Russian Order of Saint Anne
The Imperial Russian Order of Saint Anne ( Russian Орденъ Святой Анны / Orden Swjatoi Anny ) was originally a house order and order of merit of the Holstein-Gottorp dynasty , which was incorporated into the Russian order system .
history
The order was donated on February 14, 1735 by Duke Karl Friedrich von Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp zu Kiel . The order was in memory of the deceased Zaritza Anna thought and in honor of his own wife, Anna Petrovna, daughter of Peter I founded. Originally the order had only one class and was allowed to have a maximum of 15 members. The childless Empress Elisabeth I appointed the future Peter III in 1743 . , the son of the above couple, to the Tsarevich , so that the Grand Master of the Order of Anna moved to Russia , while the Order remained in Schleswig-Holstein. During the reign of Catherine II , the order had no national affiliation at all, as Peter III. renounced the ducal dignity of Holstein in favor of another line of the sex, but as a house order it was awarded in not insignificant amounts by Tsarevich Paul ( Paul I ). In 1797 the Order of Anna was added to the Russian system as a three-class Order of Merit by Paul I. The third class was purely a war merit order and was only worn as a miniature on the pommel. In 1815, Emperor Alexander I created a fourth class of the order, which was worn on the pommel of the sword, so that the third class was given the character of a breast decoration.
insignia
The insignia of the Order of Anna was a red enameled paw cross with a golden border (from 1828, until this year the order kept its Holstein look with colored red glass instead of enamel). In the middle shield of the obverse was the enamel painting of Saint Anne with a cross in her hand, in the lapel the central medallion showed the entwined name code of the saint. Golden flames rose from the corners of the Order's Cross. From 1828 the order could be awarded with a crown (only 1st and 2nd class); it was an enameled Russian imperial crown that hung over the cross. In 1874 the crown was abolished and swords were introduced at the same time. The golden swords were placed under the flames in the corners of the cross. The Order of Anna 1st and 2nd class could also be awarded with diamonds. Non-Christians received the order with the tsar's eagle instead of the saint figure in the medallion in the middle of the cross.
The ribbon was red with simple yellow stripes on both sides. The grand cross was carried on a sash from the left shoulder to the right hip, the 1st and 2nd grade star on the right chest.
The silver breast star of the order was eight-pointed, in the middle medallion it had the order cross, which was surrounded by a ribbon with the abbreviated original motto of the order "Amantibus Iustitiam, Pietatem, Fidem" (for example: those who love justice, piety and faith ). For decorations with a crown, it sat above the center medallion, for those with swords the crossed swords were placed under the center medallion.
Simultaneously with the adoption of the Order of Anna in the Russian system, Paul I donated the "Decoration of Honor of Saint Anne " ("Знакъ отличия св. Анны"), a small gold-plated medal with the order cross in its center and the award number in the lapel, which is for non-commissioned officers and soldiers for 20 years of service.
The medal and badge of honor have not been awarded since the October Revolution .
literature
- Gustav Adolph Ackermann: Order book of all in Europe flourishing and extinct orders and decorations. Rudolph & Dieterici, Annaberg 1855, pp. 97-98 .
- Arnhard Graf Klenau: European medals from 1700. Catalog. Without Germany. Klenau, Fridingen 1978, ISBN 3-921566-05-3 .
- Иван Г. Спасский: Иностранные и русский ордена до 1917 года. Государственный Эрмитаж, Ленинград 1963.
