Today, soldiers and officers who have shown themselves in military service are usually celebrated with state awards - titles, orders, medals, a little less often - with personalized weapons. And what encouraged the warriors in Russia several centuries ago?
To begin with, it is worth saying about the term itself. Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary, the word "reward" explains how to "bestow, bestow, bestow … for what merit, for service, for deeds." Ushakov's dictionary says in the same spirit: "a reward is a gift, an honorable reward for any merits, distinctions." And the Constitution of Russia states that state awards of the Russian Federation are the highest form of encouraging citizens for outstanding services in the defense of the Fatherland, state building, economy, science, culture, art, education, education, health protection, life and rights of citizens, charitable activities and other outstanding services to the state. In general, an award is a recognition of a person's merits, his useful activities, and noble deeds. A sign of courage and courage shown in the interests of the state and people.
In the form we are accustomed to, the system of state awards was established in Russia under Peter the Great. However, already in the X-XII centuries in Kievan Rus, the princes had a custom to reward warriors for feats of arms, for example, with a golden hryvnia - a massive gold hoop worn around the neck.
The first news of the issuance of a special insignia intended to be worn by those awarded is contained in Russian chronicles and dates back to 1100. In the story about repelling the Polovtsian raid on Kiev under Vladimir Monomakh, Alexander Popovich is mentioned - the future hero of Russian epics Alyosha Popovich, who distinguished himself in the battle and was awarded for this by the prince himself. There are also records when, in 1147, during the riots in Kiev, the rebellious people tore off the Ryazan boyar Makhail a gold hryvnia and chains with a cross.
In the 15th century, honorable, relatively massive awards - "gold", began to exist in Russia. Outwardly, they looked like coins, but in fact they were the prototype of the award medal. Often such gold and gilded coins were awarded to an entire army that returned with a victory - from a voivode to an ordinary warrior.
And in the 15th-16th centuries, when a centralized Russian state was formed and strengthened around Moscow, new types of incentives for public service appeared. Many of them were not only honorable, but also had the character of material rewards. Those who distinguished themselves were honored with gold and silver dishes, furs, cloth, fur coats and caftans. In 1469, the Ustyuzhanians, for their courage against the Kazan Tatars, received from Ivan III, among the awards, three hundred one-row, sermyag and lamb fur coats. The envoy of the Roman Empire, de Collo, who came to Russia in 1518, writes as an eyewitness that the sovereign bestowed upon the brave, beloved warriors clothes, with which the grand ducal storerooms were filled in countless numbers. In 1683, Prince Golitsyn was awarded an axamite caftan on sables for various merits at a price of 393 rubles 5 altyn. Sometimes the clothes were handed out ready-made, sewn, but more often in pieces, or in pieces, as, for example, for the Chigirin campaigns of 1675 and 1676 they received: Prince Romodanovsky - “for a golden velvet coat, on wormy earth, at 60 rubles, and two forty sables, at 110 rubles ". Stolnik Rzhevsky - “for an atlas golden fur coat on green earth, at 30 rubles, and two forty sables, 50 rubles each”. Lieutenant-General Zmeev - "a damask and two pairs of sables, 15 rubles."
The most expensive gifts were received, of course, by large governors and close boyars. So, in 1577, Tsar Ivan the Terrible, as a sign of the merits of the boyar Belsky for the capture of the Livonian castle of Volmar, awarded him with a gold chain. And in 1591, for the expulsion of the Crimean Tatars, Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich also granted Boris Godunov a chain and a Russian fur coat with gold buttons removed from his shoulder in a thousand rubles - a colossal sum for those times.
In addition to gold and utensils, weapons were awarded. Preserved, for example, a saber with a gold inscription on the blade: "7150 (1642) Sovereign Tsar and Grand Duke Mikhail Fedorovich of All Russia bestowed this saber with the steward Bogdan Matveyevich Khitrovo."
One of the highest symbols of distinction was the mace. It was sometimes received by high-ranking government officials for services rendered by them.
They were also awarded with armor. In 1552, many soldiers were honored with them for the conquest of Kazan. In 1583, two armor from Ivan the Terrible were sent to the conqueror of Siberia Ermak.
There were also special ways to celebrate military services, for which they were awarded with a state diploma, the name of "the king's servant", "a gracious word." It was considered a great honor if the tsar sent a messenger to a distinguished voivode to ask about his health. These were, as we would now say, forms of moral encouragement.
Such were the awards bestowed by the Russian sovereigns in the form of external distinctions. With the arrival of Peter I, a lot has changed. In the next 300 years, a new system of state awards took shape, more familiar to us. Until the October Revolution, it looked like this:
I. The supreme favor of the emperor.
II. Awards with ranks and titles.
III. Land award and lease assignment.
IV. Emperor's gifts:
a) simple gifts and gifts with a monogram image;
b) snuff boxes;
c) the highest rescripts;
d) cash issues;
e) awarding honorary citizenship and Tarkhan dignity;
f) the award of caftans;
g) transfer to the guard;
h) awarding the right to wear a retired uniform;
i) award of service benefits;
j) rewarding with the Badge of Distinction for Immaculate Service;
k) rewarding with the Mariinsky Sign;
m) regimental awards, subdivided into ten types.
The "supreme benevolence" entailed a one-year reduction in the deadlines for receiving ranks and orders for length of service. As for the rest of the points, I think there is no need to say anything once again.
By the way, ranks in our usual form were introduced by the "Table of Ranks" in 1722. Orders as an honorary award, the highest award, appeared in Russia a little earlier, at the turn of the XVII-XVIII centuries. The first Russian order of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called was established by Peter the Great on March 10, 1699 after returning from a trip to Western Europe as part of the “Great Embassy”. The order was the most important order of the Russian Empire. They were awarded to monarchs, high dignitaries, both military and state, the most important foreign allies of Russia. We will not list the rest of the orders, since our magazine has repeatedly told about them. However, it is interesting that for some orders their cavaliers had to pay to the treasury.
The rates for orders have changed in Russia several times. The last changes to the register were made in 1860. Since that time, for the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called, which had one degree, they paid 500 rubles, St. Alexander Nevsky (also had one degree) - 400 rubles, St. Vladimir (had four degrees) 1st degree - 450 rubles, St. Catherine 1st degree - 400 rubles.
For orders of lower degrees, the fees were not too onerous. For example, for Saint Vladimir of the 3rd degree they paid 45 rubles, and for the 4th degree - 40 rubles, for Saint Anne of the 3rd degree - 20 rubles, and for the 4th degree - 10 rubles, for Saint Stanislav 3rd degree - 15 rubles. (they did not pay at all for the 4th degree of this order).
The holders of the Order of St. George of all degrees, according to the statute of this award, were exempted from monetary contributions. Moreover, when they were awarded with other orders for military exploits, they were not supposed to take contributions from them.
Of course, the question arises: why were those awarded with orders obliged to pay money? True, they did not remain at a loss, since with the receipt of the orders they acquired a number of privileges and benefits, sometimes very noticeably affecting their financial situation.
For example, until the middle of the 19th century, the receipt of any of the eight orders of the empire (regardless of degree) gave the commoner the right to hereditary nobility, and later the lower degrees of the Orders of St. Stanislaus and St. Anne brought personal nobility. The acquisition of a noble rank was associated with a number of advantages, such as exemption from personal taxes, recruiting duties, and obtaining the right to preferential loan loans from a bank.
Many received an annual cash reward - cavalry pensions, as well as lump-sum benefits. It turned out that the holders of the highest degrees of state awards - people who, as a rule, stood at the top rungs of the hierarchical ladder, who had highly paid positions - through a system of contributions to the order capital, financially helped needy gentlemen and their families.
