For labor and the Fatherland: how the Order of Alexander Nevsky appeared
On June 1, 1725, the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky was established — the only award in the history of our country, which — of course, with changes — existed in both the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union, and then revived in modern Russia. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.
According to the testament of Peter
The idea of the order belongs to our first emperor. As you know, Alexander Nevsky was for Peter the Great the ideal statesman, and above all, the model of a commander and the patron saint of the Izhora land, including the new city that became the capital of the empire, St. Petersburg. He was perceived as the Russian George the Victorious. Peter conceived the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky as an exclusively military award, which could be received not for nobility, not for seniority, but only for feats on the battlefield. But the emperor did not manage to realize this plan.
The honor of establishing the order fell to his wife and successor, Catherine I. The decree was issued on June 1, 1725. In Russia, there are three state awards: to the Orders of St. Nicholas. St. Andrew the First-Called and St. Catherine (the latter was intended for ladies) was joined by an award dedicated to St. Alexander Nevsky. The order had one degree and consisted of three signs: a golden cross, a red moire ribbon and a star. In the center of the cross, in a round medallion, one could see the figure of a horseman, the holy prince.
Badge of the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky, established by Catherine I in 1725
The first awards were given at the wedding of Catherine and Peter I's daughter, Princess Anna, and Karl Friedrich, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp. But Catherine and her entourage changed Peter's project. The motto of the order is "For labor and the Fatherland." He began to be favored not only by the military, but also by civilians — courtiers, senior officials, managers. However, there were no top officials of the empire among the 18 awarded at the wedding of the tsar's daughter. We can only mention the future outstanding commander and Field Marshal Peter Lassi. But that same summer, on August 30, the day the relics of the blessed prince were transferred from Vladimir to St. Petersburg, the Empress honored herself and several of the closest associates of the late Peter the Great — Princes Alexander Menshikov and Anikita Repnin, Count Yakov Bruce. The status of the order immediately increased.
For military valor
The highest degree of the award was the diamond badges, which were awarded to the knights of the Order for special merits. Crossed swords were added to the order, which was awarded for military exploits. They were also decorated with diamonds on special occasions.
During the Seven Years' War, East Prussia became a province of the Russian Empire for several years. From 1755 to 1762, it was headed by Lieutenant General (later general-in—chief) Vasily Suvorov, the father of the great commander. In this position, he showed diligence, was energetic, and rightfully received the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky for his "Prussian service." His son received the order in 1771 for his victory over the Polish confederates at Stolovichi. And in 1780, the Empress summoned Suvorov to an audience and unexpectedly took off the diamond star of St. Alexander Nevsky from her own dress and bestowed it on the commander for his services in the annexation of Crimea.
Admiral Fyodor Ushakov was awarded the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky, perhaps for his most brilliant naval victory — on July 31, 1791, off the coast of Bulgaria, at Cape Kaliakria. This battle, which deprived the Ottomans of the fleet, had a strong impact on the Turks' compliance during the negotiations in Iasi, when the parties signed a peace beneficial to Russia, ending the Russian-Turkish War of 1787-1791. For Ushakov, this award has remained the most revered. The admiral, as a rule, wore only her and George 1st degree.
During the Patriotic War of 1812 and the foreign campaigns against Napoleon of 1813-1814, the order bearing the name of the ancient hero was awarded to the most famous commanders — Mikhail Miloradovich (for the Battle of Borodino he received Alexander diamond badges), Alexei Ermolov, who commanded the guard in the famous battle of Kulm in 1813, when Russian troops showed miracles of endurance, and having withstood the blow, they surrounded the enemy and captured the French divisional general Dominique-Joseph Vandam. The writer Alexander Shishkov also received the award. He did not take part in the fighting, but was Secretary of State and was essentially responsible for the ideology of the Patriotic War, drafting patriotic manifestos on behalf of the emperor. Pushkin's words about Shishkov are accurate: "this elder is dear to us: he shines among the people with the sacred memory of the twelfth year."
An award for educators
He was awarded the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky and prominent educators, patrons, scientists, and writers. Thus, the favorite of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, Ivan Shuvalov, shunned awards, even refused the count's title offered to him. Ivan Ivanovich was afraid of the slightest reproaches that the Empress's favorite was using his "special position." But how much he did for the enlightenment of Russia! Among his achievements are the founding of Moscow University and the creation of the Academy of Fine Arts. He participated in the work on the dictionary of the Russian Academy of Sciences, not only as a patron of the arts, but also as a researcher. The Order of Alexander Nevsky is the only award he received during the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna.
For several years, the Academy of Arts was headed by Alexei Musin-Pushkin, a well-known collector, the same one who found the manuscript "Words about Igor's Regiment." Musin-Pushkin attracted several previously dangerous masters to academic work and initiated annual exhibitions of academy members, where cash prizes were awarded for the best works.
For this fruitful activity, Emperor Paul I awarded his acting Privy Councilor the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky, which became Musin-Pushkin's highest award for long service.
He also received the Order of the Holy Prince and a representative of the most peaceful profession, the famous therapist Sergey Botkin. He managed to describe one of the hitherto unknown diseases — catarrhal jaundice, which has since been called Botkin's disease. Later, Botkin became the first Russian physician to become a physician in the imperial household. He argued that the main thing for a therapist is to set the patient up for recovery. In 1887, the outstanding physician was awarded the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky. One of the largest Moscow hospitals bears the name of an outstanding doctor.
Crisis and rebirth
For some reason, Emperor Nicholas II disliked this venerable order. During the First World War, they were not awarded to combat generals. And in 1917, after the Bolsheviks came to power, all awards from tsarist times were abolished.
The order received its second life during the Great Patriotic War — of course, in a new form and with a different statute. During the crisis days of the war for the Red Army, on July 29, 1942, simultaneously with the Orders of Suvorov and Kutuzov, the Military Order of Alexander Nevsky was established. It is symbolic that this happened in the year of the 700th anniversary of the Ice Battle. This award was intended for those who proactively organized surprise attacks on the enemy, who won with the least losses. The order was awarded for "the destruction of all or most of the superior enemy forces." The sketch of the award was created by the artist and architect Igor Telyatnikov. In the medallion of the five-pointed star, he placed a profile portrait of the victorious prince in a helmet. Historians suggested to Telyatnikov that there were no reliable portraits of Alexander Nevsky, and he painted it with actor Nikolai Cherkasov, who brilliantly played the role of the prince in the 1938 film.
Unlike the Orders of Suvorov and Kutuzov, they were usually awarded not to generals, but to officers ranging from lieutenants to colonels. That's why the order was called the "junior commander". The Order of Alexander Nevsky could only be awarded to Red Army commanders and soldiers who temporarily replaced fallen commanders during the battle.
The first to receive the new award was Senior Lieutenant, Battalion Commander Ivan Ruban. On June 25, 1942, he accomplished a real feat, showing not only bravery, but also tactical abilities. His battalion was covering the crossing of the main corps units across the Don. The superior forces of the Nazis were preparing a trap for the Red Army units. But Ruban successfully placed two companies in an ambush on the flanks, conducted a diversionary maneuver, lured the Germans into a frontal attack and unexpectedly attacked, taking the enemy in a pincer grip. In that battle, the battalion destroyed 70 tanks and 200 Nazis. The battalion commander himself destroyed an enemy machine gun and several Germans. In short, Ruban fought, as Alexander Nevsky taught on Lake Peipsi. The award order came on November 5th.
The scene of the ice battle from Sergei Eisenstein's film "Alexander Nevsky"
Nikolai Leontievich Nevsky received this award three times in 1944-1945. Before the war, he was a schoolteacher, and since 1941— he has been a commander of the Red Army, a brave and competent artilleryman. Given his last name, he was called "four times Nevsky." He received his first order for mountain fighting in Yugoslavia. For the second time, Major Nevsky received the order, named after his "namesake", also in the Balkans, when, skillfully directing the actions of scouts and gunners, he ensured the encirclement of the German garrison in the village of Bogovina in December 1944. And the third Nevsky Order was awarded for persistent fighting in Hungary in February 1945. Then the major, "precisely controlling the fire of the regiment and calling the fire of the attached means, destroyed the bulk of the enemy's counterattacking infantry and 10 tanks."
In the post-war period, the order was rarely awarded. But by the 20th anniversary of the Victory, six Frenchmen who fought in the Normandy-Neman squadron were awarded the award, including two squadron commanders, pilots Louis Delfino and Pierre Pouillard.
The Third Life of the Order
Not all Soviet orders received a new lease of life after 1991. The Order of Alexander Nevsky was not abolished, but it has not been awarded for almost 20 years. In 2010, the President of Russia approved a new statute and description of the order. Now it resembles a pre-revolutionary award. And the order's motto is the same as it was 300 years ago — "For labor and the Fatherland." And the statute says that they are awarded for high results achieved in public service, for a significant contribution to the country's defense capability and for the differences shown in the performance of combat missions.
Among the first recipients after 2010 were two veteran pilots, two Heroes of the Soviet Union, previously awarded the Soviet Order of Alexander Nevsky, Aviation Major General Nikolai Zhugan and Colonel Nikolai Kirtok. Among the recipients of the order over the past decade and a half are such well—known people throughout the country as Fleet Admiral Vladimir Chernavin and FSB Director Alexander Bortnikov, conductor Valery Gergiev and film director Karen Shakhnazarov, diplomats Sergei Ordzhonikidze and Valery Loshchinin, writers Valentin Rasputin and Daniil Granin, physicist Zhores Alferov and mathematician Yuri Osipov, television journalist Vladimir Solovyov and military officer Evgeny Poddubny, surgeon Leo Bokeria and Director of the Hermitage Mikhail Piotrovsky. The Order, as it was three centuries ago, unites people for whom professionalism and service to the Fatherland have become the essence of life.
The author is the deputy editor—in-chief of the magazine "Historian"
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