Orders and Medals of the Russian Empire
Page updated: Dec. 28, 2002






Order of St. Andrew the First-Called (1698)
Order of St. Catherine 1st Class (1714)





Order of St. Catherine 2nd Class (1714)
Order of St. Catherine 1st Class (ribbon since 1799)





Order of St. Catherine 2nd Class (ribbon since 1799)
Order of St. George 1st Class (1769)





Order of St. George 2nd Class (1769)
Order of St. George 3rd Class (1769)





Order of St. George 4th Class (1769)
Order of St. Vladimir 1st Class (1782)





Order of Alexander Nevsky (1725)
Order of the White Eagle (1705/1831)





Order of St. Vladimir 2nd Class (1782)
Order of St. Anne 1st Class (1735/1797)





Order of St. Stanislaus 1st Class (1764/1831)
Order of St. Vladimir 3rd Class (1782)





Order of St. Vladimir 4th Class (1782)
Order of St. Anne 2nd Class (1735/1797)





Order of St. Stanislaus 2nd Class (1764/1831)





Order of St. Anne 3rd Class (1735/1797)
Order of St. Stanislaus 3rd Class (1764/1831)
St. George Cross 1st - 4th Class (1807/1856) (g, g, s, s)
Medal for Valor 1st - 4th Class (1807/1878) (g, g, s, s)
St. Anne Honorary Decoration (1796) (s)





Commemorative M. of the Patriotic War 1812 (s)
Commemorative M. of the Patriotic War 1812 (b)
Capture of Paris 1814 (s)
Persian War 1826-28 (s)
Turkish War 1828-29 (s)





Capture of Warsaw 1831 (S, s)
Polish Honorary Decoration 1831
Capture of Akhulgo 1839 (s)
Suppression of Hungary and Transylvania 1849 (s)
Defense of Sevastopol 1854-55 (s)





Medal for the War 1853-1856 (lb)
Medal for the War 1853-1856 (lb)
Medal for the War 1853-1856 (db)
Medal for the War 1853-1856 (db)
Suppression of Chechenya and Dagestan 1859 (s)





West Caucasus 1859-64 (s)
Suppression of Polish Mutiny 1863-64 (lb, db)
Khiva Campaign 1873 (s)
Kokhanda Khanate 1875-76 (lb)
Russo-Turkish War 1877-78 (s, lb, db)





Liberation of the Bulgarians 1878 (b)
Capture of Geok-Tepe 1881 (s, lb)
Alexander III Coronation 1883 (db)
Mid-Asia Campaigns 1853-95 (s, lb)
First National Census 1896 (db)





Alexander III Reign Commemorative 1896 (s)
Nicholas I Reign Commemorative 1896 (s, b)
Nicholas II Coronation 1896 (s)
China Expedition 1900-01 (s,lb)
Battle of "Varyag" and "Koreyets" 1904 (s)





Admiral Rozhestvyesky Expedition 1904-05 (db)
Russo-Japanese War 1904-05 (lb, db)
Russo-Japanese War 1904-05 Red Cross Medal (s)
50th Anniversary of Defense of Sevastopol (1903) (s)





50th Anniversary of Defense of Sevastopol (1903) (lb)
200th Anniversary of the Battle of Poltava (1909) (lb)
100th Anniversary of the Patriotic War (1912) (lb)
100th Anniversary of the Battle of Leipzig (1913) (b)





300th Anniversary of the House of Romanoff (1913) (lb)
200th Anniversary of the See Battle of Gangut (1914) (lb)
Mobilisation Medal 1914 (lb)
Medal for Life Saving (1809/1828)
Medal for Zeal (20 years - operational service) (1801/1856)





Medal for Zeal (20 years - non-operational service) (1801/1856)
Medal for Zeal (10 years) (1801/1856)
Police Service M. (1876)
Prison Service M. (1887) (s)
Cross of Agricultural Merit (1913) (s)

Notes:
1. This is only a selection of the Russian Empire medals. Since the times of Peter I the Empire established over 150 different medals. Some of them were conferred to just a few individuals. The ones presented here are most popular ones.
2. In the Russian Empire there were no service ribbons and all orders and medals were worn always in full. Ribbons of the lower classes of orders and medals were folded pentagonally on metal suspenders.
3. Only few medals had specific ribbons. Most of them were worn on the ribbons of Russian orders. The same ribbon could be used for multiple medals. On the other hand one medal could be worn on different ribbons, depending on the type of merit or even the status of the recipient.
4. All tsarist orders and medals were abolished after the October revolution of 1917.

© Lukasz Gaszewski 2001