Imperial Origins

On the saint day of St. George, November 26, 1769 (according to the Russian Empire’s Julian calendar), Ekaterina issued an order establishing the ‘Military order of the St. George the Victorious’ for Russian officers. A gold square cross with expanded points with a small, enameled portrait of St. George at its center, the medal accompanying election to the order was meant to be hung on a ‘silk ribbon with three black and two yellow stripes’.

With four levels of award, the Order of St. George was given only for exceptional military valor and victory, becoming the highest military order and medal given in the Russian Empire. From the first recipient of the Order of St. George, first degree, Peter Rumiantsev, to the collapse of the Romanov dynasty in 1917, a total of 25 first degree medals were awarded. Prominent recipients included Mikhail Kutuzov, Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly, and Ivan Paskevich.

Towards the end of the Imperial period, the Order of St. George was expanded to include a simpler version of the award and medal for enlisted soldiers, while the ribbon’s yellow stripes were replaced with the orange that remains today.