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Badge of the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky (1820 - 30)

On August 30, 1724, the remains of Alexander Nevsky were transported from Vladimir to St. Petersburg and interred in the monastery, which has since been called “Alexander Nevsky Lavra”. It was founded by Peter I in 1710 on the left bank of the Neva, on the site where almost half a millennium before, on July 15, 1240, the troops under the leadership of Prince Alexander utterly defeated the Swedes. For this battle, Alexander, who distinguished himself personally in it, received the honorary nickname “Nevsky”, and in 1380 he was canonized by the church. By the beginning of the 18th century, a forest surrounded by swamps grew on the former battlefield. Having decided to found a monastery here, on a sacred place for Russians, Peter ordered to cut down the forest and drain the swamps. The remains of Prince Alexander were transferred here in 1724. At the same time, or somewhat earlier, the emperor conceived to establish a new order named after Alexander Nevsky to be awarded exclusively for military merits. But at the very beginning of 1725, Peter died, never having time to carry out his intention. The first awards were made during the reign of his wife, Empress Catherine I. The reason for them was the marriage of the daughter of Peter and Catherine, Princess Anna, with the Duke of Schleswiggolstein Karl-Friedrich on May 21, 1725. Among the eighteen people who became holders of the newly established Russian order on that day, there were not only military, but also civilians. Thus, Peter’s intention to institute a purely military decoration was not fulfilled. Among those who received the order were four courtiers of the Duke of Holstein, who arrived with him for the wedding in St. Petersburg.

Badge of the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky 1865 with black enamel.

Another civilian who received this award was Princess Anna’s chief chamberlain S. K. Naryshkin. The rest of the cavaliers had the ranks of the Russian army or navy: Lieutenant-General (Lieutenant-General) GI Bonn, PP Lassi (Passy) and the equal rank of Kriegskommissar General – IM Golovin; Major General – G.P. Chernyshev, M. Ya. Volkov, A. P. Ushakov, I. I. Dmitriev-Mamonov, G. D. Yusupov, S. A. Saltykov, A. M. Devier. Three had naval ranks: vice-admirals A. I. Sivers and M. Kh. Zmaevich and shautbenakht (counter-admiral) N. A. Senyavin. Among the first to be awarded was Ivan Likharev, the only cavalier for the entire existence of the Order of Alexander Nevsky, who had the rank of brigadier (according to the Table of Ranks, placed between the colonel and major general).

Badge in the form of a cross to the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky. Front (left) and back sides of the badge.

The next to receive the order on June 30, 1725 was Lieutenant General M.A.Matyushkin, an associate of Peter. Not long before that, he distinguished himself in the Persian campaign, especially during the capture of Baku in 1723, for which the emperor granted him the rank of lieutenant general. Left in the newly conquered provinces as the commander of all Russian troops, he received the insignia of the Order of Alexander Nevsky sent from St. Petersburg.

Star to the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky

Quite a long line of favorites of Catherine II, each of whom tried to use the empress’s favor to obtain various benefits not only for themselves, but also for relatives and friends. A.G. Orlov with his brothers, G.A.Potemkin with relatives, Platon Zubov with his brother – this is not a complete list of people who joined the lists of holders of the Order of Alexander Nevsky at this time.

Star of the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky with swords

In the reign of Paul, about eighty more Alexander cavaliers were added. On April 5, 1797, the emperor approved the “Establishment for Russian Orders”. According to this provision, only four orders remained in Russia – in the order of seniority: St. Andrew the First-Called, St. Catherine, St. Alexander Nevsky and St. Annas – united by Paul “into a single Russian Cavalry Order or Order, which different names are not differently understood to have as different of this class.” The “statute” for the four orders, developed under Paul, became the basis of their statutes and remained unchanged until the end of the empire.

Star of the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky.

Star of the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky.

Badge of the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky with diamond jewelry from the office of His Imperial Majesty.

Star of the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky.

Each order received its own order church in St. Petersburg. The Order of Alexander Nevsky considered their cathedral church in the Trinity Alexander Nevsky Monastery, where the remains of Prince Alexander were buried. Initially, on the Order Day (aka St. Alexander Nevsky Day) on August 30 every year a procession was to move from the Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, accompanied by the junior knights of the Alexander Order. Later, Pavel moved the celebration of Alexander Nevsky Day to Gatchina. In Pavlov’s time, a special commission of six holders of the Order of Alexander Nevsky was established, which was supposed to oversee the “shelters for the poor”, disabled homes and schools sponsored by the order. The funds for the maintenance of these institutions consisted of contributions of 200 rubles, which were made to the order treasury by each of the newly granted gentlemen. Since the reign of Alexander I, half of the sums of income from the lands intended for the “commanding” of senior gentlemen went to charitable purposes. Almost all the innovations of this time were preserved in the future, throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries. There are only a few changes.

Star of the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky.

Each order received its own order church in St. Petersburg. The Order of Alexander Nevsky considered their cathedral church in the Trinity Alexander Nevsky Monastery, where the remains of Prince Alexander were buried. Initially, on the Order Day (aka St. Alexander Nevsky Day) on August 30 every year a procession was to move from the Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, accompanied by the junior knights of the Alexander Order. Later, Pavel moved the celebration of Alexander Nevsky Day to Gatchina. In Pavlov’s time, a special commission of six holders of the Order of Alexander Nevsky was established, which was supposed to oversee the “shelters for the poor”, disabled homes and schools sponsored by the order. The funds for the maintenance of these institutions consisted of contributions of 200 rubles, which were made to the order treasury by each of the newly granted gentlemen. Since the reign of Alexander I, half of the sums of income from the lands intended for the “commanding” of senior gentlemen went to charitable purposes. Almost all the innovations of this time were preserved in the future, throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries. There are only a few changes.

Order of Alexander Nevsky (USSR)

Each order received its own order church in St. Petersburg. The Order of Alexander Nevsky considered their cathedral church in the Trinity Alexander Nevsky Monastery, where the remains of Prince Alexander were buried. Initially, on the Order Day (aka St. Alexander Nevsky Day) on August 30 every year a procession was to move from the Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, accompanied by the junior knights of the Alexander Order. Later, Pavel moved the celebration of Alexander Nevsky Day to Gatchina. In Pavlov’s time, a special commission of six holders of the Order of Alexander Nevsky was established, which was supposed to oversee the “shelters for the poor”, disabled homes and schools sponsored by the order. The funds for the maintenance of these institutions consisted of contributions of 200 rubles, which were made to the order treasury by each of the newly granted gentlemen. Since the reign of Alexander I, half of the sums of income from the lands intended for the “commanding” of senior gentlemen went to charitable purposes. Almost all the innovations of this time were preserved in the future, throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries. There are only a few changes.

The Order of Alexander Nevsky is a state award of the Russian Federation. (since 2010)

June 1, 2020 marks the 295th anniversary of the establishment of the Order of Alexander Nevsky. The Order of Alexander Nevsky is the only award that existed (with certain changes) in the award systems of the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation.

On June 1 (old style, May 21), 1725, by the will of Peter I, Empress Catherine I established the Order of the Holy Great Prince Alexander Nevsky, which became the third Russian order after the Order of St. Andrew and the women’s order of the Great Martyr Catherine. Prince-military leader Alexander Nevsky led the struggle of the Russian people against the German and Swedish conquerors. He defeated the Swedish troops in the Battle of the Neva in 1240, for which he was nicknamed Nevsky. In 1242, he defeated the German knights in the Battle of the Ice.

A far-sighted politician and skillful diplomat Alexander Nevsky directed diplomatic and military efforts to prevent the ruinous raids of the Mongol-Tatars on Russia and to prevent it from being drawn into conflict with the Golden Horde. The Russian Orthodox Church canonized. In 1724, Peter I founded a monastery in St. Petersburg in honor of the blessed prince (now the Alexander Nevsky Lavra) and ordered to transport his relics there. He also decided to commemorate the memory of Alexander Nevsky on August 30 (according to the new style on September 12), on the day of the conclusion of the victorious Peace of Nystad with Sweden.

The Order of St. Alexander Nevsky was also conceived by Peter I as an exclusively military award, but during his lifetime the emperor did not have time to fulfill his intention.

The first awards were made in connection with the marriage of the daughter of Peter I and Catherine I, princess Anna Petrovna, with the Duke of Schleswig-Holstein Karl-Friedrich. Among the 18 people who became holders of the newly established Russian order on that day, there were not only military, but also civilians. Thus, the Order of Alexander Nevsky became an award for both military service and government service. In total, under Catherine I, the Order of Alexander Nevsky was issued to 63 persons (not counting the Empress herself).

Before the reign of Catherine II, about 300 people were awarded the Order of Alexander Nevsky. Empress Catherine II awarded another 250 orders. Among the awardees – Major General Alexander Suvorov, General of Infantry Mikhail Kutuzov, General of Cavalry Nikolai Raevsky, Vice Admiral Fyodor Ushakov; Privy Councilor, renowned historian and collector of ancient manuscripts Alexei Musin-Pushkin.

Under Paul I in 1797, the order received an official statute and description. The order consisted of a cross sign and a silver star. The cross of the order was covered with red enamel on the obverse and reverse sides. On the front side in the middle of the cross there was an image of St. Alexander Nevsky on a horse, and between the ends of the cross there were two-headed eagles under the imperial crown. On the reverse side, in a white field, is his monogram with a princely crown. The medal silver eight-pointed star in the center had a rosette with the SA monogram under the princely crown.

The order cross was worn on a red moire ribbon worn over the left shoulder, and a star was worn on the left side of the chest. He never had an order chain. If the gentleman also had the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called, then the Order of Alexander Nevsky was worn on a ribbon around his neck.

The Order of Alexander Nevsky was not divided into degrees, but the rules for its presentation became more complicated over time. It could be awarded for civil merit without swords, for military merit, swords were added to the sign and star (from 1855), then the signs could be decorated with diamonds (which meant its highest degree), and diamond swords were also relied on diamond signs. The motto of the Order “For Labor and the Fatherland” at a later time was placed on the star (around the circle on a red background in gold letters). The order was awarded to both Russian and foreign subjects. Since 1844, when the order was awarded to persons of non-Christian faith, instead of the image of Alexander Nevsky and his monogram, the imperial Russian eagle was depicted on the sign.

In the 1860s, according to the then fashion, the badge of the order was often covered with black enamel.

In total, during the existence of the order, about three thousand awards were made, the most generous award was distributed in 1916 (105 awards). As a state award, the Order of Alexander Nevsky was abolished in 1917.

In the USSR, the Order of Alexander Nevsky was established during the Great Patriotic War on July 29, 1942, simultaneously with the Orders of Suvorov and Kutuzov to award the commanding staff of the Red Army.

The badge of the Soviet Order of Alexander Nevsky is a convex five-pointed star covered with ruby-red enamel against the background of a ten-pointed regular figure, on the surface of which there are diverging polished rays. In the middle of the star is a round shield with a relief image of Alexander Nevsky and an inscription around the circumference “Alexander Nevsky”. The shield is bordered with a gilded laurel wreath, the lower ends of which are covered with a figured shield with a gilded image of a hammer and sickle on it. On pho

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