State Ladies or Statsdame at the Russian Imperial Court were the second largest group of court ladies, after

maids of honour A maid of honour is a junior attendant of a queen in royal households. The position was and is junior to the lady-in-waiting. The equivalent title and office has historically been used in most European royal courts. Tudors and Stuarts Traditi ...

. This position was officially established during the reign of

Paul I Paul I may refer to: *Paul of Samosata (200–275), Bishop of Antioch *Paul I of Constantinople (died c. 350), Archbishop of Constantinople *Pope Paul I (700–767) *Paul I Šubić of Bribir (c. 1245–1312), Ban of Croatia and Lord of Bosnia *Paul ...

, at the coronation of his wife Maria Feodorovna. Before that women simply carried portraits of the empress. As a general rule of thumb, most of the ladies of state were also cavalry ladies, women awarded with the

Order of Saint Catherine The Imperial Order of Saint Catherine () was an award of Imperial Russia. Instituted on 24 November 1714 by Peter the Great on the occasion of his marriage to Catherine I of Russia. For the majority of the time of Imperial Russia, it was the onl ...

, given to them for their philanthropy or charity at court. When appointed to the position, the women were bestowed with a portrait of the Empress with a crown set in diamonds, similar to the maid of honour

cipher In cryptography, a cipher (or cypher) is an algorithm for performing encryption or decryption—a series of well-defined steps that can be followed as a procedure. An alternative, less common term is ''encipherment''. To encipher or encode i ...

. In 1870 and 1871, the

Russkaya Starina ''Russkaia Starina'' (, , ) was a Russian history journal published monthly in St. Petersburg by amateur historian Mikhail Semevsky and his successors between 1870 and 1916. Its authors included Ivan Zabelin, Dmitry Ilovaysky, Nikolai Karlovi ...

magazine published an extensive list of State Ladies, compiled by Pavel Fedorovich Karabanov.

State Ladies of Empress
Catherine Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and Catherina, other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Ch ...
(until 1725)

State Ladies of Empress
Catherine I Catherine I Alekseyevna Mikhailova (born Marta Samuilovna Skavronskaya; – ) was the second wife and Empress consort of Peter the Great, whom she succeeded as Emperor of all the Russias, Empress of Russia, ruling from 1725 until her death in 1 ...
(1725–1727)

State Ladies of Empress
Anna Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna of East Anglia, King (died c.654) * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th c ...
I (1741–1761)

State Ladies of Empress
Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

State Ladies of Empress
Catherine II Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter III ...

State Ladies of Empress
Maria Feodorovna (Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg) Maria Feodorovna (; Sophie Marie Dorothea Auguste Luise; 25 October 1759 – 5 November 1828 S 24 October became Empress of Russia as the second wife of Emperor Paul I. She founded the Office of the Institutions of Empress Maria. Daughter o ...
(1796–1801)

State Ladies of Empress Elizabeth Alexeievna (1801–1825)

State Ladies of Empress
Alexandra Feodorovna (Charlotte of Prussia) Alexandra Feodorovna ( rus, Алекса́ндра Фёдоровна, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandrə ˈfjɵdərəvnə), born Princess Charlotte of Prussia (13 July 1798 – 1 November 1860), was Empress of Russia as the wife of Emperor Nicholas I (). ...

State Ladies of Empress Maria Alexandrovna

State Ladies of
Maria Feodorovna (Dagmar of Denmark) Maria Feodorovna (; 26 November 1847 – 13 October 1928), known before her marriage as Princess Dagmar of Denmark, was Empress of Russia from 1881 to 1894 as the wife of Emperor Alexander III. She was the fourth child and second daughter of ...
(1881–1894)

State Ladies of Empress
Alexandra Feodorovna (Alix of Hesse) Alexandra Feodorovna (, born Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine; 6 June 1872 – 17 July 1918) was the last Empress of Russia as the consort of Tsar Nicholas II from their marriage on until his forced abdication on . A granddaughter of Quee ...
(1894–1917)

Reference section

{{reflist

Literature

* Address-calendar. The general list of commanding and other officials in all departments of the Russian Empire. St. Petersburg, 1831–1916 * The court of Russian emperors in its past and present // Comp. N. E. Volkov. In 4 parts. – St. Petersburg, 1900. – S. 208–230. * P. F. Karabanov. Ladies of state and ladies-in-waiting of the Russian court in the 18th century // Russian antiquity. – 1870. – Volume 2. – S. 468–498. * P. F. Karabanov. Ladies of state and ladies-in-waiting of the Russian court in the 18th century // Russian antiquity. – 1871. – Volume 3. – S. 39–48; 272–282; 457–460. * Commemorative book for 1869. – St. Petersburg: Court Printing House. – S. 279. * Court calendar. St. Petersburg, 1879–1889, 1895, 1897, 1903, 1911, 1915, 1916 Russia history-related lists State Ladies from the Russian Empire

State Ladies of Empress Catherine Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and Catherina, other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Ch ... (until 1725)

State Ladies of Empress Catherine I Catherine I Alekseyevna Mikhailova (born Marta Samuilovna Skavronskaya; – ) was the second wife and Empress consort of Peter the Great, whom she succeeded as Emperor of all the Russias, Empress of Russia, ruling from 1725 until her death in 1 ... (1725–1727)

State Ladies of Empress Anna Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna of East Anglia, King (died c.654) * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th c ... I (1741–1761)

State Ladies of Empress Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

State Ladies of Empress Catherine II Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter III ...