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Order of chivalry in the Russian Empire
Portrait of the first Russian Minister of Finance, Alexei Vasiliyev, wearing the sash and badge of the Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky
The Imperial Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky was an
order of chivalry of the
Russian Empire first awarded on 1 June [
O.S. 21 May] 1725 by Empress
Catherine I of Russia .
[1]
History
The introduction of the Imperial Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky was envisioned by Emperor
Peter I of Russia (r. 1682–1721) for rewarding military bravery in battle. However, he died before he could create the order. It was established by Empress
Catherine I of Russia , in memory of the deeds of
Saint Alexander Nevsky , patron Saint of the Russian capital of
Saint Petersburg , for defending Russia against foreign invaders. The order was originally awarded to distinguished Russian citizens who had served their country with honor, mostly through political or military service.
[2]
It was first awarded on the occasion of the wedding of
Grand Duchess Anna Petrovna of Russia and
Charles Frederick, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp in 1725. A dozen guests received the reward, and the order quickly fell far behind the
Order of Saint Andrew and the
Order of Saint Catherine in prestige.
[2]
[1]
The Empress Catherine complained about the situation and by September 1725, she took it upon herself to determine who would receive the award. The Order of Saint Alexander was granted the highest esteem and was not usually bestowed upon people below the rank of Lieutenant-General or an equal political status. It also granted hereditary nobility. Additionally it was, including Polish King
Augustus II the Strong and King
Frederick IV of Denmark–Norway
[1]
Legacy
The Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky was abolished after the 1917
Russian Revolution , along with all other orders and titles of the Russian Empire.
In 1942, the
Soviet Union revived the order as a purely
military decoration and renamed it the more secular
Order of Alexander Nevsky , and the
Russian Federation revived it in 2010.
The heads of the Russian Imperial House in exile have continued to award the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky.
Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna , a pretender to the Russian throne and to the headship of the Russian Imperial House, continues to award a Russian Imperial Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky as a dynastic order of knighthood.
[3] These actions are disputed by some members of the Romanov family.
[4]
In 2010, researchers in Saint Petersburg and Moscow published a book of all the names of the recipients of the original order. The combined number of honorees spanning the years 1725 to 1917 totaled 3,674.
[5]
Insignia Order St Alexander Nevsky
Cross version, edition 1820–1830 (front)
version issued in 1865 in gold on black enamel
Staer version from silver-thread embroidery on white leather, edition ca 1840
Recipients
Abbas II of Egypt
Adam Olsufiev
Count Nikolay Adlerberg
Duke Adolf Friedrich of Mecklenburg
Afonso, Prince of Beira
Ahmad Shah Qajar
Albert I of Belgium
Prince Albert of Prussia (1809–1872)
Prince Albert of Saxe-Altenburg
Archduke Albrecht, Duke of Teschen
Albert, Prince Consort
Yevgeni Ivanovich Alekseyev
Alexander I of Russia
Alexander II of Russia
Alexander III of Russia
Alexander Kurakin (1697)
Alexander Nikolaevich Golitsyn
Duke Alexander of Oldenburg
Duke Alexander of Württemberg (1771–1833)
Alexei Nikolaevich, Tsarevich of Russia
Alfred, 2nd Prince of Montenuovo
Ippolit Andreev
Ivane Andronikashvili
Fyodor Apraksin
Prince Arisugawa Takehito
Prince Arisugawa Taruhito
Prince August, Duke of Dalarna
Prince August of Württemberg
Prince Augustus of Prussia
Theodor Avellan
Karl Gustav von Baggovut
Pyotr Bagration
Pyotr Romanovich Bagration
Alexander Barclay de Tolly-Weymarn
Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly
Joachim Otto von Bassewitz
Vasili Bebutov
Constantine Esperovich Beloselsky-Belozersky
Alexander von Benckendorff (diplomat)
Andrew Bertie
Aleksei Birilev
Otto von Bismarck
Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher
Georgy Bobrikov
Nikolai Bobyr
Julius von Bose
Nikolai von Bunge
Prince Carl, Duke of Västergötland
Carlos I of Portugal
Charles X
Charles XIII
Charles XV
Zakhar Chernyshev
Piotr Grigoryevich Chernyshev
Christian IX of Denmark
Andrzej Ciechanowiecki
Mikhail Pavlovich Danilov
Nikolay Ivanovich Demidov
Porfirio Díaz
Hans Karl von Diebitsch
Dmitry Dashkov
Dmitry Petrovich Dokhturov
Vasily Dolgorukov-Krymsky
Mikhail Drozdovsky
Fyodor Dubasov
Adam Duncan, 1st Viscount Duncan
Alexander Alexandrovich Dushkevich
Andrei Eberhardt
Edward VII
Johann Martin von Elmpt
Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Vladimir Etush
Archduke Eugen of Austria
Aleksei Evert
Ferdinand I of Bulgaria
Ferdinand II of Portugal
Ferdinand VII of Spain
Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Francis IV, Duke of Modena
Franz Joseph I of Austria
Archduke Franz Karl of Austria
Frederick VI of Denmark
Frederick VII of Denmark
Frederick VIII of Denmark
Frederick I, Grand Duke of Baden
Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany
Frederick William III of Prussia
Prince Frederick of the Netherlands
Frederick Charles Louis, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck
Archduke Friedrich, Duke of Teschen
Ivan Fullon
Prince Fushimi Sadanaru
Ivan Ganetsky
Ivan Gannibal
Gavriil Gagarin
George IV
George V
George Mikhailovich Romanov
Aleksandr Gerngross
Alexander von Güldenstubbe
August Neidhardt von Gneisenau
Dmitry Mikhailovich Golitsyn the Elder
Dmitry Mikhailovich Golitsyn the Younger
Colmar Freiherr von der Goltz
Nikolay Gondatti
Gregory IV of Antioch
Oskar Gripenberg
Curtis Guild Jr.
Wladyslaw Gurowski
Gustaf V
Gustaf VI Adolf
Gustav, Prince of Vasa
Haakon VII of Norway
John Maurice Hauke
Lodewijk van Heiden
Prince Heinrich XV of Reuss-Plauen
Gregor von Helmersen
Prince Henry of Prussia (1781–1846)
Prince Hermann of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (1825–1901)
Gavriil Ignatyev
Illarion Illarionovich Vasilchikov
Alexander Imeretinsky
Ivan Cherkasov
Archduke John of Austria
Prince Johann of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg
John VI of Portugal
Joseph, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg
Kyprian Kandratovich
Prince Kan'in Kotohito
Karl Anton, Prince of Hohenzollern
Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg
Prince Karl Theodor of Bavaria
Alexander von Kaulbars
Paisi Kaysarov
Amanullah Khan
Mikhail Khilkov
Pyotr Kikin
Jan Hendrik van Kinsbergen
Hugo von Kirchbach
Prince Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa
Johann von Klenau
Hans von Koester
Prince Komatsu Akihito
Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich of Russia
Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich of Russia
Konstantin of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst
Johann Albrecht Korff
Apostol Kostanda
Wincenty Krasinski
Mikhail Krechetnikov
Alexey Kurakin
Boris Kurakin (1733)
Aleksey Kuropatkin
Mikhail Kutuzov
Sergey Stepanovich Lanskoy
Mikhail Lazarev
Leopold I of Belgium
Leopold II of Belgium
Leopold IV, Duke of Anhalt
Alexander Mikhailovich Lermontov
George Maximilianovich, 6th Duke of Leuchtenberg
Sergei Georgievich, 8th Duke of Leuchtenberg
Levan V Dadiani
Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse
Louis XVIII
Prince Louis of Battenberg
Friedrich von Löwis of Menar
Archduke Ludwig Viktor of Austria
Luís I of Portugal
Manuel II of Portugal
Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna of Russia
Mikhail Matyushkin
Duke William of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Duke Charles of Mecklenburg
Samad bey Mehmandarov
Emmanuel von Mensdorff-Pouilly
Klemens von Metternich
Feofil Egorovich Meyendorf
Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich of Russia
Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia
Miguel I of Portugal
Mikhail Volkonsky
Milan I of Serbia
Mikhail Miloradovich
Pavel Mishchenko
Mohammed Alim Khan
Alexander von Moller
Helmuth von Moltke the Elder
Nikolay Mordvinov (admiral)
Burkhard Christoph von Münnich
Mikhail Nikitich Muravyov
Valentin Musin-Pushkin
Ivan Nabokov
Napoleon III
Kamran Mirza Nayeb es-Saltaneh
Ivan Neplyuyev
Nicholas I of Russia
Nicholas II of Russia
Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich of Russia (1831–1891)
Arkady Nikanorovich Nishenkov
August Ludwig von Nostitz
Karl Nesselrode
Peter Obolyaninov
Alexey Fyodorovich Orlov
Oscar II
Fabian Gottlieb von der Osten-Sacken
Archduke Otto of Austria (1865–1906)
Gore Ouseley
Fyodor Palitzin
Duke Paul Frederick of Mecklenburg
Pavel Yaguzhinsky
Pedro V of Portugal
Duke Peter of Oldenburg
Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders
Konstanty Ludwik Plater
Mikhail Mikhailovich Pleshkov
Stanislaw August Poniatowski
Alexander Stepanovich Popov
Carlo Andrea Pozzo di Borgo
Yevfimiy Putyatin
Mohammad Shah Qajar
Mohammad Taqi Mirza Rokn ed-Dowleh
Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar
Naser al-Din Shah Qajar
Fyodor Radetsky
Evgeny Aleksandrovich Radkevich
Alexander Ragoza
Henri de Rigny
Roman Vorontsov
Christopher Roop
Rudolf, Prince of Liechtenstein
Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria
Adam Rzhevusky
Anton Yegorovich von Saltza
Alexander Samsonov
Johan Eberhard von Schantz
Sergei Sheydeman
Yakov Schkinsky
Alexei Senyavin
Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia
Ivan Shestakov
Georg von Stackelberg
Gustav Ernst von Stackelberg
Curt von Stedingk
Archduke Stephen of Austria (Palatine of Hungary)
Vladimir Sukhomlinov
Alexander Suvorov
Fyodor Ushakov
Peter Tekeli
Alfred von Tirpitz
Dmitry Troshchinsky
Erast Tsytovich
Prince Valdemar of Denmark
Sergei Vasilchikov
Georgy Vasmund
Nikita Villebois
Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia
Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich of Russia
Sava Vladislavich
Illarion Vorontsov-Dashkov
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Wilhelm II, German Emperor
William I of Württemberg
William I, German Emperor
William II of the Netherlands
William II of Württemberg
William IV
Duke William of Württemberg
Sergei Witte
Duke Eugen of Württemberg (1788–1857)
Sir James Wylie, 1st Baronet
Yamagata Aritomo
Aleksey Petrovich Yermolov
Prince Zaitao
Matija Zmajevic
Dmitry Zuyev
References