The Cross of Saint George (russian: Георгиевский крест, Georgiyevskiy krest) is a

state decoration A state decoration is an object, such as a medal or the insignia of an order, that is awarded by a sovereign state to honor the recipient. The term includes: *Civil awards and decorations *Military awards and decorations See also * State order ...

of the

Russian Federation Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

. It was initially established by Imperial Russia where it was officially known as the Decoration of the Military Order of Saint George between 1807 and 1913. The Cross of Saint George was reinstated into the Russian awards system in 1992.

History 1807–1917

Established in the February 1807 decree of

Emperor Alexander I Alexander I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first King of Congress Poland from 1815, and the Grand Duke of Finland from 1809 to his death. He was the eldest son of Emperor Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg. The son of Gra ...

, it was intended as a reward for "undaunted courage" by the lower ranks (soldiers, sailors and NCOs) of the military. Article four of the decree ordered the decoration to hang from the same ribbon as the

Order of Saint George The Order of Saint George (russian: Орден Святого Георгия, Orden Svyatogo Georgiya) is the highest military decoration of the Russian Federation. Originally established on 26 November 1769 Julian (7 December 1769 Gregorian) a ...

. There was only a single class with no restriction as to the number of awards per person. The first soldier to be awarded the Cross of Saint George was a cavalry non-commissioned officer named Yegor Ivanovich Mitrokhin. He received the award for distinction in the battle against the French at Friedland on 2 June 1807. Numbering of the crosses on the reverse began in January 1809, conversely, a register of the awards was also started that same year. By this time, approximately 10,000 crosses had already been awarded. By the beginning of the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

, 16,833 crosses had been produced by the mint. Statistics of awards over the first years is detailed below: * 1812: 6,783 awarded * 1813: 8,611 awarded * 1814: 9,345 awarded * 1815: 3,983 awarded * 1816: 2,682 awarded * 1817: 659 awarded * 1818: 328 awarded * 1819: 189 awarded An 1856

royal decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used for ...

divided the decoration into four classes. A person initially received the fourth class and would subsequently be promoted to higher classes for further acts of bravery; one who received all four classes was called a "Full Cavalier of Saint George". The first and second classes were made of gold, the third and fourth were made of silver. The numbering on the reverse began anew for each class of the decoration. A 1913 royal decree officialized the name "Cross of Saint George" and the numbering began anew. In 1915, due to war shortages, the first and second class decorations were made of lower grade gold (60 percent gold, 39.5 percent silver, 0.5 percent copper). The third and fourth class decorations were produced in the same 99 percent silver. There were 26,950 first class crosses (No. 5531 to No. 32,840) and 52,900 second class crosses (No. 65,030 to No. 12,131) produced in low-grade gold. Approximate number of St. George Crosses awarded from 1914 to 1917: * 1st class: 33,000 * 2nd class: 65,000 * 3rd class: 289,000 * 4th class: 1.2 million Russian Expeditionary Force in France

"1M" was used in the serial number to indicate the number one million. On 10 September 1916, the Highest Council of Ministers approved a change to the St George Cross removing the gold and silver from its making. They began to mint crosses made of "yellow metal" (JM) and of "white metal" (BM). The crosses first and second class, made of yellow metal had the letters "JM" (Russian "ЖМ") above the serial number, the crosses second and third class, made of white metal had the letters "BM" (Russian "БМ") above the serial number. The number of crosses produced for each class in "JM" and "BM": * 1st class JM 10,000: No. 32,481 to No. 42,480 * 2nd class JM 20,000: No. 65,031 to No. 85,030 * 3rd class MB 49,500: No. 289,151 to No. 338,650 * 4th class MB 89,000: No. 1,210,151 to No. 1,299,150 In 1917, the

Provisional Government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, or a transitional government, is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition generally in the cases of a newly formed state or ...

changed the statute of the cross allowing its award to junior officers. When awarded as such, a silver laurel branch device was affixed to the ribbon. The Cross of St. George was abolished after the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, the

Order of Glory Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

nominally replaced it during the Soviet Era.

1992 reinstatement

August 2008, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev with a junior sergeant just decorated with the Cross of Saint George 4th class for distinction in battle in the 2008 South Ossetia war Following dissolution of the Soviet Union, the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Cross of St George was reinstated by Decision of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Federation № 2557-I of March 20, 1992. Its award criteria were amended twice, first on August 8, 2000 by Presidential Decree 1463 and most recently by Presidential Decree 1099 of 7 September 2010. The Cross of Saint George is awarded to soldiers, sailors, sergeants, petty officers, warrant officers and junior officers for deeds and distinction in battle in defence of the Fatherland, as well as for deeds and distinction in battle on the territory of other states while maintaining or restoring international peace and security with recognized instances of courage, dedication and military skill. Awarded sequentially in four classes from the fourth to the first for subsequent acts of courage. The first post reinstatement award ceremony took place in August 2008 to soldiers who displayed courage and heroism during the armed conflict in South Ossetia. On that day, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev decorated 11 soldiers and sergeants with the Cross of Saint George, fourth class, for courage and heroism displayed in the performance of military duties. A further 263 servicemen were decorated with the Cross of Saint George for distinction displayed in the Georgia operation. List of the 11 initial recipients in August 2008: * Adushkin, Sergei Ravilyevich, junior sergeant * Alekseev, Sergey Alexandrovich, junior sergeant * Bazhenov, Taras Germanovich, private * Kelohsaev, Atsamaz Tamerlanovich, junior sergeant * Krupchatnikov, Alexander Dmitrievich, private * Mustafin, Farid Ravkatovich, private * Nurgaliyev, Nail Ravilyevich, private * Polushkin, Sergei Nikolaevich, junior sergeant * Revin, Nikolai Dmitrievich, private * Suvorov, Dmitry Alexandrovich, private * Yunusov, Rustam Abdukadirovich, junior sergeant

Award description

The modern Cross of Saint George is virtually identical to the imperial variant. It is a 34mm wide

cross pattée A cross pattée, cross patty or cross paty, also known as a cross formy or cross formée (french: croix pattée, german: Tatzenkreuz), is a type of Christian cross with arms that are narrow at the centre, and often flared in a curve or straight ...

worn on the left side of the chest with other medals, the

obverse Obverse and its opposite, reverse, refer to the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags, seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, ...

has a central medallion bearing the right facing image of

Saint George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldie ...

on horseback slaying the dragon. The reverse of the central medallion bears the Cyrillic monogram of the Order of Saint George "SG" (Russian: «СГ»). The reverse of the two lateral arms of the cross bear the serial number of the award, the left arm having an embossed letter "N" at its left extremity. The class of the cross is embossed on the reverse of the lower arm, "1-я степ" for the first class, "2-я степ" for the second class, "3-я степ" for the third class and "4-я степ" for the fourth class. The crosses first and second class are made of gilt silver, the crosses third and fourth class are made of silver. All four crosses hang from the standard Russian pentagonal mount covered with an overlapping 24mm wide silk moiré

ribbon of Saint George The ribbon of Saint George (also known as Saint George's ribbon, the Georgian ribbon; russian: Георгиевская ленточка, Georgiyevskaya lentochka; and the Guards ribbon in Soviet context: see Terminology for further information) ...

. A bow made of the same ribbon is affixed to the crosses first and third class to distinguish them from the second and fourth class awards. When the cross is not worn, a ribbon bar is worn on the uniform. The ribbon bar is 8mm high by 24mm wide, it bears a 7mm high golden metallic Roman numeral denoting the class of the award. File:GK_1.png, Cross of St. George 1st class File:GK_2.png, Cross of St. George 2nd class File:GK_3.png, Cross of St. George 3rd class File:GK_4.png, Cross of St. George 4th class File:RUS Georgievsky Krest 1st BAR.svg, Ribbon bar for the Cross of St. George 1st class File:RUS Georgievsky Krest 2st BAR.svg, Ribbon bar for the Cross of St. George 2nd class File:RUS Georgievsky Krest 3st BAR.svg, Ribbon bar for the Cross of St. George 3rd class File:RUS Georgievsky Krest 4st BAR.svg, Ribbon bar for the Cross of St. George 4th class

References

External links

The Commission on State Awards to the President of the Russian Federation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cross of Saint George Military awards and decorations of Russia Courage awards Awards established in 1992 1831 establishments in the Russian Empire Orders, decorations, and medals of the Russian Empire Saint George (martyr)