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Order of Saint Anna established
The Order of Saint Anna, one of the highest awards in the Russian Empire, was established on February 14, 1735 by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp in honour of his wife Anna Petrovna, daughter of Emperor Peter I, who died in 1728. The order was brought to Russia in 1742 by their son, heir to the throne of the Duchy of Holstein, Charles Peter Ulrich, the future Russian Emperor Peter III. Among the first recipients was the son of Field Marshal Boris Petrovich Sheremetev, Count Pyotr Borisovich Sheremetev, who was awarded the Order on April 25 (May 6), 1742 on the day of the Holy Coronation of Empress Elizabeth.
Under Peter III, the Order of Saint Anna did not become a state award of the Russian Empire. It was inherited by the son of Peter III, Paul, the future Russian Emperor Paul I. His mother, Empress Catherine II, chose Russian dignitaries and military leaders whom her son could bestow with the order. In particular, during this period, commanders Alexander Suvorov (1770) and Mikhail Kutuzov (1789) were awarded the orders.
The Order of Saint Anna was officially ranked among the state awards of the Russian Empire on the day of the coronation of Emperor Paul I on April 5 (16), 1797. The order was divided into 3 classes. For the 1st and 2nd classes, a special degree of awarding was introduced – diamond badges (until 1828, were awarded to both Russian and foreign citizens, since 1829 – only to foreigners). The 3rd class order was worn on the pommel of an edged weapon; it was awarded to junior officers for military merit. In 1815, the order was divided into 4 classes: the 3rd class, worn on the hilt, became the 4th, and the new 3rd class was worn on a ribbon on the chest. One could be awarded the Order of Saint Anna for state and military service. In 1797, the Anna’s Merit Badges (for the lower ranks of the army and navy) were also assigned to the order.
Initially, all the degrees of the Order of Saint Anna gave the rights of hereditary nobility, but since 1845 – only the 1st class did, while all the rest provided the rights of personal nobility. The order’s festival day is February 3 (Day of Anna the Prophetess). The Order of Saint Anna was abolished by the decree of the Central Executive Committee and the Council of People’s Commissars of November 10 (23), 1917. In the entire history of the award, only the 1st class has been awarded to over 8 thousand people. After 1917, the order continued to exist as a dynastic award of the House of Romanov in exile.
Lit.: Анны Орден // Большая российская энциклопедия; Орден Святой Анны // Награды императорской России, 1702–1917 гг. Режим доступа: http://medalirus.ru/rus-ordena/orden-svyatoy-anny.php; Серков С. Р. Орден Святой Анны // Военно-исторический журнал. 1990. № 5.
Based on the Presidential Library’s materials:
[Установление о российских императорских орденах]. [СПб., 1797] (Star of the Order; Order of Saint Anna, 1st class (scan 49); Ribbon of the Order; Order of Saint Anna, 1st class (scan 51); Cross and ribbon of the Order; Order of Saint Anna, 2nd class (scan 53); Cross for Knights of the Order; Order of Saint Anna, 3rd class, depicted on an infantry and cavalry sword or saber (scan 55); The Badge of the Boarders of the Order; Order of Saint Anna (scan 57); The attire of the Knight of the Order of Saint Anna, 1st class (scan 93); The attire of the Knight of the Order of Saint Anna, 2nd class (scan 95); The attire of the Knight of the Order of Saint Anna, 3rd class (scan 97); The Boarder of the Order of St. Anna (scan 99); The attire of the Usher of the Order of Saint Anna (scan 101); The attire of the Secretary of the Order of Saint Anna (scan 103); The attire of the Herald of the Order of Saint Anna (scan 105).
Российские императорские и царские ордена : краткий исторический очерк, выдержки из орденских статутов и правила ношения орденов. СПб., 1901 (about the Order of Saint Anna (scans 57–63; 75–76; 78; 92)