four-pointed star. The Order of the 3rd class was a Small Cross, which was supposed to be worn around the neck. The award of the 4th degree was attached to the tape and to the buttonhole.

The golden star in the form of a diamond has in the middle a black hoop with the words "For Service and Courage" written on it, and inside it there is a yellow field with the image of a monogram named after St. George. To this order, an equilateral cross with an extension at the ends also relied. Its coating is white enamel, and at the edges - a gold rim. In the central medallion there is the coat of arms of Moscow: St. George the Victorious, sitting on a horse and striking with a serpent in silver lats, and on the back - a white field and the same monogram as on a star.

Reward of the first degree

The Order of the Holy Great Martyr and Victorious George was so honorable that throughout its existence the 1st degree marks were handed to only 25 people. The first knight, not counting Catherine II, was Field Marshal General P. Rumyantsev. He was awarded the Order in 1770 for victory in the battles of Larg. The last - the Grand Duke NN Elder in 1877 for the capture of Plevna and the defeat of the army of Osman Pasha. At the presentation of this award of the highest class, the lower one was no longer rewarded.

For the service to the Russian Empire, the Order of St. George the First-Degree was given not only to his own, but also to foreign citizens. Thus, the King of Sweden, Charles XIV, the former marshal of the Napoleonic army Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, the Field Marshal of Britain Wellington, the Prince of France Louis Angouleme, the Austrian Field Marshal Joseph Radetzky, the Emperor of Germany Wilhelm I and others received the honorary mark of the highest class in different years.

Order of the second degree

It was awarded to 125 people. The very first cavalier of this award was Lieutenant-General P. Plemyannikov in 1770, and the last - General of the French Army Ferdinand Foch in 1916 for success in the Verdun operation.

It is interesting that for all the time the First World Order of St. George the First Class was never awarded. But the second class of the award was able to deserve only four Russian servicemen. They were the Grand Duke NN Younger, who at that time held the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army, as well as the commanders of the fronts-the generals N. Ivanov, N. Ruzsky and N. Yudenich. The most famous was the last of them, who, after the 1917 revolution, led the white movement in the north-western part of Russia.

In the First World Yudenich fought against the Turkish army on the Caucasian front. His first order of St. George the Victorious of the 4th degree he earned during the Sarykamysh operation, which ended in January 1915. The general received the following awards for fighting the Turks: 3rd class - for defeating part of the enemy army, and 2 nd for taking Erzurum and Deve Beyn position.

By the way, N. Yudenich was the penultimate knight of this Order of the 2nd degree and the last awarded among the Russian citizens. As for the foreigners, the Georgievsky orders were awarded to only two people: the French General Joseph Geoffre and Ferdinand Foch, mentioned above.

Order of the third degree

This award was given to more than six hundred people. The first knight of this order was Lieutenant Colonel F. Fabrician in 1769. During the First World War, the third degree was awarded to 60 distinguished ones, among whom were such well-known generals as L. Kornilov, N. Yudenich, F. Keller, A. Kaledin, A. Denikin and N. Dukhonin.

During the Civil War, the Order of the Third Degree awarded the Order of the Third Degree to the feat of ten servicemen who distinguished themselves by fighting in the white movement against the army of the Bolsheviks. This is Admiral A. Kolchak, Major-General S. Wojciechowski and Lieutenant-General V. Kappel and G. Verzhbitsky.

Order of the fourth degree

The statistics of issuing this award are preserved only until 1813. During this period, 1195 people were awarded the Order of St. George the Victorious. According to various sources, it received more than 10.5-15 thousand officers. Mostly it was issued for a certain period of service in the army, and from 1833 and for participation in at least one of the battles. In another 22 years, the awarding of the Order of St. George Order of the 4th degree for the impeccable service was abolished altogether. The first cavalier to receive this sign was the Russian citizen, Prime Minister RL von Patkul, in 1770 for suppressing the Polish insurrection.

This military men's award was noted, in addition to Empress Catherine II, as the founder of the Order, and two women. The first of them is Maria-Sophia-Amalia, Queen of the Two Sicilies. She participated in the military campaign against Garibaldi and for her services she was awarded the Order of the 4th degree in 1861.

The second awarded woman was RM Ivanova. She served in the Russian army as a sister of mercy during the First World War. Her feat was that after the death of the entire command structure, the leadership of the company took over. She was awarded posthumously, because soon the woman died from the injuries.

In addition, Georgievsky Order of the 4th degree was also awarded to representatives of the military clergy. The first knight-priest was Vasily Vasilkovsky, awarded for personal courage shown in the battles of Maloyaroslavets and Vitebsk. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Order was awarded 17 more times, with the last award being in 1916.

Knights of the Order of St. George the Victorious

The first to receive this high award was Colonel FI Fabrician, who served in the 1st Grenadier Regiment. He distinguished himself during the assault on Galatz, which occurred in early December 1769. He was given an extraordinary third degree.

There were also full cavaliers of the Order of St. George the Victorious, who were awarded all four classes. These princes are MB Barclay de Tolly and MI Golinischev-Kutuzov-Smolensky and two counts-II Dibich-Zabalkansky and IF Paskevich-Erivansky. Among the honored with this distinction were the Russian autocrats. In addition to the Catherine II, which he founded, the data of the order of various degrees were kept by all subsequent emperors, with the exception of Paul I.

Privilege

It is worth noting that the awarded order of the Great Martyr George the Victorious gave his owners considerable rights and privileges. They were allowed not to make one-time payments to the treasury, as was customary in obtaining other high awards. They still had the right to carry a military uniform even if they did not serve the required ten-year term.

Cavaliers of any degree of these orders necessarily received hereditary nobility. From April 1849 all their names were brought to special marble plaques, which were hung out in the St. George Hall of the Kremlin Palace. In addition, in those educational institutions where the cavaliers used to study, their portraits should be posted in a place of honor.

Heroes also provided for life-long retirement benefits. The senior gentlemen of all degrees received from 150 to 1 thousand rubles a year. In addition, privileges extended to their widows: women could receive pensions of their deceased husbands for a whole year.