Odznak (medaile) řádu Svaté Anny

Badge ( medal ) of the Order of St. Anne .
Знак отличия ордена Святой Анны
Medal of the Order of St. Anne


After the palace coup in 1762, Catherine II, the wife of Peter III, became Tsarina and her son Paul became Grand Master of the Order of St Anne.


After the death of Catherine II, her son, as Paul I, becomes Tsar with all rights and duties and in the conferring of orders, he alone has the right to confer the highest orders and the Order of St. Anne becomes a high and prestigious distinction. Paul I, on the day of his coronation on 5 April 1797, also decided on the status of the Order of St. Anne and specified that the medal ( emblem ) of the Order of St. Anne, which had already been established on 12 November 1796, would be awarded for the recognition of lower ranks. Russian archival sources show that in 1797 a total of 6042 pieces of this medal were awarded.


Description of the medal :


The medal is circular with a diameter of 24 mm, made of gilded silver. On the front is a red enamelled cross of the Order surmounted by the Tsar's crown .
On the reverse side was the registration and serial number of the medal .


The medal was intended to recognize exemplary and impeccable service by non-commissioned officers and privates for at least twenty years of service with the unit. The recipient of the medal was also exempt from corporal punishment .


In 1800, during the reign of Tsar Paul I, this medal lost its exclusive significance, and in its place took the place of the " Donat" of the Order of Malta, but after the death of Tsar Paul, the medal of the Order of St. Anna again became a meritorious medal, which served to reward the exemplary service of soldiers of the Russian army .


By the Tsar's decree of 11 July 1864 it was decided to abolish the awarding of the medal only for years of service and the medal became a classic merit medal, where the award is always linked to a specific act of bravery and merit .


On 12 December 1888, at the request of the Minister of War, the medal was awarded to non-commissioned officers ( wachmeisters and feldwebels ), senior non-commissioned officers who served in rank and file units, squadrons and batteries .


As of 1806, the number of medals awarded is 45,893 pieces, and as of 1820 it is 94,207 pieces, and finally in 1831 the records show a total of 171,841 "Annen " medals awarded.


The medal was worn in the buttonhole of the uniform on the ribbon of the Order of St. Anne in case the person concerned was appointed to the rank of officer, he did not remove the medal but wore it also in that rank .


In 1844 a Tsarist decree specified the exact medal that could be awarded to non-Christians ( Muslims ) in this case the red jewel of the cross in the central part of the medal is replaced by a black enamelled crowned Tsarist eagle (see picture) .


The medal of the Order of St. Anne had its own statute or legal rules. Article 486, which dealt with, among other things, the course of service of soldiers in the lower ranks, states that a medal which is awarded for a specific meritorious act will be worn on the " St. Anne's " with a bow, i.e. so as to clearly distinguish when it is a decoration which is awarded for years of service and a decoration for merit .


Article 488 specifies the examples for which the medal may be awarded :
- for merit for the Imperial Household
- for commitment to the fight against serious crime
- for the protection of state secrets
- for service to the Fatherland, self-sacrifice, courage and valour in the face of the enemy


Article 491 also speaks of the possibility of awarding a sum of money to the honoured person, and as a rule not less than 10 rubles and not more than 50 rubles .


The medal was struck in silver, but after 1916, like almost all decorations, only in bronze .


Literature :
Д.И.Ретерс : Наградные медали России ХIХ - начала ХХ веков .Москва 1989