Order of St. Anne
The Order was founded in 1735 by Duke Karl-Friedrich Holstein-Gottorp, in memory of his wife, the daughter of Emperor Peter the Great, Tsesarevna Anna Petrovna of Russia. Included in the Order system of the Russian Empire under the Imperial will of the Emperor Paul I of Russia, in 1797.
The Order has four degrees.
Signs of the Order of 1 degree:
- a silver eight-pointed star, in the center of which, on a gold background, there is a wide, straight cross of red color, and on the rosette, around the center of the star, an ordenal motto is depicted. The star of the order is worn on the right side of the chest.
- The cross is rectangular, large (52-60 mm.), gold, covered with red enamel, in the corners of the cross are golden, openwork, slotted ornaments. It is worn on the moire ribbon scarlet, along the edges decorated with narrow stripes of yellow color, the width of the tape is 10 cm, it is worn through the left shoulder.
Signs of the Order of the 2nd degree:
- a rectangular gold cross, covered with red enamel, but smaller (42-44 mm.), worn on the neck moiré band, flowers of the same order of the 1st degree, with a width of 45 mm.
Signs of the Order of 3rd degree:
- a rectangular gold cross, covered with red enamel, but even smaller than the previous degree of size (35 mm.), is worn on a pentagonal shoe, on the left side of the chest of the chevalier, the width of the ribbon on a 24 mm shoe.
Sign of the Order of the 4th degree:
- in the golden circle a red rectangular cross, crowned with a golden imperial crown. This circle is applied to the hilt or handle of the cold weapon of the cavalier, and is decorated with a gold ribbon on the order ribbon.
The motto of the order: "Amantibus Justitiam, Pietatem, Fidem". ("Loving the Truth, Piety, Faithfulness."
The total number of people awarded from 1735 is more than 200000.