St. George flag: origin, history

For ships that showed special valor, performing combat missions, the Russian Navy had a special reward - the St. George flag, located at the stern. It represented the St. Andrew's flag, in the center was a heraldic red shield with St. George the Victorious, the canonical saint. Only two ships in the history of the fleet were honored to have this award for their courage and demonstrated skill - the ship Azov and the brig Mercury. No one else has received such a high award.

For which both ships received such a high award

The exploits of the sailors who served on ships were truly worthy of the St. George's flag: "Azov" distinguished himself in the Navarino battle, which for a long time led a simultaneous battle with five powerful ships of the enemy; "Mercury" won a brilliant victory in a duel with two ships of Turkey, which had a tenfold superiority in the number of guns. Both ships and their crews with their commanders, Lazarev Mikhail Petrovich and Kazarsky Alexander Ivanovich, respectively, covered themselves with glaring fame, and their exploits were very significant. But Georgievsky flags "Azov" and "Mercury" by inheritance passed to the successor ships, which were always prescribed to have in the Russian fleet - "Memory of Mercury" and "Memory of Azov".

St. George flag: history, what is

St. George's ribbon - a simple two-color ribbon to famous Russian awards - St. George's medal, St. George's cross and the Order of St. George. St. George ribbons were also worn by sailors on the cap, if they served in the crew of the vessel awarded the St. George flag. The ribbon was used as an element of the same banner and as an accessory of the standard and the banner. It was not used in any Soviet award until 1992, when the Orders of the St. George Cross and St. George were restored. Nevertheless, the tape was used in the former quality in the white armies at the St. George Awards, in the Russian Corps and became the prototype of the USSR awards ribbons - the medals "For Victory over Germany", the Order of Glory and the Guards Band. We also inform you about the characteristics of the flag of the St. George ribbon: its material is floss jersey (street), 115 g / m ² , 100% polyester, 35 mm pocket under the shaft, size 0.9 x 1.35 m.

History of combat symbols of the Russian fleet

Peter I in December 1699 established the St. Andrew's flag as the official Russian navy. The emperor explained his choice by saying that "from this apostle Russia has accepted holy baptism." The white cloth with Andrew's blue cross on the masts of Russian ships fluttered until 1917. Under it, sailing around the world, discovering new lands, several generations of sailors went into battle. Everyone knows from the history of the words of commanders of ships to the crews before any battle: "We have the St. Andrew's flag and God." From 1692 to 1712, Emperor Peter 1 personally painted eight projects of the flag, all of them consistently adopted in the fleet. The eighth, final version was described as follows by Peter 1: "White flag, across there is the Andreev cross, which he christened Russia." It was in this form that St. George's St. Andrew's flag lasted until November 1917 in the Russian Navy.

Evidence of the Russian origin of the Andreevsky (Georgievsky) flag

The proof can also be that Peter the First dedicated the first Russian order to the holy apostle - the patron of the Eastern Orthodox Church. This Order, St. Andrew the First-Called, as the highest award of the Russian state, was established by the Tsar in 1698 in order to reward the state service and military feats. It consisted of a cross of a golden, blue ribbon, an eight-pointed silver star and a chain of gold. In the center of the star, in its socket, there is a two-headed eagle, crowned with three crowns, on the eagle's breast - Andrew's blue cross. Therefore it is unlikely that the Russian emperor was referring to the traditions of Scotland, which long ago considers Andrei the Apostle to be his patron of heaven. Peter I, despite the anecdotes associated with his era, with his name, first of all worried about the greatness of the Russian power. Since 1819, the ships, who distinguished themselves in battle, began to assign the St. George flag.

More about the St. George flag

Its history begins in 1813. In the city of Kulym that summer, a detachment led by Count A. Osterman-Tolstoy became on the way to the corps of the Frenchman Marshal Vandam, and by this act he rescued the army of the allies that was moving away from Dresden. There was a hard fight. The Russians won. The detachment also had a naval guards crew, which was awarded the St. George's banner. But this did not affect the flags of the ships. This was corrected by Tsar Alexander I by decree of 05.06.1819. From now on, the Guards' crews began to differ in the St. George's pennants. In the spring of 1918, the lifting of the St. Andrew's flag on the ships of the Soviet Republic was stopped. In December 1924 it was done by the White Guards. On January 17, 1992, the Russian government decided to return to the St. Andrew's / Georgievsky flag the old status of the naval Russian flag. He was consecrated in St. Petersburg. 26.07.1992, the last time raised the flag of the USSR, fanned by the glory of the Great Patriotic War. Under the hymn of the Soviet Union, he was handed over to the commanders of ships for eternal storage. Then, under the anthem of the Russian Federation, the St. George flag was raised.