St. George's Cross and the most famous St. George's Knights of the Russian Empire. St. George's Cross

St. George's Cross

Kak, is a revived award insignia from the times of the Russian Empire with minor changes in appearance and statute.

The St. George Cross was restored in the award system of Russia by the Decree of the Presidium of the USSR Armed Forces in March 1992, the same decree ordered the commission on state awards under the President of the Russian Federation to develop regulations on the St. George Cross and the statute of the Order of St. George. The work dragged on until August 2000, when the Decree “On approval of the Statute of the Order of St. George, the Regulations on the insignia - the St. George Cross and their descriptions” appeared. Initially, it was intended that awards would be given only for exploits in battles with an external enemy. But after a peacekeeping operation was carried out in early August 2008 to force Georgia to peace, additions were made to the Statute and Regulations on the possibility of awarding “... for feats in military operations on the territory of other states while maintaining or restoring international peace and safety."

As a result, the Regulations on the St. George Cross provide for the awarding of rank and file Russian Army(soldiers and sailors), sergeants and senior officers, as well as warrant officers, midshipmen and junior officers. The basis for the award is the demonstrated bravery, courage and dedication in fulfilling military duty to defend one’s Fatherland, as well as in restoring and maintaining peace in the territories of other states as part of limited contingents of Russian troops.

The St. George Cross has four degrees, the highest of which is the first. Awards are made in accordance with the seniority of degrees. The sign is made in the form of a straight equal-pointed cross with rays expanding towards the ends. The rays, slightly convex on its front side, are bordered by a narrow edging along the edges. The center is marked by a round medallion, with a relief image of St. George slaying a serpent with a spear.

C reverse side The St. George Cross, at its ends, bears the number of the award, and in the center of the medallion is a relief monogram of the saint in the form of intertwined letters “C” and “G”. On the lower beam, depending on the degree of the award, a corresponding inscription is affixed. At the end of the upper beam there is an eyelet for attaching the sign through a ring to the pentagonal block. The block is covered with silk moire ribbon, orange color with three longitudinal black stripes - St. George's ribbon.

St. George's Cross - made of silver, the signs of the second and first degrees are gilded. The size is determined by the distance between the ends of its rays and is equal to thirty-four millimeters for all four degrees. The sign blocks have the same dimensions, and the width of the tapes on them is twenty-four mm. Distinctive feature blocks for insignia of the first and third degrees and is the presence on it of a bow with the flowers of the Order of St. George.

Rules for wearing: The St. George Cross should be worn on the left chest. Its location is determined after orders, but before all medals. If the recipient has signs of several degrees, then they are located on the chest in descending order. Miniature copies are provided for everyday wear. On uniforms, it is possible to wear ribbons of the insignia of St. George on a daily basis. The tapes are located on strips eight millimeters high and twenty-four millimeters wide. The ribbons on the strips in the middle part have images in the form of golden Roman numerals from one to four, seven mm high. The numbers indicate the degree of the St. George Cross to which the bar corresponds.

The first award of the St. George Cross took place in 2008. It is worth noting that military personnel were awarded Russian Federation who took a direct part in the operation to force Georgia to peace, which was carried out on the territory of South Ossetia, and in which Russian forces supported the Ossetian people. The peacekeeping operation was carried out in August 2000 against Georgian forces showing aggression towards the Ossetian people. As a result of the counter-offensive along the entire line of confrontation, the Russian army, together with the army of South Ossetia, managed to oust the Georgian security forces to their previous positions, thereby persuading the country’s leadership to begin a peaceful resolution of the conflict. Thus, this military operation personified the combination of competent command of units with the courage and courage of the participants in the conflict (from an ordinary soldier to the highest rank of commanders).

Such a successful peacekeeping campaign could not remain in Russian society without rewarding or recognizing its heroes. 263 servicemen who stopped the Georgian aggression received the Cross of St. George. Ordinary soldiers, sailors, junior sergeants, sergeants, orderlies and many others became Knights of St. George.

Among the recipients is Guard Captain Dorin Alexey Yuryevich, commander of the 234th Black Sea Airborne Assault Battalion of the Alexander Nevsky Airborne Assault Regiment. Alexey Dorin and his unit were the first to enter the territory of South Ossetia. In addition, the captain took part in the liberation of the city of Tskhinvali, as well as in the capture of the Georgian base in Gori.

Insignia of the Military Order- award sign for the Order of St. George for lower ranks from 1917 to 1917 for outstanding courage shown in battle against the enemy. The insignia of the Military Order was the highest award for soldiers and non-commissioned officers.

The first to receive the soldier's George was the non-commissioned officer of the Cavalry Regiment Yegor Ivanovich Mitrokhin for his distinction in the battle with the French near Friedland on June 2, 1807. The first Knight of the Soldier George served from 1793 to 1817 and retired with the lowest officer rank of ensign. However, Mitrokhin's name was first included in the lists only in 1809, when cavaliers from the guards regiments were the first to be included in the compiled lists. Sub-ensign of the 5th Jaeger Regiment Vasily Berezkin received the cross for the battle with the French near Morungen on January 6 () 1807, that is, for a feat accomplished even before the establishment of the award.

When it was established, the Soldier's Cross did not have degrees, and there were also no restrictions on the number of awards one person could receive. Unlike the officer's order, the soldier's award was not covered with enamel and was minted from silver of the 95th standard (modern 990th standard). By decree of July 15, 1808, holders of the insignia of the Military Order were exempted from corporal punishment. The insignia could be confiscated from the recipient only by court and with mandatory notification of the emperor.

There was a practice of awarding the insignia of the Military Order to civilians of the lower classes, but without the right to be called a holder of the insignia. One of the first to be awarded in this way was the Kola tradesman Matvey Andreevich Gerasimov. In 1810, the ship on which he was carrying a cargo of flour was captured by an English warship. A prize team of eight English soldiers under the command of an officer was landed on the Russian ship, which had a crew of 9 people. 11 days after the capture, taking advantage of inclement weather on the way to England, Gerasimov and his comrades captured the British, forcing them to officially surrender (give up their sword) and the officer who commanded them, after which he brought the ship to the Norwegian port of Varde, where the prisoners were interned.

There is a known case of a general being awarded a soldier's award. It became M.A. Miloradovich for the battle with the French in the soldier formation near Leipzig. Emperor Alexander I, who observed the battle, presented him with a silver cross.

St. George's Crosses, 1st class. - OK. 33 thousand
St. George's Crosses, 2nd Art. - OK. 65 thousand
St. George's Crosses, 3rd Art. - OK. 289 thousand
St. George's Crosses, 4th Art. - OK. 1 million 200 thousand

To indicate the serial number (“per million”), “1/M” was stamped on the top side of the cross, and the remaining numbers were placed on the sides of the cross. On September 10, 1916, according to the Highest approval of the opinion of the Council of Ministers, gold and silver were removed from the St. George Cross. They began to be stamped from “yellow” and “white” metal. These crosses have the letters “ZhM” and “BM” under their serial numbers. There were crosses of St. George: 1st degree “ZhM” - 10,000 (No. from 32481 to 42480), 2nd degree “ZhM” - 20,000 (No. from 65031 to 85030), 3rd degree “BM” - 49,500 (No. from 289151 to 338650), 4th degree “BM” - 89,000 (No. from 1210151 to 1299150).

Statute

The insignia of the Military Order consists of a silver cross, in the circle of which, on one side, is the image of St. George on a horse, and on the other, the monograms of St. George and the number under which the person who has this sign is included in the list of those granted by him.

The insignia of the Military Order is worn in the buttonhole on the St. George ribbon.

This insignia is acquired only on the battlefield, during the siege and defense of fortresses, and on the waters in naval battles. It is given only to those lower ranks who, actually serving in the Land and Naval Forces, distinguish themselves with special courage against the enemy.

It goes without saying that in any case, the right to be awarded the insignia of the Military Order is acquired only by those lower ranks who, when performing feats, combine strict obedience to their superiors with courage.

The insignia of the Military Order is never removed, even if the recipient was promoted to Officer; but if, by promotion to Officer, he is awarded the Knight of the Order of St. George, in this case the insignia should already be removed.

For the cross, a soldier or non-commissioned officer received a salary one third more than usual. For each additional sign, the salary was increased by a third until the salary doubled. The additional salary remained for life after retirement; widows could receive it for another year after the death of the gentleman.

The awarding of the soldier's George also gave the following benefits to the distinguished person: the prohibition of the use of corporal punishment to persons who have the insignia of the order; when transferring cavaliers awarded the St. George Cross of non-commissioned officer rank from army regiments to the guard, maintaining their previous rank, although a guard non-commissioned officer was considered two ranks higher than an army one.

If a cavalier received an insignia in the militia, then he could no longer be sent to military service (“shaved into a soldier”) without his consent. However, the statute did not exclude the forced surrender of cavaliers as soldiers if they were recognized by the landowners as persons “whose behavior would disturb the general peace and quiet.”

It should be noted that often a certain number of crosses were allocated to a unit that distinguished itself in battle, and then they were awarded to the most distinguished soldiers, taking into account the opinions of their comrades. This order was legalized and called the “company verdict.” Crosses received by “company verdict” were valued among soldiers more than those received on the recommendation of the commander.

Extracts from the Statute of the Order of St. George from 1913:

St. George's Cross for representatives of non-Christian faiths with an image of an eagle instead of St. George

First highest degree: Golden Cross worn on the chest, on the St. George ribbon, with a bow; in the circle of the Cross on the front side there is an image of St. George, and on the back there is a monogram of St. George; on the transverse ends of the reverse side of the Cross is carved the number under which the person who has the Cross of the first degree is included in the list of those awarded this degree, and on the lower end of the Cross the inscription: 1st degree.

Second degree: The same gold Cross, on the St. George ribbon, without a bow; on the transverse ends of the reverse side of the Cross there is a number carved under which the person who has the Cross of the second degree is included in the list of those granted this degree, and below is the inscription: 2nd degree.

Third degree: The same silver cross on the St. George ribbon, with a bow; on the transverse ends of the reverse side there is a number cut out under which the person who has the Cross of the third degree is included in the list of those awarded this degree, and below is the inscription: 3rd degree.

Fourth degree: The same silver Cross, on the St. George ribbon, without a bow; on the transverse ends of the reverse side of the Cross there is a number carved under which the Cross of the fourth degree granted is included in the list of those granted this degree, and below is the inscription: 4th degree.

The new statute also introduced lifetime monetary incentives for holders of the St. George Cross: for the 4th degree - 36 rubles, for the 3rd degree - 60 rubles, for the 2nd degree - 96 rubles and for the 1st degree - 120 rubles per year. Cavaliers of several degrees received an increase or pension only for the highest degree. It was possible to live normally on a pension of 120 rubles; the salary of industrial workers in 1913 was about 200 rubles a year.

A cavalier of the 1st degree also complained of the rank of lieutenant, and a cavalier of the 2nd degree received such a rank only upon transfer to the reserve.

For the fight against the Bolsheviks

Contrary to popular belief, the Cross of St. George was not “legalized” by the Soviet government or officially allowed to be worn by members of the Red Army. After the start of the Great Patriotic War, many older people were mobilized, among whom were participants in the First World War who were awarded the Cross of St. George. Such servicemen wore awards “in person”, in which no one interfered with them, and enjoyed legitimate respect in the army.

After the introduction of the Order of Glory into the system of Soviet awards, which was in many ways similar in ideology to the “soldier’s George”, an opinion arose to legitimize the old award, in particular, a letter addressed to the chairman of the Council of People’s Commissars and the State Defense Committee I.V. Stalin from a professor at VGIK, former member of the first Military Revolutionary Committee for Aviation of the Moscow Military District and Knight of St. George N.D. Anoshchenko with a similar proposal:

...I ask you to consider the issue of equating b. St. George cavaliers, awarded this order for military exploits committed during the last war with the damned Germany in 1914-1919, to the cavaliers of the Soviet Order of Glory, since the statute of the latter almost completely corresponds to the statute of the b. Order of George and even the colors of their order ribbons and their design are the same.

By this act, the Soviet government will first of all demonstrate the continuity of the military traditions of the glorious Russian army, the high culture of respect for all heroic defenders of our beloved Motherland, the stability of this respect, which will undoubtedly stimulate both the b. St. George's cavaliers, as well as their children and comrades, to perform new feats of arms, for each military award pursues not only the goal of equitably rewarding the hero, but it should also serve as an incentive for other citizens to perform similar feats.

Thus, this event will further strengthen the combat power of our valiant Red Army.

Long live our great Motherland and its invincible, proud and brave people, who have repeatedly defeated the German invaders, and are now successfully defeating them under your wise and firm leadership!

Long live the great Stalin!

Professor Nick. ANOSCHENKO 22.IV.1944

A similar movement ultimately resulted in a draft resolution of the Council of People's Commissars:

In order to create continuity in the fighting traditions of Russian soldiers and pay due respect to the heroes who defeated the German imperialists in the war of 1914-1917, the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR decides:

1. Equate b. cavaliers of St. George, who received the Cross of St. George for military exploits performed in battles against the Germans in the war of 1914-17, to the cavaliers of the Order of Glory with all the ensuing benefits.

2. Allow b. St. George's cavaliers wear a pad with an order ribbon of the established colors on their chest.

3. Persons subject to the effect of this resolution are issued an order book of the Order of Glory marked “b. St. George Knight", which is formalized by the headquarters of military districts or fronts on the basis of the submission of relevant documents to them (genuine orders or service records of that time)

This project never became a real resolution.

List of persons who were full holders of the St. George Cross and bore the title of Hero of the Soviet Union

Five such people are known:

Ageev, Grigory Antonovich (posthumously)
Budyonny, Semyon Mikhailovich (one of the three three times Heroes of the Soviet Union)
Lazarenko, Ivan Sidorovich (posthumously)

The owner of the “full bow” of the soldiers’ Georgiev, K. I. Nedorubov, wore the Gold Star of the Hero for his exploits on the fronts of World War II along with crosses.

Cavaliers

Knights of the St. George's Cross. Photo from 1915

Future marshals each had two crosses - non-commissioned officer Georgy Zhukov, lower rank Rodion Malinovsky and junior non-commissioned officer Konstantin Rokossovsky.

The future Major General Sidor Kovpak, during the Great Patriotic War - commander of the Putivl partisan detachment and formation, had two crosses partisan detachments Sumy region, which later received the status of the First Ukrainian Partisan Division.

Maria Bochkareva became a famous Knight of St. George during the First World War. In October 1917, she was the commander of the famous women's battalion guarding the Winter Palace in Petrograd. In 1920, she was shot by the Bolsheviks.

The last Knight of St. George awarded on Russian soil in 1920 was 18-year-old sergeant P.V. Zhadan, for saving the headquarters of the 2nd Cavalry Division of General Morozov. Zhadan, at the head of a squadron of 160 sabers, scattered the cavalry column of the Red Divisional Commander Zhloba, which was trying to escape from the “sack,” directly towards the division headquarters.

Recovery in the Russian Federation

The insignia "St. George's Cross" was restored in the Russian Federation in 1992. Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation dated March 2, 1992 No. 2424-I “On state awards of the Russian Federation” established:

Decree of the Presidium Supreme Council No. 2424-I was approved by Resolution of the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation of March 20, 1992 No. 2557-I “On approval of the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation “On state awards of the Russian Federation””.

Notes

The Supreme Manifesto of February 13, 1807
Talanov A.I. Military history magazine, 1991, No. 1
The 84th standard corresponds to coin silver. In the pre-revolutionary system, hallmarking meant the content of 84 spools of pure silver in 96 spools (1 pound) of a product.
Personal decree of July 15, 1808
Kovalevsky N.F. History of the Russian State. Biographies of famous military figures of the 18th - early 20th centuries. M., 1997

During the First World War, several Knights of St. George appeared, each having five (!) crosses. Today I will mention only a few of them, although at least three more are not on this list!

This is a soldier's George of all 4 degrees (first on the left - fourth on the right, with bows 3 and first)

the so-called St. George's bow (the full bow included 4 more St. George's medals for bravery)

Officers' St. George's Crosses (everything is clear - which is which)

Scheme of correct wearing of officers' St. George's crosses

Ilya Vasilievich Volkov, repeatedly distinguished himself in battles during the war with Japan, and then during the First World War. His five St. George crosses are still kept in the family.

Hero's Crosses of St. George:

4th degree (No. 42701)

3rd degree (No. 86324) - received it not immediately... but after being wounded

already in the new part there is another cross of the 3rd degree (No. 117607)

2nd degree (No. 18654)

1st degree (No. 14357)

Another hero is the namesake of Ilya Vasilyevich, Avenir Nikolaevich Volkov, also received five St. George's Crosses.

Even during the Japanese War, he already had four degrees of decoration, and in the very first battles of the First World War he again distinguished himself and received the highest degree of the St. George Cross for the second time.

The third hero Petr Leonov, earned all five crosses during the German war.

Fourth hero: Zhidik Alexey Vasilievich, ensign of the 9th Hussars Kyiv Regiment.

Sub-ensign of the 9th Kyiv Hussar Regiment, in this regiment another one was a sub-ensign with 5 crosses.

There was another hero who received two first degree Georges in one day (two feats!) from the hands of Tsar Nicholas.

There was another one, I don’t remember the name... we have to dig and look :(

There were also heroes, full cavaliers, who received their 5th crosses with wreaths (for the fight against Soviet power) - in particular, there were two of them in the famous Kappel (Baikal) crossing in the winter of 1919.

There were also such cavalier heroes who, having received all 4 degrees of George, became officers and managed to also receive the officer George!

Here's one of them in the photo! full Knight of St. George, 4 crosses and 4 medals for bravery + officer's cross of the 3rd (?) degree

In the photo Dmitry Ivanovich Mitaki (1892 - 1953)- Full Knight of St. George (awarded by Emperor Nicholas II in the Church of “Peter and Paul” in Bendery (Moldova), military intelligence officer, 19 wounds. Not all have been preserved in the Museum of the History of Moldova (now the Republic of Moldova), duplicates of his awards and several old photographs, numbers of medals “For Bravery”: No. 166722, No. 707194.

to his left: with 4 crosses and 2 medals P. I. Krizhenovsky

*sorry, Ramadan, for getting ahead of me.

I give you everything I have - your post will turn out better and of higher quality!

**I’m checking information about the 6 crosses holders.

Infrequently, it was practiced to award the same degree of the St. George Cross several times. Thus, ensign of the Life Guards of the 3rd Infantry Regiment G.I. Solomatin was awarded two St. George Crosses of the 4th degree, two of the 3rd degree, one of the 2nd degree and two of the 1st degree.

The most complete hero in terms of soldier's crosses and St. George medals Salomatin, ensign of the Life Guards Rifle Regiment (born in 1893 (?), a total of 13 crosses and St. George medals

SEVEN St. George's crosses (4X2 + 3x2 + 2nd + 1x2 = 7!)

6 St. George medals? (2 in Japanese and 4 in World War I)

*** Next time I’ll tell you about 83 heroes who were presented (or even received) 4 (FOUR) Orders of Glory!

and about three who deserved this glorious order 5 (FIVE) times!!!

One of them is still a living fellow countryman of mine from the suburbs of Krasnoyarsk! (however, he only wears the 4 Orders of Glory that were awarded to him - someone in Moscow thought that he would have too much...)

But Nikolai Evgenievich Litvinenko is not sad about this... As well as about the fact that he still has not received the highest soldier’s rank of Sergeant Major, which he still deserved during the Second World War!

We are planning to organize a petition to the awards department so that the veteran is given his well-deserved third medal of the Order of Glory, 2nd degree.

St. George's crosses of 4 degrees were established as the highest award, which was awarded to representatives of lower ranks in the army of the Russian Empire. It was awarded only for personal courage shown on the battlefield. Despite the fact that this award is already more than two hundred years old, it did not immediately receive its current name - St. George's Cross. It appeared only in 1913 with the approval of the updated regulations on the Order of St. George.

History of origin

In mid-February 1807, the Highest Manifesto was published, which established the Insignia of the Military Order. It was he who would later be renamed In 1833, under Emperor Nicholas I, the need arose to adopt a new statute for the Order of St. George. It contained several innovations regarding the awarding of crosses to soldiers. For example, commanders-in-chief of armies, as well as military leaders of individual corps, could now nominate for the award. This simplification of the procedure greatly simplified the award process itself, and also practically eliminated all kinds of bureaucratic delays.

The next innovation is a maximum increase in the salaries of soldiers and non-commissioned officers, as well as the right to wear a cross along with the St. George's bow. This difference preceded the appearance of the division of the award into several degrees.

The first awards, which appeared in 1807, were not numbered. This oversight began to be corrected only after two years, when they decided to compile lists of all gentlemen. For this purpose, awards were temporarily withdrawn and numbered. Therefore, it is precisely known that there were 9937 copies. Thanks to this, it is now possible to find out who was awarded this or that St. George Cross (4th degree). By the number and type of font it is easy to determine the period to which the award belongs. During World War I, the number of crosses awarded exceeded 1 million, which is why the reverse of later medallions bears the designation 1/M on the upper ray.

Brief description

St. George's crosses of 4 degrees appeared only in March 1856, when further changes were made to the regulations on the Order of St. George. Initially, grades 1 and 2 were made of gold, and the remaining two were made of silver. According to the statute, awards must be made sequentially. In addition, each of the degrees had its own special numbering, and for visual distinction, a bow made from the St. George ribbon was added.

After numerous bonuses to soldiers for valiant service in Turkish war 1877-1878 stamps, which had previously been used by the mint for minting, it was decided to update. For this purpose, medalist A. A. Grilikhes made some changes to the images on the crosses. It was then that these insignia acquired appearance, which survived until the 1917 revolution. Print of the figure of St. George on the updated medallions has become much more expressive.

Privilege

The new statute of 1913, among other things, provided for lifelong monetary support. Thus, those awarded the St. George Cross of the 4th degree received 36 rubles, and the first - already 120. At the same time, holders of several awards were paid an increase or pension as for the highest distinction. Cavaliers of the St. George Cross of the 4th degree, and those simply awarded this insignia, had a number of privileges, for example, it was forbidden to apply to them

Manufacturing Features

Already in April 1914, St. George's crosses of 4 degrees of a new type appeared. The order for them came in the fall of 1913. They were intended to be presented to participants in military expeditions and border guards. Since July 1914, when World War I began, the mint began to mint significantly more crosses. To speed up the process, we first used even those medallions that remained from Japanese War. During the first year alone, about 1.5 thousand crosses of the first were sent to the army, more than 3 thousand - of the second, 26 thousand - of the third, and the largest number of the fourth - 170 thousand copies.

Due to the sharply increased demand for St. George's crosses made of precious metals and the difficult economic situation in the country in the spring of 1915, it was decided to slightly reduce the standard of gold used for these purposes, so the highest degrees began to be made from a special alloy. It contained only 60% pure gold.

Beginning in October 1916, expensive metals were completely removed from the alloy used in the manufacture of all Russian awards without exception. From now on, St. George's crosses of 4 degrees were minted only from cupronickel and tombac, and on its rays were the letters: BM is a white metal, and ZhM is yellow. Just before the revolution of 1917, the Provisional Government allowed this award to be presented to both soldiers and officers, while the latter also had a laurel branch pinned to their ribbon.

04.05.2016 | 14:18:34

Distribution will begin tomorrow, May 5th St. George ribbons in Irkutsk. You can receive ribbons from 12.00 to 14.00 at the Kirov Square (near the fountain), at the Angara Hotel, at bus stops public transport "Linguistic University" and "Art Museum", as well as at the tank "Irkutsk Komsomolets" on 1st Sovetskaya Street.

Therefore, from tomorrow on the streets of the city you will be able to see pictures like this:

Or this one:

And in stores we will begin to be greeted and are already greeted with the following promotions:

We decided to find out how and when the “St. George’s Ribbon” campaign was born and why it has become so firmly established in our lives. And also, how to wear the St. George ribbon correctly and what to do with people who wear it everywhere.

The film received its name from the name of St. George the Victorious. Established by Catherine II in 1769 during Russian-Turkish war together with the military order of the Holy Great Martyr and Victorious George. This was the highest military award of the Russian Empire, which was used to reward officers for their merits on the battlefield, as well as for loyalty and prudence. The ribbon came with a lifetime salary. After the death of the owner, it was inherited, but could be confiscated due to the commission of a shameful offense.

One of the symbols of victory “St. George’s Ribbon” was precisely May 9, 1945 on the day of the establishment of the medal by the Decree of the Presidium of the USSR Armed Forces “For the victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.” It was this medal that became a symbol of victory Soviet soldier in Great Patriotic War, because it was received by about 15 million people who fought against the German occupiers, as well as those who left the ranks of the Soviet army for health reasons.

There was also the “Order of Glory,” established in November 1943 and awarded to junior military personnel only for personal merit. He could also be considered the progenitor of the “St. George’s Ribbon” campaign, but he did not receive that widespread, because it was issued only 1 million times versus 15 million medals “For Victory over Germany,” however, it was therefore valued much more highly.

IN modern Russia On the eve of May 9, starting in 2005, a large-scale event called “St. George’s Ribbon” has been held. The campaign was invented for the 60th anniversary of the Victory by Natalya Loseva - employee news agency"RIA Novosti". The organizers of the action are RIA Novosti and the Student Community. Funding for the purchase of ribbons is provided by regional and local authorities.

The action begins with volunteers distributing among the population small pieces of ribbons identical in shape and color to the St. George Ribbon. According to the terms of the promotion, the ribbon must be attached to the lapel of clothing, tied to a hand, to a bag or to a car antenna. Something like this:

Purpose of this event, according to the initiators of the project, is “the creation of a symbol of the holiday,” “an expression of our respect for veterans, a tribute to the memory of those who fell on the battlefield, gratitude to the people who gave everything for the front.”

This is where it lies main problem throughout the action - the use of a victory symbol tied to a car antenna would hardly have pleased the veterans who shed their blood, for which they received a medal with a St. George ribbon. But, as they say, “the road to hell is paved with good intentions.” We, of course, must say “thank you” to the organizers that for 11 years now we have had a symbol that binds everyone together at the beginning of May. The organizers did a tremendous job of disseminating this symbol, but at the same time, no work was done to convey the sacred meaning of this action. Now we have a rather strange situation - all Russians have St. George ribbons, but they do not know what to do with them, how to put them on correctly, and what they ultimately mean. There are three ways out of this situation: 1. Stop holding the action. 2. Introduce administrative liability for wearing a ribbon other than on the chest. 3. Conduct an educational program among the population.

The first option, of course, is not suitable, because the “St. George Ribbon” is not only a symbol of victory over fascism, but also of all victories ever achieved by a Russian person. The second option was already considered last year, then State Duma deputies already proposed to amend Article 329 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Desecration of the coat of arms or flag of Russia,” which currently provides for administrative liability for violating the procedure for using state symbols and criminal liability for desecration of the flag or coat of arms countries. Well, the third option, the most correct in this situation, since the state has various mechanisms its implementation - from state television channels to activists of youth movements, who could talk about the action, as we do today.

This promotion even has its own code, which most people, unfortunately, are not even aware of:

1. The “St. George’s Ribbon” campaign is non-commercial and non-political.

2. The purpose of the action is to create a symbol of the holiday - Victory Day.

3. This symbol is an expression of our respect for veterans, a tribute to the memory of those who fell on the battlefield, gratitude to the people who gave everything for the front. To all those thanks to whom we won in 1945.

4. “St. George’s Ribbon” is not a heraldic symbol. This is a symbolic ribbon, a replica of the traditional bicolor St. George ribbon.

5. The use of original St. George’s or Guards ribbons in the promotion is not allowed. "St. George's Ribbon" is a symbol, not a reward.

6. “St. George’s Ribbon” cannot be an object of purchase and sale.

7. “St. George’s Ribbon” cannot be used to promote goods and services. The use of tape as an accompanying product or element of product packaging is not allowed.

8. “St. George’s Ribbon” is distributed free of charge. It is not permitted to issue a ribbon to a visitor to a retail establishment in exchange for a purchase.

9. It is not allowed to use " St. George's ribbon» for political purposes by any parties or movements.

10. Inscriptions on the ribbon are not allowed.

Summarizing everything that was written above - the only true way of wearing the St. George ribbon is to attach it to the lapel of the jacket on the left side at heart level. This best way show memory and respect to the people who gave their lives for the future of our country.
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