George Cross. The history of one award

St. George's cross - a legendary award, established by the Emperor Alexander I in 1807. He was called then differently - the Badge of the Military Order. And only in 1913 another name was fixed - the St. George cross. The Order in the times of the Russian Empire awarded the lower ranks for bravery, which, as we know, was held by a great power. The important role of the manager is not worth talking about - the wisdom of the rulers is always a guarantee of stability and prosperity of the state. However, without the support of faithful servants, any most thoughtful political design collapses like a house of cards.

The Soldier's Cross for the first time was handed to Yegor Mitrokhin, an officer of the Cavalry Regiment. In the battles of the Prussian town of Friedland in 1809, the nobleman distinguished himself by courage in carrying out the assignment. Soldiers' medals in those days there was a great variety. However, the Order of St. George was a reward, which was awarded for certain heroic deeds, the list of which was regulated in a special document - the Status - and only the officer. However, in history there were exceptions - sometimes the Decembrists and generals were awarded with a cross.

The badge of the order gave his possessor privileges - getting rid of the physical Employment and surplus salaries. The increased salary remained for life, and after the death of the gentleman, the widows received it, however, throughout the year. The numbering was minted on the crosses, which allowed keeping records of St. George knights.

In 1856, the awards were approved, the delivery of which was carried out in 4 stages. St. George's cross of the 1st and 2nd degrees was made of pure gold, the 3rd and 4th were cast from silver. Rewarding was carried out from the lowest level. The Order of the 1st degree, like the 3rd, was worn on a ribbon decorated with a bow. In the period of the First World "St. George" there were about a million.

In Soviet times, the award was not legalized by the government. However, no one prevented servicemen of the First World from carrying the order illegally. In times of Second World War most of the older people were mobilized, but the "Georgians" were always and everywhere treated with respect. In 1944, Professor Anoshchenko sent a letter to Stalin asking for legalization of the oldest award. SNK even issued a relevant draft resolution on the issue, which, however, did not come to fruition. An alternative award in those days was the Order of Glory.

In 1992, the decision of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation, the St. George Cross received its "resurrection". Until 2008, the Order was awarded for deeds committed in combat with an external enemy. However, the peacekeeping operation in Georgia forced the government to reconsider the situation. Since 2008, the St. George cross was also awarded for exploits committed in the territories of other states, if the fighting is aimed at restoring international peace and maintaining security.

Data on all the awardees are kept in the RGVIA, but some of the documents were not included in the archive due to the events of 1917.