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Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky

{{Short description|Order of chivalry in the Russian Empire}}

{{Other uses|Order of Alexander Nevsky|Order of Saint Alexander (Bulgaria)}}

{{Infobox order

|title = Imperial Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky

|image = 200px

|caption = Order on ribbon

|image2 = 80px

|caption2 = Ribbon of the order

|awarded_by = 18px Head of the House of Romanov

|type = Dynastic Order

|motto = "For Labor and the Fatherland"

|day =

|eligibility =

|for = Military and Civil Merit

|commander =

|grades = Awarded in one class

|former_grades =

|date = {{OldStyleDate|1 June|1725|21 May}}
1725 – 1918 (National Order)
1918 - Present (House Order)

|house = House of Romanov

|religion = Russian Orthodox

|higher = Imperial Order of Saint Andrew

|same = Imperial Order of Saint Catherine

|lower = Imperial Order of the White Eagle

}}

File:Borovikovsky. Portrait of Senator Vasilyev (Art Museum of Georgia).jpg

The Imperial Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky was an order of chivalry of the Russian Empire first awarded on {{OldStyleDate|1 June|1725|21 May}} by Empress Catherine I of Russia.{{cite web|url=http://medalirus.ru/stati/lozovskiy-orden-svyatogo-aleksandra.php |script-title=ru:Орден Святого Александра |trans-title=Order of Saint Alexander |access-date=5 February 2015|language=ru}}

History

The introduction of the Imperial Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky was envisioned by Emperor Peter I of Russia (r. 1682–1721) to reward military bravery in battle. However, he died before he could create the order. It was established by Empress Catherine I of Russia, in memory of the deeds of Saint Alexander Nevsky, patron Saint of the Russian capital of Saint Petersburg, for defending Russia against foreign invaders. The order was originally awarded to distinguished Russian citizens who had served their country with honor, mostly through political or military service.{{cite web|url=http://www.kaiserzeit.com/1-intro/st-alexander.htm|title=Order of St. Alexander Nevsky|publisher=Kaiserzeit|access-date=7 September 2014}}

It was first awarded on the occasion of the wedding of Grand Duchess Anna Petrovna of Russia and Charles Frederick, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp in 1725. A dozen guests received the reward, and the order quickly fell far behind the Order of Saint Andrew and the Order of Saint Catherine in prestige.

The Empress Catherine complained about the situation and by September 1725, she took it upon herself to determine who would receive the award. The Order of Saint Alexander was granted the highest esteem and was not usually bestowed upon people below the rank of Lieutenant-General or an equal political status. It also granted hereditary nobility. Additionally it was, including Polish King Augustus II the Strong and King Frederick IV of Denmark–Norway

Legacy

The Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky was abolished after the 1917 Russian Revolution, along with all other orders and titles of the Russian Empire.

In 1942, the Soviet Union revived the order as a purely military decoration and renamed it the more secular Order of Alexander Nevsky, and the Russian Federation revived it in 2010.

The heads of the Russian Imperial House in exile have continued to award the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky. Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna, a pretender to the Russian throne and to the headship of the Russian Imperial House, continues to award a Russian Imperial Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky as a dynastic order of knighthood.{{Cite web |url=http://www.imperialhouse.ru/rus/dynastyhistory/honoursaward/honours/254.html |title=Официальный сайт Российского Императорского Дома |access-date=2016-01-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090519230231/http://www.imperialhouse.ru/rus/dynastyhistory/honoursaward/honours/254.html |archive-date=2009-05-19 |url-status=dead }} These actions are disputed by some members of the Romanov family.{{Cite web|url=http://www.romanovfamily.org/press.html|title=The Romanov Fund for Russia}}

In 2010, researchers in Saint Petersburg and Moscow published a book listing all the names of the recipients of the original order. The combined number of honorees spanning the years 1725 to 1917 totaled 3,674.{{cite web|url=http://mitropolia.spb.ru/news/av/?id=19865 | script-title=ru:Полный список кавалеров ордена святого Александра Невского издан в виде словаря |trans-title=The Complete List of Recipients of the Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky Compiled in a Dictionary|access-date=5 February 2015|language=ru}}

Insignia ''Order St Alexander Nevsky''

Badge to Order St Alexander Nevsky 1820-1830.jpg|Cross version, edition 1820–1830 (front)

Badge to Order St Alexander Nevsky 1865.jpg|version issued in 1865 in gold on black enamel

Star to Order St Alexander Nevsky embroidered.jpg|Star version from silver-thread embroidery on white leather, edition ca 1840

Recipients

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References

{{Commons category|Order of St. Alexander Nevsky}}

{{reflist|2}}

{{Orders, decorations, and medals of Russia}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Order Of St. Alexander Nevsky}}

St. Alexander Nevsky, Order of

Category:Awards established in 1725

Category:1725 establishments in the Russian Empire

Saint Alexander Nevsky, Order of

Saint Alexander Nevsky, Order of

Category:Alexander Nevsky