Order of St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olga

Year of foundation - 1914
Founder - Nicholas II
Status - ladies' order, the awarding of which is associated with military events
Ribbon color - white
Number of degrees - 3

Established on July 11, 1915 by Emperor Nicholas II to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the reign of the House of Romanov “in consideration of the merits of women in various fields of state and public service, as well as their exploits and labors for the benefit of their neighbors.” Intended exclusively for awarding females. Has three degrees.

Order insignia: Byzantine cross, covered with light blue enamel, white ribbon 2.22 cm wide.

Wearing rules:
I degree - gold Cross on a bow on the left shoulder;
II degree - silver Cross on a bow on the left shoulder;
III degree - a smaller silver Cross on a bow on the left shoulder.
Badges of lower degrees are not removed when a badge of the highest degree is awarded.

With the name of the Grand Duchess Olga of Kyiv, ruling in Ancient Rus' after the death of her husband, Prince Igor, during the regency of his young son Svyatoslav, significant transformations were associated, including the establishment of the size of the tribute and the establishment of graveyards: “Olga went to Novugorod and set up graveyards and tributes on Msta, and according to Luza, dues and tributes, and her traps are throughout the whole earth there are signs and places and graveyards." But without a doubt, her main step in life was her adoption of Christianity. In 955, during a trip to Constantinople, the sacrament of Orthodox baptism was performed on her: “Olga went to the Greeks and came to Tsaryugorod. And then the king was named Constantine ... and the king and the patriarch baptized me.” Having acquired the new Christian name Elena, in memory mother of Emperor Constantine the Great and having comprehended the rule of God, Princess Olga actively contributed to the spread of Christianity in Rus'. It is no coincidence that convened by the great prince of Kyiv Vladimir Svyatoslavich in 987, the council, after the legendary “test of faith,” spoke out for the adoption of Orthodoxy in Rus', referring to Princess Olga: “If the Greek law had been bad, then your grandmother Olga, who was the wisest of people, would not have accepted it.” Canonized Russian Orthodox Church Holy Equal to the Apostles Princess Olga became a true symbol of piety and wisdom.

Founded in 1907, the Society of St. Olga in January 1913, on the eve of the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the House of Romanov, proposed to establish an order bearing the name of the Old Russian princess. On February 21, 1913, a special paragraph of the Manifesto “On the Royal Favors to the Population” on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of the House of Romanov established a special Badge of Distinction “to reward the merits rendered by female persons in various fields of state and public service.” However, neither the name, nor the statute, nor the description of this phaleronym, new for that time, existed and was only remembered in connection with the outbreak of the First World War. In the fall of 1914, work began on developing a draft of its statute and drawing. One of them, proposed by the head of the Tsarskoye Selo Palace Administration, Major General Prince M.S. Putyatin, was approved on July 11, 1915 by Nicholas II: “Having now approved the Statute of Onago, We recognized for the good of assigning the name “Insignia of the Holy Equal to the Apostles Princess Olga” to the badge itself,” in memory of the first Russian Princess, who accepted the Light of the Christian faith and thereby laid the foundation for the holy work of the Baptism of Rus', completed under Her Grandson, Equal to the Apostles Prince Vladimir, We are firmly confident that Russian women will see in the newly granted Statute a sign of Our special attention to the labors of women. , raised for good and prosperity dear to my heart To our Fatherland."

The insignia of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olga had three degrees. The first degree was a gold cross of the Byzantine type, on the front side covered with light blue enamel, framed by a gold chased border. In the middle of the cross, in a round gold chased field, there was an image of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olga. On the reverse side of the cross there was an inscription in Slavic letters: “February 21st day, 1613-1913.” The second degree of the sign consisted of a silver cross with the same images as on the cross of the first degree, and the third degree - of the same silver cross as the second degree, but smaller in size and placed in a chased silver rim. All three grades of the insignia were to be worn on the left shoulder on a white ribbon bow. Moreover, the badges of lower degrees should not have been removed when awarding a badge of the highest degree.

According to the statute, the awarding of the St. Olga Insignia was to proceed sequentially, starting with the lowest degree, and the interval between awards was to be five years. It was also stipulated that the awarding of the Insignia of St. Olga was to be carried out at the direct discretion of “His Imperial Majesty, with the permission of the Sovereign Emperor, the Sovereign Empress or according to the Highest approved journals of the Committee on the service of officials of the civil department and on awards." Each person awarded the Insignia of St. Olga received signs and a special diploma from the Chapter of the Russian Imperial and Royal Orders. Awarding the Insignia of Saint Olga Olga was timed to coincide with April 23 - the name day of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna and November 14 - the birthday of the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna. The statute listed in detail “the types of merits for which the Insignia of St. Olga complains:
a) merits testifying to selfless devotion to the Church, the Throne, and the Fatherland;
b) feats of personal sacrifice associated with obvious danger to life;
c) serving the cause of helping others;
d) long-term and useful activities in public education, contributing to the religious and moral education of the people and the rise of their productive forces;
d) merits agriculture, handicrafts and other branches of national labor;
f) excellent service in state and public institutions, certified by the appropriate authorities and
g) outstanding activity in service to the sciences and arts." Those in state or public service were required to have at least 10 years of service in order to be awarded the third degree of the Insignia of St. Olga, the second degree - 20 years and the first - 30 years. The special eighth paragraph of the statute provided , that “The insignia of St. Olga can also be awarded to the mothers of heroes who performed feats worthy of perpetuation in the chronicles of the Fatherland.” It was on the basis of this point that on April 2, 1916, the first and only award of the Insignia of St. Olga took place in the “Highest Rescript.” , given to the then Minister of War D.S. Shuvaev, wrote: “Dmitry Savelyevich. In the current great war our army has shown an endless series of examples of high valor, fearlessness and heroic deeds of both entire units and individuals. My special attention was drawn to the heroic death of the three Panaev brothers, officers of the 12th Hussar Akhtyrsky General Denis Davydov, now Her Imperial Majesty Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna's regiment of captains Boris and Lev and staff captain Gury, who valiantly fell on the battlefield. The Panaev brothers, imbued with a deep consciousness of the holiness of this oath, dispassionately fulfilled their duty to the end and gave their lives for the Tsar and the Motherland. All three brothers were awarded the Order of St. George, 4th degree, and their death in open battle is an enviable lot for warriors who stood up to defend Me and the Fatherland. This correct understanding of their duty by the Panaev brothers is entirely attributed to their mother, who raised her sons in the spirit of selfless love for the Throne and Motherland. The consciousness that her children honestly and courageously fulfilled their duty will fill the mother’s heart with pride and help her to endure the test sent down from above. Recognizing that it is good to note the services to me and the Fatherland of the widow of Colonel Vera Nikolaevna Panaeva, who raised her sons as heroes, I commend her in accordance with Art. 8th Statute of the Insignia of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olga with this insignia of the 2nd degree and a lifelong annual pension of 3000 rubles." Thus, the Insignia of St. Olga worthily crowned the maternal feat of a wonderful Russian woman, and we remember the wisest of Russian wives, Blessed Olga, who “she was the forerunner of the Christian land... She shone like the moon in the night, and she shone among the pagans, like pearls in the mud... She was the first of the Russians to enter the kingdom of heaven, the sons of the Russians praise her - their leader.”



Medal named after an outstanding statesman, creator domestic fleet Peter I is an award of the Naval Assembly.

The Peter the Great Medal is awarded to military and civilian sailors, scientists, designers, engineers and shipbuilding workers who are citizens Russian Federation and those who contributed great contribution in the development of the fleet and navigation, who participated in combat operations at sea, made significant campaigns and voyages, and also took a significant part in the creation of naval equipment and were previously awarded one of the medals of the Maritime Assembly.

By decision of the Council of Elders, the medal named after Peter the Great can be awarded to individual citizens foreign countries, who made a significant contribution to the development of international cooperation in the field of study and development of the world ocean. The medal named after Peter I can be awarded annually to no more than 20 Russian citizens and 5 citizens of foreign countries. When awarded, along with the medal named after Peter I, a certificate of the established form is awarded. The medal is worn on the left side of the chest below all government awards and after the Order of Merit.

These Regulations were approved at a meeting of the Council of Elders (Minutes No. 6-96 of June 30, 1996).

Description of the medal of Peter I

The medal named after Peter I is made of silver with gilding, and is a round disk with a diameter of 30 mm and a thickness of 3 mm. On the front side of the medal there is a relief image of Peter I indicating the period of his life and the inscription “Peter I”. On the reverse side of the medal is the logo of the Maritime Assembly, and around the circumference is the inscription “St. Petersburg. Marine Assembly".

The medal is attached to a rectangular block 33 mm wide and 52 mm high using a round eyelet and a ring. The top of the block is covered with a blue silk moire ribbon, in the middle of which three narrow stripes of white, blue and red are placed vertically.

Kuznetsov A.A., Chepurnov N.I.

Russian award medals of the 18th century

Award coins of Peter I. 1701 PartI

By decree of 1700, Peter I introduced a new monetary system.

Very quickly the coin and medal business in Russia reaches a high artistic and technical level. On his trips abroad, Peter I studied with interest the technique of making medals; in London, Isaac Newton introduced him to medal production. Often Peter himself is engaged in “composing” medals, learning this from foreign masters, whom he invites to Russian service so that they not only prepare award medals for him, but also teach Russian masters their craft. The reform of the monetary system and military transformations became a noticeable part of the general changes that occurred in Russia in the first quarter XVIII century.

In 1701, when the first Peter's half coin, corresponding to the international exchange rate, began to be minted at the new Moscow Naval Mint in Kadashevskaya Sloboda, silver gilded kopecks, as awards, gave way to these prototypes of Russian soldier's medals. The weight of a half was equal to the weight of fifty of the above-mentioned kopecks and a Western European half-taler.

It was with these fifty rubles that the young Tsar Peter rewarded his soldiers for military actions until 1704 - before the advent of Peter the Great’s ruble. (The first Russian ruble of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich existed for a short time in 1654.) And already during the capture of Dorpat in 1704, as I. I. Golikov reports, the soldiers received “a silver ruble each,” the stamps for the minting of which were cut by Fyodor Alekseev.

On the obverse of the ruble there is a very youthful image of Peter I, “almost a youth,” despite the fact that at that time he was already thirty years old. The king is dressed in armor decorated with arabesques, he is without a traditional wreath and crown, with a lush head of curly hair. At half a piece - wearing a laurel wreath, but also without a crown and wearing a cloak over the armor.

On the reverse sides of both coins the Russian coat of arms is depicted - a double-headed eagle crowned with state crowns - around it the denomination of the coin and the year of its minting are indicated in Slavic numerals.

Peter's reward half-rubles and rubles are no different from his usual running coins of the same denomination. A hole punched in them or a tack left after the eye cannot serve as reliable evidence of their purpose as awards. The hole and soldered ears on them could also be intended for hanging them as decoration by the peoples of the Volga and Urals regions. The Chuvash and Mari, as a rule, had holes punched in their coins, while the Tatar and Bashkir peoples soldered an ear on them. The gilding on such coins also does not say anything about the award, since the gilding was often done for the “monist” by private village artisans.

In order to prevent the temptation, if necessary, to put such an award into circulation by soldiers and so that it can somehow be distinguished from ordinary half-rules and rubles, Peter personally points to the mint: “... and order all (medals) to have a battle on one side...”. But the tradition remained the same until Catherine’s time. The new “patrets” were minted like regular coins: without an eyelet for hanging on clothing. The recipients had to punch a hole themselves or solder a wire eyelet.

Subsequently, on medals dedicated to naval battles - “For the victory at Gangut”, “For the capture of four Swedish ships”, “For the Battle of Grengam”, the ears were soldered at the mint, “covering individual letters of the inscription”.

This is how the first real medals appeared for the soldiers who fought near Lesnaya and Poltava. But the awarding of Peter's rubles continued even after Battle of Poltava. They were still issued, but for those successes that were not marked by minting special awards.

The tradition of awarding rubles continued until the end of the 18th century. A.V. Suvorov himself often awarded his “miracle heroes” with Catherine’s rubles and half rubles, which were then passed down from generation to generation (from father to son, from grandfather to grandson) and kept in a place of honor - under icons.

"Narva Confusion"

From time immemorial, the Izhora land with its adjacent banks Gulf of Finland was Russian land. Alexander Nevsky also beat the Swedes and Germans in 1240 for invading these Russian lands. But in 1617, weakened by the war with Poland, Russia was forced to cede its ancient coastal fortresses to the Swedes: Koporye, Ivan-gorod, Oreshek, Yam. Rus' found itself cut off from the European world. For ninety years these lands languished under the heel of the Swedes.

And then it came new century- XVIII, the century of irrepressible activity of the young Russian Tsar Peter. He strives, at all costs, to pave the way to the Baltic Sea, return the original Russian lands to Russia, build a fleet and establish close ties with more developed Western countries.

On August 19, 1700, Peter declared war on Sweden, pulled his forces to the Baltic and besieged the Narva fortress. Peter's army was young, newly formed, and had no combat experience. Most of it was made up of soldiers called into service just before setting out on a campaign. The guns were outdated, heavy, machines and wheels were falling apart under their weight; of some, “you could only shoot stones.” The Swedish army was at that time the most experienced army in Europe, a technically equipped professional army, with officers who had gone through half of Europe under fire.

The outcome of the battle with the troops of Charles XII was predetermined. Peter's 34,000-strong army was defeated by Swedish regiments numbering 12,000. Even at the beginning of the battle, the command of the Russian regiments, which consisted of foreigners, and the commander himself went over to the Swedes. Only the guardsmen of the Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky regiments managed to stop the Swedes and gave the remaining troops the opportunity to retreat. “Peter highly appreciated the courage... having established a special copper badge for the officers of these regiments with the inscription: “1700. November 19 N 0". “Officers wore the badge throughout the existence of these regiments, as a reminder of military affairs...” Narva was Peter's first serious defeat.

At the direction of Charles XII, a satirical medal ridiculing the Russian Tsar was minted in Sweden for this occasion. “Where on one side of it Peter was depicted at the cannons shelling Narva, and the inscription: “Peter stood and warmed himself.” On the other, the Russians, led by Peter, are fleeing from Narva: the hat falls off his head, the sword is thrown, the king cries and wipes his tears with a handkerchief. The inscription read: “He went out, crying bitterly.” But Peter accepted defeat as a lesson taught by history. “The Swedes are beating us. Wait, they will teach us to beat them,” he said immediately after the “Narva bad luck.” “The regiments, in confusion, went to their borders, they were ordered to review and correct them...” Peter “with frenzied” energy takes on the restructuring and strengthening of the army...

Erestfer. 1701 g

In September 1701, the Russians knocked out the Swedes from Räpina Manor. A whole combination of detachments took part in this operation. In terms of its significance, it was a small, but first victory. It was followed by more significant success at the village of Erestfer, fifty miles from Dorpat.

On New Year's Eve 1702, in the cold, drowning in snow, the 17,000-strong detachment of Boris Sheremetev, after a five-hour battle near Erestfer, defeated the 7,000-strong detachment of Schlippenbach.

This was the first major victory of the revived, organized army. "God bless! - Peter exclaimed, having received a report of victory, “finally we have reached the point where we can defeat the Swedes... True, for now we are fighting two against one, but soon we will begin to win with an equal number.”

For this battle, B.P. Sheremetev received the highest rank of the army - field marshal general, and A.D. Menshikov, on behalf of Peter, brought him the highest Russian order Andrew the First-Called. The officers received gold medals, and the soldiers received the first silver half of 1701.

For the capture of Shlisselburg. 1702 g

In the spring of 1702, Peter travels to Arkhangelsk, builds, with the help of experienced Pomeranian craftsmen, two frigates “Courier” and “Holy Spirit” and drags them 170 miles overland through forests, through swamps to Noteburg - the former Novgorod Oreshek, located on the island Lake Ladoga at the source of the Neva River.

The fortress is impregnable, in the middle of the Neva, it is impossible to get close to it, since it is located two hundred meters from the banks. On high stone walls, 142 guns await Peter’s “hunters”.

Everything happened unexpectedly quickly. On the approach, Peter transferred part of the troops to the opposite bank of the river, the siege corps turned towards the fortress, and the mounted Russian guns were already firing from both banks.

On the morning of October 1, Sheremetev sent the Swedes a demand for surrender, but the commandant began to conduct evasive negotiations in order to delay time until reinforcements arrived. Peter decided to act and gave instructions to the artillerymen: “... to this compliment he received cannon fire and bombs from all our batteries at once...” From that moment the guns fired at the fortress, without stopping “until the day of the assault on October 11.”

The drum announced that the Swedes wanted to speak. An officer arrived from the fortress to Peter with a letter in which the commandant’s wife begged him to release the wives of the gentlemen officers from the fortress “... from the fire and smoke... in which the high-born are found...” To this Peter replied that he was not against it, just let them take with them and their “dear spouses.”

The only way into the fortress remained through the fortified high walls. Peter decided to storm. And at the signal, many boats with landing troops from all sides (from the lake and from both banks) rushed to the fortress under the cover of gun fire.

The assault was difficult. Peter's strength was reaching its limit. I was imagining the “Narva embarrassment” again. Once again the Swedes throw the “Muscovites” off the walls. Again and again, M. M. Golitsyn himself leads the soldiers on an attack - in waves, incessantly, alternating assaults with retreats, in order to strike the fortress again with greater force. Boiling water, molten resin and lead are poured onto the heads of the attackers. The continuity of attacks, tenacity and contempt for the death of Russian soldiers brought Peter victory.

Noteburg was captured on October 12, 1702. Its stone walls, two fathoms thick, could not withstand the assault, nor could its ten towers withstand the military onslaught of Peter’s soldiers.

Schlippenbach himself handed M. M. Golitsyn the keys to the fortress. But the keys were of no use. The gates of the fortress turned out to be tightly sealed and they had to be knocked down along with the locks.

Peter sits down to write his papers. In the “Daily Journal” he writes: “The enemy from our musket and cannon fire in those 13 hours was so tiring, and seeing the last courage, he immediately struck the shamad (signal for surrender) and was forced to bow to the agreement.”

And to the Polish King Augustus - “Dear Sovereign, brother, friend and neighbor... The most noble fortress of Noteburg, after a cruel attack, was taken from us with numerous artillery and military supplies... Peter.”

And to the chief artillery supervisor, Vinius: “It’s true that this nut was very cruel, one-skinned, thank God, it was happily chewed. Our artillery has corrected its work very miraculously...”

Noteburg was renamed by Peter and from now on he ordered to call this fortress “Shlisselburg”, which translated from Swedish means “Key City”. The fortress was indeed at that time the “key” to the Baltic Sea - “the opening, enclosed by this castle, the Baltic Sea, the opening of Russian prosperity and the beginning of victories.” This was the beginning of the end of the Swedes' stay on the Neva land.

In honor of such a significant victory, Peter ordered the minting of gold and silver medals with a historical reminder - “I was with the enemy. 90 years old."

On the front side, the master depicted the king young, in armor, with a laurel wreath on his head. On both sides of his portrait there are inscriptions: “TSR PETR ALEXIEVICH” and on the right the title is “ROSI LORD”. On the back there is a picture of a fortress in the middle of the river, in the foreground, on a coastal cape, protruding far into the Neva, there is Peter the Great's siege battery firing at the fortress (the flight paths of the cannonballs are visible). On the left, in the perspective of the river, there is a wooded bank, and along the entire river, around the fortress, there are many assault boats. On top of the medal is the inscription: “WAS WITH THE ENEMY. 90 YEARS"; under the edge - “TAKE 1702 OCT. 21". The digits of the number were swapped in places during the production of stamps; instead of “12”, “21” was affixed.

But there were not only awards. Peter mercilessly punished deserters who left the battlefield: “Several fugitives ... through the ranks, and others were executed by death.”

Medals for the capture of the fortress were given to the participants in the assault without ears, just like the old-fashioned “gold” and ruble “patrets”. Peter’s order of “providing care to the recipients themselves” with attaching an eye to the medal given as a reward gives grounds to judge that the above medal is an award.

“The unthinkable happens.” 1703 g

Less than a year after the capture of Oreshek, B.P. Sheremetev set out on a campaign with his 20,000-strong army. On April 25, he besieged the second and last fortress on the Neva - Nyenschanz, located near the mouth, at the confluence of the Okhta.

Negotiations on surrender did not produce any results. The Swedish garrison decided to fight back. A brutal bombardment of the fortress began with all available guns. With such shelling, the Swedes unexpectedly threw out a white flag. No assault was required. Nyenschanz fell on May 1, 1703, and construction of the northern capital, “St. Petersburg,” began. The fortress was renamed Schlotburh, translated as “castle”, which forever closed the entrance to the Neva and Lake Ladoga for the Swedes.

And just five days after the capture of Nyenskans, Peter’s new unprecedented victory followed. The squadron of Admiral Numers went from Vyborg to support the Nyenschanz fortress. An experienced sailor, out of caution, he did not dare to enter the Neva with the entire flotilla, but sent the two-masted eight-gun Astrel and the large admiral's twelve-gun boat Gedan to the fortress for reconnaissance purposes. But with the onset of night and fog creeping in from the sea, they were forced to anchor at the very mouth of the Neva. In the pre-dawn dawn, when a foggy haze still hung over the river, more than thirty boats with guardsmen of the Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky regiments were already hiding in the shadows of the banks. At the signal of a pistol shot, this entire armada of boats rushed towards the enemy ships. The Swedes noticed the danger, turned their ships around and began firing their cannons. But most of the boats had already passed the danger zone accessible to ship artillery, dived under the sides of the ships and grappled with them. The boarding battle began.

One group was commanded by the bombardier himself - Captain Pyotr Mikhailov (Peter I). As he approached the ship, he threw grenades on board, and together with everyone else he burst onto the enemy ship, and a hand-to-hand battle began. They used sabers, knives, butts, everything that came to hand, and even fists.

Another ship was stormed by the daring and impudent Lieutenant A.D. Menshikov with his fellows. In a matter of minutes, the Russian landing force dealt with the Swedish crews. The ships "Astrel" and "Gedan" with scorched sails as battle trophies led to the fortress with the new name Schlottburg.

This was the first victory on the waters of the Baltic, which brought great joy to Peter. He became sixth in the list of holders of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called. “The order was conferred on him by F.A. Golovin “as the first holder of this order”” in the camp church. A.D. Menshikov was also awarded the same order. “Danilych received another privilege that greatly raised his prestige: he was allowed to maintain bodyguards at his own expense, a kind of guard. No one in the country used such a right except the king.”

The success was truly so unusual that in honor of a “never before unprecedented naval victory”, on the personal orders of Peter, gold and silver medals were minted with the inscription: “The unprecedented happens.”

On the obverse of this medal is a half-length profile image of Peter, without the traditional crown and laurel wreath, in armor decorated with ornate arabesques. Along the edge of the medal, around the portrait, there is the inscription: “KING PETER ALEXEVICH OF ALL RUSSIA, LORD OF ALL RUSSIA.” On the reverse there are two sailing ships surrounded by many boats with soldiers of Peter the Great's guard. From above, from the vault of heaven, a hand is lowered holding a crown and two palm branches. Above this entire composition (along the edge) is the inscription: “THE UNBEATABLE HAPPENS”; at the very bottom there is a date - “1703”.

Gold medals with a diameter of 54 and 62 mm (with chains) were awarded to the officers who participated in the boarding. The soldiers and sailors who participated in the battle received silver medals with a diameter of 55 mm without chains.

For the capture of Narva. 1704 g

Every spring, the Swedish squadron of Admiral Numers came from Vyborg to the mouth of the Neva. She ascended the river to Ladoga and all summer until autumn she ravaged Russian villages and monasteries on its banks. Now the approach to the Neva from the sea was blocked by the new fortress Kronshlot (Kronstadt), founded on the island of Kotlin. On Lust Eyland (now Petrograd side) the construction of a new city was underway. A.D. Menshikov, who was appointed its governor, reported to the tsar: “City affairs are managed as they should be. Many working people from the cities have already come and more are constantly being added.”

In November 1703, the first foreign ship carrying salt and wine docked. At the same time, ships for the Baltic Fleet were already being built in Lodeynoye Pole on the Svir. B.P. Sheremetev with his army captured Koporye and Yamburg.

In the spring of the following 1704, Peter’s order again hurried the Field Marshal General on a campaign - “...Please immediately besiege Dorpat (Yuryev).” On July 4, the advanced detachments approached the fortress. “The city is great and the building of the ward is great,” “...their guns are larger than ours,” “... as I grew up, I never heard such cannon fire,” B.P. Sheremetev reported to Peter. Indeed, the Swedes’ artillery was more powerful and “2.5 times larger than the Russians.”

Dorpat was captured only after the “fiery feast” on the night of July 12-13. Peter is in a hurry. Since May 30, Narva has been surrounded by Russian troops under the command of another Field Marshal Ogilvi. They need help.

On July 23, for the fourth time since the fall of Dorpat, the tsar instructed the slow but thorough B.P. Sheremetev to “go day and night (to Narva).” “If you don’t do this, don’t blame me in the future.”

And here is Narva again! The stupor from that “Narva embarrassment” of 1700 remained for a long time. But now the soldiers had been fired upon, had extensive military experience and high morale, thanks to the successes recent years. Heavy siege artillery was delivered from Dorpat and St. Petersburg.

The old commandant Horn responded to the proposal for an honorable surrender of the fortress with ridicule, reminding the Russians of the “first” Narva. Peter decided to teach him a lesson and set off on stratagem. He dressed part of his troops in blue Swedish uniforms and sent them to the fortress from the expected Swedish help. The battle between the Swedish army and the Russians was staged. This is how Peter described this masquerade in his “Day Journal”: “And the pretenders... began to approach our army... ours began to deliberately concede... And the army itself would also deliberately get in the way. And the Narva garrison is so flattered that... Commandant Gorn... sent from Narva... several hundred infantry and cavalry, and so... they rode into the very hands of the imaginary army. ... The dragoons, who had been placed as pledge, jumped out and attacked them and... chopping and beating, they drove them away, and beat several hundred, and took many in full..."

Now the Russians laughed at the Swedes. Peter was pleased - “the highly respected gentlemen have been given a very fair nose.”

The second part of the battle turned into a drama, which occurred after a 45-minute assault on the fortress. The senseless brutal resistance of the Swedes embittered the Russian soldiers to the extreme. Having burst into the fortress, they spared no one. And only the intervention of Peter himself stopped this massacre.

The fortress was taken on August 9, 1704. Now the entire Izhora land has been returned to Russia. Jubilant Peter writes: “I can’t write again, Narva, which has been brewing for 4 years, has just burst, thank God.” We know nothing about medals for the capture of Dorpat. Perhaps they were not minted. But for the capture of such a memorable fortress as Narva, it was impossible not to issue a medal. And it was minted. On the front side it depicts Peter, traditionally turned to the right, wearing a laurel wreath, armor and mantle. The inscription around the medal is placed in an unusual way: “LORD OF RUSSIA”, on the right - “TSR PETR ALEKIEVICH.” ALLEA".

On the reverse - the bombing of the Narva fortress. The flight trajectories of the nuclei and their ruptures are clearly visible. On the left, in the distance, is Ivan-Gorod. At the top, in a circle, is the inscription: “NOT BY FLATTERY, BUT BY WEAPONS WITH THE POWER OF THE HIGH IS ACCEPTED.” On the left, under the edge - “NARVA”, on the right - “1704”.

It is also assumed that similar gold medals of the same size exist. The documents for awarding them have been lost, but the notes of A.S. Pushkin indicate that after the capture of Narva in 1704, the medals were distributed to officials who were during its siege.

The stamps were made by the same master - Fedor Alekseev.

For the capture of Mitava. 1705 g

After the capture of Narva on August 19, 1704, a Russian-Polish agreement was concluded on joint actions against the Swedes. Under the terms of this treaty, military operations were to move to Lithuania, where the main forces of the Swedes, led by Levenhaupt, were located at that time. It was necessary to cut them off from Riga and defeat them.

In the summer of 1705, the troops of B.P. Sheremetev approached Mitava and took it, but when they encountered Levengaupt’s main forces at Mur-Manor, they were defeated and retreated. This was the field marshal’s only loss during the entire war with Sweden, and that was by an absurd accident, when he had no doubt about victory. A few days later Mitava was taken again.

“The capture of Mitava was important for us,” wrote Pyotr Romadanovsky, “for the enemy was thereby cut off from Courland; and we have safety further to Poland.”

A. S. Pushkin in “The History of Peter” notes that “a medal was knocked out for the capture of Mitava...”, but this is not mentioned anywhere else in the literature known to the authors.

For the victory at Kalisz. 1706 g

Charles XII captured Poland and in January 1706 tried to encircle the Russian army near Grodno, but having encountered strong resistance, he sent his army to Saxony, leaving part of his troops in Poland under the command of Mardefeld. To strengthen the army in March, A.D. Menshikov was sent to the Russian troops in Poland. He provides her with weapons, states the Article, which provides not only for instilling a sense of duty, patriotism, and discipline among soldiers, but also penalizes violence and robbery of the local population death penalty. The decisive battle took place near Kalisz on October 18, 1706.

It was mainly a cavalry battle. In it, Menshikov used his own tactics, which decided the outcome of the battle. He dismounted several squadrons of dragoons, pressed the enemy's flanks with his cavalry and cut off the Swedes' path to retreat. The army commander Mardefeld himself was captured.

Peter received a dispatch from Menshikov: “I am not reporting this as a boast to your honor: this was such an unprecedented battle that it was joyful to see how both sides regularly fought.”

This was one of the significant victories Northern War. Even foreign diplomats believed “that this victory would incite everyone to act more boldly against the Swede.”

Delighted Peter awarded his favorite a personally “composed” expensive cane worth (impressive at that time) 3064 rubles 16 altyns, decorated with diamonds, large emeralds and the coat of arms of A. D. Menshikov.

The victory at Kalisz was marked by a massive award of medals to officers and non-commissioned officers. The soldiers received awards according to the old custom - in the form of silver coins.

A total of six types of medals were minted, including round gold ones - 6, 3 and 1 chervonets in accordance with the sizes in diameter 36, 27 and 23 mm.

Particularly interesting is the colonel’s medal of 14 chervonets, measuring 43x39 mm. It is enclosed in an openwork gold frame topped with a crown, decorated with enamel and inlaid on the front side precious stones and diamonds. For non-commissioned officers the medal was silver, oval, 42x38 mm in size.

On the front side of all medals there is a portrait of Peter I, facing to the right, wearing a laurel wreath and simple armor; along the edge of the medal there is an inscription: on the left - “TSR PETER”, on the right - “ALEUIEVICH”. The reverse sides of all medals have the same image - Peter on a rearing horse, in ancient attire, against the backdrop of the battle. Along the edges of the medal there are inscriptions: on the left - “FOR LOYALTY”, on the right - “AND COURAGE”. Below the edge is the date: “1706.”

On the obverse of the colonel's medal, in contrast to the silver one, there is a king in rich armor, magnificently draped with a mantle; the inscription itself is more complete: “Tsar Peter Aleuevich, ruler of all Russia.” The medalist's initial is in the forearm trim. On all gold medals, the splendor of the king's portrait depends on the value of the medal. The medal of 6 chervonets has a richly ornamented edge around the entire circle.

The Kalisz medals were mainly worked on by two foreign medalists who were in Russian service - Solomon Gouin (French), who cut exclusively the portrait sides, and Gottfried Haupt (Saxon), who cut the reverse sides of the medals. Medals were also issued without monograms - “clearly the work of a Russian master.”

For the victory at Lesnaya. 1708 g

The Kalisz victory did not end the war. Charles XII again invaded Russian territory. He intended to defeat the Russian army and go to Moscow through Smolensk.

In mid-1708, the Swedes occupied Mogilev. But further, on the way to Smolensk, they encountered impregnable defenses, were left without food, fodder and were forced to turn to Ukraine. Charles XII hoped to receive help from the Turks there, Crimean Tatars, the traitor Mazepa, replenish supplies and again launch an attack on Moscow through Bryansk and Kaluga.

The slow advance of the huge Swedish army made it possible for the light cavalry of A. D. Menshikov and the infantry of B. P. Sheremetev to inflict surprise attacks on the enemy. Near the village of Dobroye, the Russian vanguard crushed the enemy column.

Ordinary people also joined the fight against the conquerors, creating something like partisan detachments. Residents went into the forests, took food with them, stole livestock, as Peter demanded in his decree: “Provisions, fodder ... burn everywhere ... also damage bridges, cut down forests and keep them at ... crossings if possible,” and further - “... from the enemy to go from behind and from the side and destroy everything, and also to attack him in parties of noble, unattached parties.”

Karl carried huge losses and waited for help. A huge convoy of seven thousand carts, loaded with food and ammunition, was coming to him from the Baltic States. He was accompanied by Levengaupt's 16,000-strong corps. To defeat him, Peter decided to use new tactics. A “flying detachment - corvolan” was formed, which had great mobility.

The Swedes were forced to fight on rough, closed terrain near the village of Lesnoy (in Belarus). Forests alternated here with copses and swamps. In such a situation, it was difficult for the Swedes to maneuver their convoy and guns.

The Russian troops were commanded by Peter himself. The battle began on the morning of September 28, lasted all day and was distinguished by great tenacity on both sides. As darkness fell, the battle ended in defeat for the Swedes. The entire convoy with equipment, expected Charles XII, went to the Russians. Levenhaupt himself disappeared under the cover of darkness and came to his king with a small remnant of hungry and ragged soldiers.

This victory of Peter was decisive in further events near Poltava. No wonder Peter called her “Mother of the Poltava Battle” - the Swedes near Poltava were left without artillery and ammunition.

In memory of this event, six types of gold medals of different denominations were minted - 13, 6, 5, 3, 2, 1 chervonets. They served to reward officers depending on rank and merit. Medals of the highest denomination (with a gold frame, diamonds and enamel) cost at that time more than 800 rubles, they were called “Dressy Persons”.

1,140 gold medals were issued. To reward the rank and file who took part in the battle, silver medals of unusual diameter - 28 mm - were minted. In many ways, these medals are similar to the Kalisz medals.

On the front side there is a traditional portrait of Peter I, but the circular inscription has changed: “PETER. FIRST. UTI. ISAMOD. ALL-RUSSIA.”

On the reverse there is an image of Peter on a rearing horse against the backdrop of the battle, above, above the entire composition, there is a fluttering ribbon with the inscription: “TO THE WORTHY - WORTHY.” Along the edges of the medal there are inscriptions: on the left - “FOR LEVENG:”, on the right - “BATTLE”. Below, under the edge, the date: “1708”.

The documents for the award have not been preserved, but in the “Diary of Military Actions of the Poltava Victory” the following is written about this: “... The Emperor awarded all staff chief officers with golden portraits with diamonds and gold medals according to the dignity of their ranks. And the soldiers received silver medals and were given money.”

It is not known how many silver medals were issued, but in only one Preobrazhensky regiment they were awarded to “39 non-commissioned officers, 88 sergeants, captains and corporals.” Shows: 1 Coverage: 0 Reads: 0

Vasily Klimov (? - 1782) came from among the students of the mint who did not study with foreign masters. While working at the Moscow Mint, he cut copies of medals and coin stamps. In 1762 he was appointed medalist. The medalist signed his early works with the monogram “V. TO.". Independent work Klimov - two retrospective medals in memory of the accession to the throne of Peter I and the founding of the fleet - made according to designs by Lomonosov and Shtelin. The medal for Peter's accession to the throne reveals the hand of a self-taught man. There is no portrait resemblance; the torso, spread out on the surface of the medal mug, is poorly sculpted. The perspective of the composition on the reverse side is clumsily constructed, the figures in the foreground are clumsy - Peter leading Russia to the Temple of Glory. The second medal does not have a signature, but undoubtedly belongs to the same master, as J.B. Iversen pointed out at one time. The authorship of Klimov is evidenced by the similarity of the portrait of Peter with the previous medal, the high horizon line on the reverse side, and finally, the almost identical figure of Russia on both medals, with the same gesture of the right hand. A new spatial solution for the medal with development broad perspective came into conflict with the capabilities of the carver himself. Later, when the stamps of these medals were renewed, Samoila Yudin significantly corrected the existing shortcomings.

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The fundamental changes in the award system that took place during the Peter the Great era are closely connected, on the one hand, with the military transformations of the reformer tsar, and on the other, with the reform of the monetary system. Coinage and medallion in the first quarter of the 18th century developed very quickly in Russia and reached high level both in production and artistic terms. When Peter I was abroad, he was invariably interested in the work of mints: in London, for example, Isaac Newton introduced him to the construction of minting machines. The Russian Tsar invited Western medalists to his service and also took care of training Russian masters.

Under the influence of Western European medal art in Russia, in the very early XVIII century, commemorative medals began to be minted. They were issued in honor major events of that time, most often battles, which Russian masters sought to depict as accurately as possible. Medals were at that time one of the most important means of demonstrating state power, as well as a kind of “mass information”: they were distributed during ceremonies, sent abroad “as a gift to foreign ministers,” and purchased for mints offices collecting coins and medals. Peter I himself was often involved in “composing” medals.

Medal for taking the Nut. 1702

The Russian award medal that appeared soon combined the tradition of “golden” (mass military awards), unfamiliar in the West, with some external design techniques that had developed in European medalism. Peter's military medals were significantly different from the “gold” ones. In appearance and size they corresponded to the new Russian coins - rubles; on the front side there was always a portrait of the king (therefore the medals themselves were called “patrets”) in armor and a laurel wreath, on the reverse side there was usually a scene of the corresponding battle, an inscription and a date.

The principle of mass awarding was also enshrined: for battles on land and sea, not only officer, but also soldier’s and sailor’s medals were awarded to every single participant, and the outstanding personal feat could have been specially noted. However, the rewards for command staff and lower ranks were not the same: for the latter they were made of silver, and for officers they were always gold and, in turn, differed in size and weight, and sometimes in their appearance(some were issued with chains). All medals of the first quarter of the 18th century were minted without an eyelet, so the recipient himself had to adapt the award for wearing. Sometimes lugs were attached to medals right at the Mint if the awards came with a chain.

Most of the award medals established by Peter I are related to military operations against the Swedes in the Northern War. According to Mint documents, 12 battles of the first quarter of the 18th century were awarded with award medals, and the “circulation” of some of them reached 3-4 thousand copies.

In October 1702, the ancient Russian fortress of Oreshek (Noteburg), which had long been in the hands of the Swedes, was taken by storm. Only volunteers - “hunters” - took part in the assault, whose valor was awarded gold medals. On the front side of the medal there is a portrait of Peter I, on the back there is a detailed depiction of the assault scene: a fortress city on the island, Russian guns firing at it, many boats with “hunters”. The circular inscription says: “Was with the enemy for 90 years, captured on October 1702, 21.”

In 1703, medals were minted for officers and soldiers of the guards infantry regiments - Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky, who attacked two Swedish warships in boats at the mouth of the Neva. The leader of this unprecedented operation was Peter I himself, who received the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called; “Officers were given gold medals with a chain, and soldiers were given small ones without chains.” The battle scene on the back of the medal is accompanied by the saying: “The impossible happens.”

The massive award of medals to officers is associated with the defeat of the Swedes at Kalisz (Poland) in 1706; the soldiers then received old-type awards in the form of silver “altyns”. The gold medals for the Kalisz victory were of different sizes, some oval. The colonel's medal (the largest) received a special design: it is bordered by an openwork gold frame with a decoration at the top in the form of a crown, the entire frame is covered with enamel, studded with diamonds and precious stones. On the front side of all medals there is a bust-length portrait of Peter in knightly armor, and on the back the king is depicted on a horse in ancient attire, against the backdrop of a battle. The inscription reads: “For loyalty and courage.”

Medal “For Victory at Lesnaya”, 1708.

Similar medals, but with the inscription “For the Battle of Levenhaupt,” were awarded to participants in the battle of the village of Lesnoy in Belarus in 1708. Here the corps of General A. Levengaupt, who was marching to join the troops of the Swedish king Charles XII, was defeated.

Soon after the famous Battle of Poltava, Peter I ordered the production of award medals for soldiers and non-commissioned officers (non-commissioned officers). They were minted in the size of a ruble, did not have an ear, and the recipients themselves had to attach ears to the medals in order to wear them on a blue ribbon. The reverse side of the magistrate's medal depicts a cavalry battle, and the soldier's (smaller) side depicts a skirmish between infantrymen. On the front side there was a chest-to-chest image of Peter I.

Medal "For the Poltava Battle". 1709

In 1714, only staff officers - colonels and majors - were awarded for the capture of the city of Vasa (on the Finnish coast). The medal that was issued for this occasion did not have an image on the back, only the inscription: “For the Battle of Vaz, February 17, 14, 19.” This is the only example of such a design of an award in Peter’s time, but it would become typical later - in the second half of the 18th century.

Peter I's largest victory at sea was the Battle of Cape Gangut in 1714, when the vanguard of the Russian galley fleet defeated the Swedish squadron of Rear Admiral N. Ehrenskiöld and captured all 10 enemy ships. For the brilliant “victory”, the participants in the battle received special medals: officers - gold, with and without chains, “each in proportion to their rank”, sailors and landing soldiers - silver.

The design on all medals is the same. On the front side, as usual, there was a portrait of Peter I, and on the back - a plan sea ​​battle and date. There was an inscription around it: “Diligence and loyalty are greatly superior.” This legend has become a kind of tradition for awards for naval battles; it can be seen, for example, on the back of a medal for the capture of three Swedish ships by N. Senyavin’s squadron off the island of Gotland (1719). And on the medals for the victory in the Battle of Grenham (1720) the inscription is placed in the following version: “Diligence and loyalty surpass strength.”

One of his contemporaries, talking about the battle of Grenham, did not forget to mention the awards to its participants: “Staff officers were awarded gold medals on gold chains and wore them over their shoulders, and chief officers were given gold medals on a narrow blue ribbon, which they pinned worn to a caftan loop; non-commissioned officers and soldiers were sewn with silver portraits on a blue ribbon bow, pinned to a caftan loop, with an inscription on those medals about that battle.”

So in Russia, almost a hundred years earlier than other European countries, they began to award medals to all participants in the battle - both officers and soldiers.

Soldier's Award Medal for the Battle of Gangut

A huge number of participants in the Northern War received a medal in 1721 in honor of the conclusion of the Peace of Nystadt with Sweden. The soldiers were awarded a large silver medal, and the officers were awarded gold medals of various denominations. Complex in composition, with elements of allegory, the very solemnly decorated medal “After the Flood of the Northern War” is evidence of the enormous significance that this event had for the Russian state. On the front side of the soldier’s medal and on the back of the officer’s medal there is the following composition: Noah’s Ark, and above it is a flying dove of peace with an olive branch in its beak, in the distance are St. Petersburg and Stockholm, connected by a rainbow. The inscription explains: “We are bound by the union of peace.”

Silver award medal for the Battle of Gangut for sailors (reverse side)

The entire reverse side of the soldier's medal is occupied by a lengthy inscription glorifying Peter I and proclaiming him Emperor and Father of the Fatherland. There is no such inscription on the reverse side of the officer’s medal, but on the front side there is a portrait of Peter I. The Nystadt medal marked another important event in the life of the state: it was for the first time minted from “gold” or “home-made” silver, that is, mined in Russia, as noted in the inscription.

Medal for the Battle of Grenham. 1720