The Imperial Order of Saint Anna (; also "Order of Saint Anne" or "Order of Saint Ann") was a Holstein ducal and then Russian imperial order of chivalry. It was established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, on 14 February 1735, in honour of his wife Anna Petrovna, daughter of Peter the Great of Russia.
Originally, the Order of Saint Anna was a dynastic order of knighthood; but between 1797 and 1917 it had dual status as a dynastic order and as a state order. The Order of St. Anna continued to be awarded after the revolution by Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich, Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich, and Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna. Today, the Russian Imperial Order of St. Anna, awarded by Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna is recognized as an order of chivalry by the privately operated International Commission for Orders of Chivalry as a continuation of the pre-Revolutionary order, and has been approved for wear with military uniform by the Russian Federation, but not by some members of the Romanov Family Association.
Membership of the Order was awarded for a distinguished career in civil service or for valour and distinguished service in the military. The Order of Saint Anna entitled recipients of the first class to hereditary nobility, and recipients of lower classes to personal nobility. For military recipients, it was awarded with swords. It is now usually awarded for meritorious service to the Imperial House of Russia.
Recipients of the Order of St. Andrew (K.A.) (including grand dukes, who received the order at baptism, and princes of the Imperial blood, who received it at their majority) simultaneously received the first class of the Order of Saint Anna. The Emperor himself was the hereditary grand master of the Order.
The motto of the Order is "Amantibus Justitiam, Pietatem, Fidem" ("To those who love justice, piety, and fidelity"). Its festival day is 3 February (New Style, 16 February). The Head of the Imperial House of Russia always is Master of the imperial Order of Saint Anna.
History At first, the Order had but one class and was named the "Order of Anna". The statutes of the Order promulgated in 1735 established as the principal insignia a red-enameled gold cross, with an image of Saint Anne imposed upon the centre of the cross; the reverse bore the initials "A.I.P.F." (for "Anna Imperatoris Petri Filia": "Anna, Emperor Peter's daughter" in Latin). The same letters also abbreviate the Latin motto (as the letter "J" did not exist in Latin, "Iustitiam" was the original spelling of the word now rendered "Justitiam").
In 1742, Karl Peter Ulrich, Duke Karl Friedrich's son, was declared the Russian heir apparent. After arriving in Russia, he presented the Order to several courtiers. On 15 April 1797, his own son, Emperor Paul I of Russia, established the Order as part of the Imperial Russian system of honours and divided it into three classes, renaming it the "Order of Saint Anna". Emperor Alexander I added a fourth class in 1815.
The title of Chekhov's well-known story "Anna on the Neck" refers both to the Order and to the heroine.
In Chapter IV of Crime and Punishment, Raskolnikov guesses that Luzhin must have, "...the Anna in his buttonhole and that he puts it on when he goes to dine with contractors or merchants."
Insignia
Methods of wear
1st class: Cross worn at the bow of a broad ribbon (ten centimeters wide, worn over the left shoulder), on the right hip; star of the Order (about 95 millimeters in diameter) worn on the right breast 2nd class: Cross worn on a neck ribbon, 45 millimeters wide 3rd class: Cross worn on the left ribbon, suspended from a ribbon 28 millimeters wide 4th class: Cross borne on the pommel of an edged weapon, together with a silver-tasselled sword-knot of the ribbon of the Order
The medal ribbon was red with narrow yellow edging.
A recipient of higher classes of the Order would not wear the insignia of lower classes, unless he had also been awarded the fourth class (the insignia of which was borne on the hilt of a sword or other edged weapon).
Notable recipients
1st Class Alexander Abaza Frederick Adam Adolphus Frederick V, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Adrian Nepenin Hasan bey Agalarov Ahmad Shah Qajar Albert I of Belgium Prince Albert of Prussia (1809–1872) Archduke Albrecht, Duke of Teschen Albert, Prince Consort Mikhail Alekseyev Ilya I. Alekseyev Yevgeni Ivanovich Alekseyev Alexander I of Russia Alexander I of Yugoslavia Alexander II of Russia Alexander III of Russia Alexander Nikolaevich Golitsyn Alexander of Battenberg Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine Duke Alexander of Oldenburg Duke Alexander of Württemberg (1771–1833) Alexei Arbuzov (general) Alexei Nikolaevich, Tsarevich of Russia Gyula Andrássy Teodor Andrault de Langeron Stepan Andreyevskiy Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone Prince August, Duke of Dalarna Prince August of Württemberg Prince Augustus of Prussia Theodor Avellan Karl Gustav von Baggovut Alexander Bagration of Mukhrani Pyotr Bagration Aleksei Baiov Mikhail Bakhirev Jafargulu Bakikhanov Pyotr Baluyev Alexander Barclay de Tolly-Weymarn Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly Nikolai Bardovsky Edward Barnes (British Army officer) Pavel Bashutsky Mikhail Batyanov Vasili Bebutov Friedrich von Beck-Rzikowsky Alexander von Benckendorff (diplomat) Konstantin von Benckendorff Ilya Berezin Pyotr Bezobrazov Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Bibikov Alexander Alexandrovich von Bilderling Aleksei Birilev Otto von Bismarck Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher Georgy Bobrikov Nikolai Bobyr Woldemar von Boeckmann Alexander Bozheryanov Władysław Grzegorz Branicki Walther Bronsart von Schellendorff Aleksei Brusilov Pavel Bulgakov Prince Carl, Duke of Västergötland Carlos I of Portugal Charles XV Alexander Chavchavadze Grigori Chernozubov Alexander Chernyshyov Seraphim Chichagov Grigory Choglokov Christian IX of Denmark Grigoriy Pavlovich Chukhnin Andrzej Ciechanowiecki Prince Constantine of Imereti (1789–1844) Didi-Niko Dadiani Mikhail Pavlovich Danilov Dmitry Dashkov Henri Roussel de Courcy Dmitry Petrovich Dokhturov Leopold Wilhelm von Dobschütz Józef Dowbor-Muśnicki Alexander Drenteln Mikhail Drozdovsky Pavel Grigorievich Dukmasov Alexander Alexandrovich Dushkevich Andrei Eberhardt Edward VII Carl August Ehrensvärd (1858–1944) Johann Martin von Elmpt Grigori Engelhardt Nikolai Epanchin Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse Gaston Errembault de Dudzeele (died 1888) Gaston Errembault de Dudzeele (died 1929) Archduke Eugen of Austria Aleksei Evert Ferdinand I of Bulgaria Ferdinand II of Portugal Archduke Ferdinand Karl Joseph of Austria-Este Hans William von Fersen Nikolai Filatov Vladimir Nikolayevich Filipov Vasily Flug Dmitry Gustavovich von Fölkersahm Francis IV, Duke of Modena Franz Joseph I of Austria Archduke Franz Karl of Austria Frederik VIII of Denmark Frederick Francis III, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Frederick I, Grand Duke of Baden Archduke Friedrich, Duke of Teschen Friedrich, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg Ivan Fullon Vasily Gabashvili Apollon Galafeyev Yermolay Gamper Ivan Ganetsky Ivan Gannibal Charles Gascoigne Gavriil Gagarin George V Aleksandr Gerngross Alexander Gertsyk Alexander von Güldenstubbe August Neidhardt von Gneisenau Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Vasily Golovnin Vladimir Gorbatovsky Eugène Goüin Ivan Grigorovich Oskar Gripenberg Gustaf V Gustaf VI Adolf Gustav, Prince of Vasa Haakon VII of Norway Sir Robert Hart, 1st Baronet Lodewijk van Heiden Prince Heinrich of Hesse and by Rhine Herbert Holman Dmitry Horvat Alexander Ievreinov Gavriil Ignatyev Illarion Vasilchikov Alexander Imeretinsky Yevgeni Iskritsky Nikola Ivanov Grigory Ivanovich Villamov Archduke John of Austria Prince Johann of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg John VI of Portugal Joseph, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg Georg von Kameke Kyprian Kandratovich Nikolay Karamzin Karl Anton, Prince of Hohenzollern Karl, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg Prince Karl Theodor of Bavaria Nikolai Kashtalinsky Alexander von Kaulbars Paisi Kaysarov Gustav von Kessel Terence Keyes Pyotr Kikin Jan Hendrik van Kinsbergen Vladimir Kislitsin Hans von Koester Alexander Kolchak Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich of Russia Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich of Russia Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich of Russia Konstantin Poltoratsky Konstantin of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst Apostol Kostanda Wincenty Krasiński Vasily Kravkov Gerhard Christoph von Krogh Aleksey Kuropatkin Aglay Dmitriyevich Kuzmin-Korovaev Kyrill (Dmitrieff) Sergey Stepanovich Lanskoy Pavel Pavlovich Lebedev Leonid Lesh Leopold I of Belgium Leopold II of Belgium Leopold IV, Duke of Anhalt Alexander Mikhailovich Lermontov George Maximilianovich, 6th Duke of Leuchtenberg Sergei Georgievich, 8th Duke of Leuchtenberg Kazimir Vasilevich Levitsky Émile Loubet Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse Prince Louis of Battenberg Friedrich von Löwis of Menar Archduke Ludwig Viktor of Austria Luís I of Portugal August von Mackensen Sir Charles Madden, 1st Baronet Safarbek Malsagov Mamia V Gurieli Manuel II of Portugal Grigorios Maraslis Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna of Russia Maximilian I of Mexico Leonid Maykov Duke William of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Duke Charles of Mecklenburg Feofil Egorovich Meyendorf Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich of Russia Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia Miguel I of Portugal Konstantin Mikhaylovsky Prince Mikheil of Georgia Milan I of Serbia Mikhail Miloradovich Prince Mirian of Georgia Mikhail Mirkovich Pavel Mishchenko Miura Gorō Sayyid Mir Muhammad Alim Khan Alexander von Moller Helmuth von Moltke the Elder Helmuth von Moltke the Younger Rudolf Montecuccoli Nikolay Mordvinov (admiral) Hendrik Pieter Nicolaas Muller Mikhail Nikitich Muravyov James Wolfe Murray Valentin Musin-Pushkin Ivan Nabokov Dmitry Nadyozhny Pavel Nakhimov Napoleon III Tovmas Nazarbekian Dmitry Neverovsky Vasily Nezabitovsky Nicholas II of Russia Nicholas Alexandrovich, Tsesarevich of Russia Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich of Russia (1831–1891) Arkady Nikanorovich Nishenkov Vladimir Nikolayevich Nikitin Alexander Nikolaevich Volzhin Nikolai Stogov August Ludwig von Nostitz Nikolai Obolensky Peter Obolyaninov Georgy Orbeliani Alexey Fyodorovich Orlov David Ivanovich Orlov Oscar II Fabian Gottlieb von der Osten-Sacken Archduke Otto of Austria (1865–1906) Otto of Bavaria José Paranhos, Viscount of Rio Branco Viktor Pashutin Duke Paul Frederick of Mecklenburg Pedro V of Portugal Maurice Pellé Duke Peter of Oldenburg Racho Petrov Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders Dmitry Pikhno Georg Dubislav Ludwig von Pirch Mikhail Mikhailovich Pleshkov Carlo Andrea Pozzo di Borgo Mohammad Shah Qajar Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar Naser al-Din Shah Qajar Fyodor Radetsky Evgeny Aleksandrovich Radkevich Nikolai Pavlovich Raev Kirill Razumovski Nikolai Reitsenshtein George Mikhailovich Romanov Christopher Roop Fyodor Rostopchin Nikolay Rtishchev Prince Rudolf of Liechtenstein Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria Adam Rzhevusky Guillaume Emmanuel Guignard, vicomte de Saint-Priest Vladimir Viktorovich Sakharov Anton Yegorovich von Saltza Alexander Samsonov Pavel Savvich Johan Eberhard von Schantz Sergei Sheydeman Eduard Schensnovich Yakov Schkinsky Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia Ivan Ivanovich Shamshev Dmitry Shcherbachev Ivan Shestakov Aliagha Shikhlinski Dmitry Shuvayev Mikhail Skobelev Arkady Skugarevsky Vladimir Vasilyevich Smirnov Mikhail Sokovin Georg von Stackelberg Archduke Stephen of Austria (Palatine of Hungary) Hermann von Strantz Dejan Subotić Vladimir Sukhomlinov Felix Sumarokov-Elston Sylvester Stankievich Ludwig Freiherr von und zu der Tann-Rathsamhausen Alexander von Taube Arshak Ter-Gukasov Nikolai Tretyakov Johann Nepomuk von Triva Dmitry Troshchinsky Erast Tsytovich Georgy Tumanov Fyodor Tyutchev Paul Simon Unterberger Prince Valdemar of Denmark Sergei Vasilchikov Georgy Vasmund Nikolai Velyaminov Anthony Veselovsky