- Time Period: Pre-WW1
- Year of Institution: 26 November 1807
- Country: Russia & USSR
The Cross of Saint George (or Георгиевский крест in Russian) is a state decoration of the Russian Federation initially established by Imperial Russia between 1807 and 1913.
The award was intended as a reward for “undaunted courage” by the lower ranks (soldiers, sailors and NCOs) of the military. There was only a single class with no restriction as to the number of awards per person. The first soldier to be awarded the Cross of Saint George was a cavalry non-commissioned officer named Yegor Ivanovich Mitrokhin. He received the award for distinction in the battle against the French at Friedland on 2 June 1807.
Over two million Saint George Crosses were distributed during the Great War and before the abdication of the tsar. They went to soldiers, nurses and members of the Red Cross. An enlisted man or NCO could be awarded the 4th class cross for his first brave act. A second notable act could then bring him the 3rd class cross, etc.
The Cross of Saint George could be awarded to foreigners. For example, the cross was awarded to the surviving Prussian veterans of the Napoleonic wars 1813/1815. 4500 decorations were made, although only 4264 were issued and about 1765 were returned to the Chancellery of Russian Orders after the death of their recipients and melted down.
The Cross of Saint George was reinstated into the Russian awards system in 1992.
The Cross of St. George Design
The modern Cross of Saint George is virtually identical to the imperial variant, a 34mm wide cross pattée worn on the left side of the chest with other medals. The first class and second class were struck in gold, the first class with a bow on the ribbon. The third and fourth classes were struck in silver, with the third class marked by a bow.
The obverse has a central medallion bearing the right-facing image of Saint George on horseback slaying the dragon. The reverse of the central medallion bears the Cyrillic monogram of the Order of Saint George “SG” (Russian: «СГ»). The reverse of the two lateral arms of the cross bears the serial number of the award, the left arm having an embossed letter “N” at its left extremity. The class of the cross is embossed on the reverse of the lower arm, “1-я степ” for the first class, “2-я степ” for the second class, “3-я степ” for the third class and “4-я степ” for the fourth class.
All four crosses hang from the standard Russian pentagonal mount covered with an overlapping 24mm wide silk moiré ribbon of Saint George (black and orange bicolor pattern, with three black and two orange stripes). When the cross is not worn, a ribbon bar is worn on the uniform. The ribbon bar is 8mm high by 24mm wide, it bears a 7mm high golden metallic Roman numeral denoting the class of the award.
