Order of Saint George (Russia)

wearing a cross of the Order of Saint George, conferred for his valiance in the Russo-Turkish War (1877–78) The current Order of Saint George is awarded to highest and senior military officers for the conduct of military operations to protect the Motherland from attack by an external enemy which resulted in the complete defeat of the enemy, for the execution of combat and other operations in other states aimed at restoring international peace and security, or for being a model of military science with feats that exemplify military prowess; the Order is also conferred upon officers who were previously awarded state awards of the Russian Federation for distinction in combat. == Description ==

The Order of Saint George is divided into four classes, from the First Class to the Fourth class; the highest degree being the Order First class. The four classes are awarded sequentially from the fourth to the first. These four classes are individually identified by the size and manner of wearing the two principal insignia of the Order, the cross and the star. Cross: A white enamelled cross pattée with a central medallion bearing the image of Saint George on horseback slaying the dragon. The cross measures 60 mm across in the case of the Order First Class and is worn on a sash in the colours of Saint George (orange and black). The same 60 mm cross is worn around the neck on a 45-mm-wide ribbon also in the colours of Saint George for the Order second class. The cross is 50 mm across for the Order third class and is also worn around the neck but from a 24-mm-wide ribbon in the same colours. The Order fourth class is a 40 mm cross worn on the left breast hanging from a pentagonal mount covered with a 24-mm-wide ribbon of Saint George. Star: A four-pointed silver gilt star with a gold central medallion bearing the cipher of Saint George "SG" topped by a crown and surrounded by a black enamelled band bearing the motto of the order "For Service and Bravery" ("Za Sluzhbu i Khrabrost"). The star is worn on the left breast for both the Order first and second classes. Ribbon: The ribbon of the Order of Saint George is orange with three black stripes, commonly called "George's Ribbon". It symbolises fire and gunpowder: the Russian colours of military glory, and is also thought to be derived from the colours of the original Russian imperial coat of arms (black eagle on a golden background). It was subsequently associated with the colors of the Russian and Soviet Guard units. Unlike the other classes, the Order of Saint George fourth class can be awarded to junior officers while the rest is for senior and flag officers. : The ribbon bar for the Order first class is adorned with a miniature golden star. : The ribbon bar for the Order second class is adorned with a miniature silver star. : The ribbon bar for the Order third class is adorned with a miniature white cross. : The ribbon bar for the Order fourth class has no device. == Recipients (partial list) ==

Recipients of the Order first class Twenty-four people were ever awarded The First class cross, one should be a King or win a war to receive it. The full list goes as follows in timeline order: • Catherine the Great • Pyotr Rumyantsev • Alexei Grigoryevich Orlov • Petr Ivanovich Panin • Vasily Dolgorukov-Krymsky • Grigory Potemkin • Alexander Suvorov • Mikhail Kutuzov • Vasily Chichagov • Nikolai Vasilyeich Repnin • Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly • King Charles XIV John of Sweden • Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher • Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg • Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington • Levin August von Bennigsen • Louis Antoine, Duke of Angoulême • Ivan Paskevich • Hans Karl von Diebitsch • Joseph Radetzky von Radetz • Alexander II of Russia • William I, German Emperor • Archduke Albrecht, Duke of Teschen • Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich of Russia • Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich of Russia • Recipients of the Order second class For The Second class one should win a Campaign. The first recipient was Lieutenant-General Plemyannikov for the Battle of Kagul, the last of 124 or 125, depending on sources, was either Nikolai Yudenich or Marshal of France Ferdinand Foch. • Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich of Russia (1856–1929) • Admiral of the Russian Empire Fyodor Ushakov • Generalissimus Russian Empire Suvorov Alexandr Vasilyevich • Field Marshal of the Russian Empire Mikhail Kutuzov • Field Marshal of the Russian Empire Barclay de Tolly • General of the Army Nikolay Yegorovich Makarov • Colonel General Alexander Zelin • General Alexei Brusilov • General Yevgeni Iskritsky • Vladimir Gittis, Imperial colonel and Red Army general • Colonel Lambros Katsonis, Greek 18th-century revolutionary • Colonel General Sergei Makarov • Aslan ibn Shahmardan, khan of the Gazikumukh (Kura) Khanate • 2nd Lieutenant Vladimir Kotlinsky, commander of the Osowiec Fortress during the Attack of the Dead Men • Marshall of the Soviet Union Georgy Zhukov (as a non-commissioned officer in the Imperial Russian Army in World War I) • Field Marshal Herbert Kitchener, Field Marshal of the British Army • Lieutenant Axel Gadolin, 1871 (later Lieutenant General) • Russian major Charles Osipovich Ode-de-Sion, 26 November 1826 (later major general). ==See also==