Order of St. Andrew

Order of St. Andrew the Apostle the First Called
Awarded by  Russian Federation
Type	Military and Civilian Order
Eligibility	Prominent State and Public Figures
Awarded for	Oustanding Service to the State
Status	Active
Statistics
Established	1698 and 1998
Precedence
Next (lower)	Order of St. George
Ribbon of the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle the First Called

The Order of St. Andrew the Apostle the First-Called (Russian: Орден Святого апостола Андрея Первозванного) was the first and the highest order of chivalry of the Russian Empire. Abolished under the USSR, it was re established as the top Russian Order in 1998.

Russian Empire

The "Jewel" (Badge) of the Imperial Order of St. Andrew, obverse (left) and reverse (right)

Origins

The Order was established in 1698 by Tsar Peter the Great, in honour of Saint Andrew, the first apostle of Jesus and patron saint of Russia. It was bestowed in a single class and was only awarded for the most outstanding civilian or military merit.

Peter learned this from his travels in the West during the Great Embassy. In the past, service to the Russian state was rewarded with money or large estates. He witnessed first hand the awards ceremonies for England's Order of the Garter and Austria's Order of the Golden Fleece and noticed the loyalty and pride of the awardees. It also saved the state land and money.

Count Fyodor Golovin was the first recipient of the order. Until its abolition following the Russian Revolution of 1917, just over one thousand awards had been made. During the monarchy, recipients of the Order of St. Andrew also automatically received the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky, the Order of the White Eagle, the Order of St. Anne first class, and the Order St. Stanislaus first class. Moreover, recipients of lower ranks were automatically promoted to the rank of lieutenant general or vice admiral.

Award Design

Rules for wearing the Order of St Andrew. Collar at left reserved for special occasions

The insignia of the order consisted of:

• Badge: an enamelled crowned black double-headed eagle bearing a blue St. Andrew's Cross (saltire) with St. Andrew crucified upon it; on the arms of the saltire were the Latin letters 'SAPR' ('St. Andrew, Protector of Russia'). It was worn on a pale blue sash over the left shoulder, or on special occasions on an elaborate 'collar' (chain).

• Star: eight-pointed silver star bearing a miniature of the badge on a golden background at the centre, surrounded by the motto "For Faith and Loyalty" (Russian: Za Veru i Vernost) on a blue ring. It was worn on the left chest.

The insignia of order could be awarded "with diamonds" as a special distinction. Saint Andrew's Cathedral in Saint Petersburg was the chapter church of this order of chivalry.

Recipients (partial list)

• 

  Count Feodor Golovin

• 

  Tsar Peter the Great

• 

  General Alexander Suvorov

• 

  Prince Dmitry Golitsyn

Russian Federation

Modern Order of St Andrew the Apostle

An order with the same name but with different insignia and statutes was first unofficially re-established by the Orthodox Church of Russia on December 27, 1988. The order was officially re-instated as the highest Russian civilian and military award by Presidential Decree 757 on June 1, 1998.^[1] The Order's award criteria were modified by Presidential Decree 1099 of September 7, 2010.^[2]

Statute of the Order

The Order of St. Andrew the Apostle the First-Called is awarded to prominent statesmen and public figures, eminent representatives of science, culture, the arts and various industries for exceptional services, for promoting the prosperity, grandeur and glory of Russia.^[3]

The Order may also be awarded to foreign heads of states for outstanding service to the Russian Federation.^[3]

Unlike the original Imperial institution, the modern Order does not have special robes nor strict rules regulating its wearing. The collar,the sash and the star of the Imperial Order were only worn with uniform or full evening dress; the insignia are nowadays worn on lounge suit and at least one recipient was seen wearing the order dressed in lounge suit without a tie,something that would be unheard of during the Imperial era. The collar of the original Order was worn across the shoulders; modern recipients tend to wear it as a chain around the neck.

Award Design

The design of the Order of St. Andrew has changed very little from the imperial design. It consists of a badge (double headed eagle) attached to a chain (called collar) worn around the neck for very special circumstances, or more commonly on a 100mm wide blue sash worn over the right shoulder, and of a star worn on the left breast. The colour of the sash is different from the colour of the Imperial era and resembles the shade of the sash of the British Order of the Garter. For the military division of the Order, crossed swords are added below the crown above the two eagles' heads. On the reverse of the eagle on a white ribbon is the motto of the Order inscribed in gold letters «За веру и верность» («For faith and loyalty»).^[3]

Recipients (partial list)

Among the recipients of the Order after its re-establishment were:^[4]

• 

  Author Daniil Granin

• 

  Gun designer Mikhail Kalashnikov

• 

  Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev

• 

  Mikhail Gorbachev, last general secretary of the CPSU

• 

  Valery Shumakov, founding father of organ transplants in Russia

References

See also

• Awards and decorations of the Russian Federation

External links

• The Commission on State Awards to the President of the Russian Federation
• Order of St Andrew ARCHONS of the Ecumenical Patriarch