Women's awards

The prototype of modern women's awards arose at the turn of the Renaissance and the New Age in Western Europe.
Then it all started with women's orders - as "knightly" organizations - to celebrate representatives of royal families or young ladies close to the throne. Soon, this circle expanded, and now the social situation usually does not play a key role for awarding, although in some countries, for example, Great Britain, differences still remain exclusively for women from royal families.

One of the oldest is considered the female dynastic order of the Slave of Virtue, founded in 1658 by the widow of the Austrian Empress Eleonora Gonzago . In a sense, he lost the palm only to the knightly order of the Dead Head, created in 1652: both men and, as an exception, women were accepted into it. After the rewarding, the members of the order of Rab Virtues pledged to be pious and to conduct charity work, and in case of violation of these norms each young lady was required to pay a fine. Only representatives of royal families were accepted into the organization, the number of “noble ladies” was limited to 30. However, most of their “quantitative” rule was neglected - in the last year of the existence of the order there were more than a thousand women.

The badge of the order had two sizes - large (for wearing during festive ceremonies at the court) and small (for everyday wear). It was based on a medallion depicting the sun with a human face, framed by a laurel wreath and the abbreviation “SOL. UBIQ. TRIUM. ”(“ Only triumph is everywhere ”). It is believed that the sign was worn on the left shoulder, but other options are possible, in particular on the neck.

In 1668, Eleanor Gonzago began another secular organization for the ladies - the Order of the Star Cross. The reason for this was a fire in the palace: a family heirloom miraculously survived in the fire - a box, according to legend, made of wood of a cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified. Despite the fact that the gold frame and jewelry received significant damage, the tree was not damaged.
This prettyly struck the Empress, and she decided to create an order, the ladies of which should devote themselves to religious and charitable activities. Only Catholic from the highest nobility was accepted into the organization; their number was not limited. A married woman could join the order from the age of 18, and married after 40. The badge of the order was a two-headed eagle, in the center of which blue and red crosses are placed on top of each other. They wore it on a black bow on a shoulder or chest. From the day of its foundation, the sign changed design several times, however, as a reward it still exists - in the status of a dynastic award of the Habsburg House of Lorraine.

A sufficiently long “life” was found in the Spanish Order of Maria Louise, begun on April 21, 1792 by King Carlos IV in honor of his wife. According to the charter, the king was the chairman of the organization, and the queen was the great master. The queen appointed “noble ladies”, whose duties included: participating in divine services dedicated to the patron saint of the order, St. Ferdinand, visiting hospitals and shelters, and performing other good deeds.
The badge of the order had no degrees and was made in the form of an eight-pointed cross. On the obverse of the central medallion was depicted Saint Ferdinand.

Despite all the events in the history of Spain, representatives of the monarchist courts of the whole world were awarded the Order of Maria Louise until the 1970s. After this rewarding, they are not held, although the order is not officially canceled.

The name “Louise” also appeared in the name of another famous female order established in August 1814 by King of Prussia Frederick William III in honor of his wife Louise Amalia. Unlike most women's awards of those times, this order was designed to award not only representatives of the noble estates, but also all women - of any social status, nationality and faith - for services to Prussia in the field of humanitarian and charitable activities. The Germans who distinguished themselves during the Napoleonic Wars who assisted the wounded soldiers and officers of the Prussian army were the first to be awarded this award. In peacetime, the order was encouraged for helping victims of epidemics, natural disasters, and the like.
In addition, the basis for receiving the award was belonging to the Prussian royal house. At the time of foundation, the sign of the order had only one degree, but was of two types: for Christians of all faiths (in the form of a golden cross, in the center of which was a monogram “L” and seven five-pointed stars) and non-Christians (round gold medal with a monogram “L”) . In 1865, the order was divided into degrees. To the golden cross, which received the first degree, they added a silver one - the second degree, which was also divided into two classes. Awarding the special Great Cross of the Order is also known. In general, the award "lived" for about 100 years: it was canceled in 1918, and the last presentations took place during the First World War.

In percentage terms, the most female awards were probably founded by the elector and the king of Saxony: of the six orders they created, two were purely female. The first - the Order of Sidonia - was approved in 1870 by King Johann, devoting it to the ancestor of the Albertine line, whose representatives ruled Saxony for several centuries. The award was in the form of a Maltese cross , inside which was a medallion depicting the Duchess of Sidonia.
Unlike many others, the badge of the order did not have a ribbon and was attached to the dress with a curly hairpin. The last award of the kingdom was the Order of Maria Anna , established in May 1906 by the ruler of Saxony, Frederick Augustus III in honor of his mother.

Among the women's orders created several centuries ago, there are a small number of those that are still serving today. For example, the Order of St. Isabella , founded in 1801 by the future king of Portugal, Prince Juan VI, to honor the memory of Queen Isabella of Aragon , who was canonized for virtue and help to the poor. In the XIX century, the badge of the order was considered one of the most exquisite in the jewelry performance of world awards. It had two parts: a royal crown and a medallion with the image of St. Isabella serving alms and surrounded by a wreath of roses. The award was attached to clothes with a pink ribbon. The last time the award was presented last year in the summer ^{[ when? ]} , however, not as a state, but as a dynastic. She was awarded about two dozen women for services in the field of education, science and art.

At the state level, the Order of the Precious Crown , established by the Emperor of Japan Meiji in January 1888 to award “noble ladies, provided exceptional services to the state,” is still being awarded. At first the difference was five degrees, but soon three more were added to them. The upper classes are intended to reward only representatives of the imperial or royal families and the higher aristocracy, and below - for untitled people. It is noteworthy that several times men were honored with the order. For example, in 1917 he was handed over to 10 volunteer nurses from the USA and 19 correspondents of American newspapers for participating in the Russo-Japanese War. The appearance of the sign of the order differs markedly from the European ones mentioned above. The headdress of the empress and the mythical bird Hoo is reproduced on the central medallion, it is surrounded by pearls and an image of sakura flowers.

In the United States of America there are several awards, including international ones, for awarding women only. However, if we talk purely about the award “in metal”, that is, the commemorative medal “Women's Army Corps”. In 1943, it was approved by US President Franklin Roosevelt to encourage the fair sex, who, not inferior to men, served during the Second World War in special female army corps. The award consists of a pad and a medallion, on the obverse of which the head of the goddess of war Athena is depicted in a helmet against the background of a sword, oak and laurel branches.

In Australia, each step of the country's main award - the Order of Australia - is distributed according to the "gender principle", that is, each class has separate signs for men and women. The order was founded in 1975 by Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain, and at first it had five degrees. For ten years, the highest of them - the titles of “Knight” and “Lady” were abolished, but last year ^{[ when? ]} Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced his intention to restore them, even naming the names of the first winners. In addition, there is a women's award in the country - the Cross for Nurses, created in 1989, but it is rarely awarded.

In general, awards for medical personnel, among which women predominate, were launched in many countries. The most prestigious and famous of these awards is the Florence Nightingale Medal, which was established by the International Committee of the Red Cross and Red Crescent in 1912. She is noted by doctors who are always faithful to their work and who have shown courage in assisting the wounded and sick both during military operations and in peacetime. Candidates are nominated once a year, and the names of the awarded are announced on May 12 - the birthday of the outstanding sister of mercy and public figure of Great Britain, in whose honor the medal is named - Florence Nightingale.

In the 20th century, awards were widely used to encourage mothers with many children or families. One of the first such differences was established in Germany in 1938: the “Honorary Cross of a German Mother” had three degrees: gold was given to women who gave birth to eight or more children, silver - six to seven, and bronze - four to five. The first award took place on Mother's Day on May 21, 1939, when 3 million Germans received the cross at the same time. The last time the award was presented in 1944, and in general, during its existence, it was encouraged by about 5 million women.

Mother's awards were also based in other European countries, in the Soviet Union. It is noteworthy that for some time there were such differences in the African Republic of Zaire (now Congo): in particular, they were encouraged with medals "For Maternal Merit" and "For Merit in Marital Life." And in Vietnam since 1994, the title of “Mother Heroine” has been awarded with the award of the “Golden Star”, which is considered the highest state award.

If in Europe the prototype of modern women's awards - the dynastic order of the Slave of Virtue - was founded in 1658, then in tsarist Russia the first such award appeared only half a century later. The Order was created by Peter I in recognition of the merits of his wife, Ekaterina Alekseevna, during the unsuccessful Prut campaign of 1711, in which they were together. According to one version, when the Russian army was surrounded by the Turkish army, which significantly exceeded its number, the tsarina gave all her jewelry in order to bribe the commander of the enemy army and agree on a truce.
This fact was refuted by some participants in the campaign, but everyone noted: although Ekaterina Alekseevna was in her seventh month of pregnancy, and in difficult conditions, she behaved very dignified and served as a model for men.

At first, the award was founded only for honoring the queen and was called the Order of Liberation, but then it was renamed in honor of St. Catherine. Peter handed the award to his wife in 1714 - on the day of her namesake - and more during his lifetime, the Order was not celebrated. After the death of her husband, becoming Empress, Catherine I awarded two daughters with orders and six more people, among whom was the 11-year-old son of Prince Menshikov, Alexander is the only man to receive this purely female award. In general, according to the charter, only noblewomen, in particular foreigners, could receive the award, but for which merit was not specifically indicated. As practice shows, traditionally encouraged for charity, educational activities, the merits of parents or husband. There are also known cases of awarding women who distinguished themselves during hostilities. In addition, the order was awarded to all the great princes - after birth and foreign princesses, who were brides of the great princes - after the engagement.

The order had two degrees, in its signs belonged to a cross, a star and a ribbon. Saint Catherine was depicted on the obverse of the central medallion of the cross, and on the reverse was a pair of eagles protecting the ruins of a tower from snakes, at the top of which there is a nest with chicks. Above was the inscription “Compared with spouse by labor”. On the star and ribbon of the order (first white, and after 1797 - red) are the words of the motto of distinction - "For love and the Fatherland."

The award was the second oldest in the hierarchy of empire awards and lasted until the revolutionary events of 1917. For all the time, more than 700 people have encouraged her. In 2012, a similar order was established in the Russian Federation - the Holy Great Martyr Catherine, but it is intended to be awarded to both women and men. By the way, it is believed that the currently widespread custom of tying infants boys with a blue ribbon and girls with a pink ribbon appeared precisely because of the tradition of marking the birth of the Grand Dukes with the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called, and the Grand Duchesses with St. Catherine and bandaging them with ribbons of these awards: blue and red flowers.

There were no other female orders in the Russian Empire, however, the young ladies were also encouraged with some medals and signs. One of the first such precedents is associated with the award "In memory of the Patriotic War of 1812". First, a silver medal was installed, and then a bronze medal, which in February 1816 was allowed to be worn by the fair sex, albeit in a reduced form. These medals were issued by more than 7.6 thousand, and they were received by the widows of officers who died in battles, and women who worked in hospitals or made large donations to soldiers.

In 1828, Emperor Nicholas I for the memory of the late mother of Maria Fedorovna, engaged in educational, charitable and educational institutions, approved the Mariinsky award for excellent service. She was awarded women for their diligent service in the "institutions of the Empress Mary." The badge was of two steps: the first was in the shape of a cross and was intended to encourage those who worked for more than 25 years, and the second - in the form of a medal - for service from 15 to 25 years. The award was worn on the left shoulder without taking off.

There was also a series of medals for rewarding nurses of mercy, who helped the wounded during military campaigns, for example, the medal “For the Sisters of the Holy Cross Community in Finland 1854-1856”. The first award of the Red Cross of two degrees of 1878 was purely feminine, but its “successors” were already intended to encourage members of society of both sexes.

The last among women's awards in the empire was the sign of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olga, who, despite the official name, is often credited with the status of the order. The establishment of a new award for the celebration of women for public and public service was first announced in February 1913, but its development was delayed until July 1915. The sign was of three degrees: the first two - in the shape of a cross with a round medallion, on which Saint Olga is depicted, and the third was an oval medallion with a slotted cross. It was assumed that in the case of obtaining the highest degrees of this award, the lower ones will not be removed.

Only the emperor and, with his permission, the empress were entitled to sign with a sign, both at her discretion and on the recommendation of the heads of ministries and departments. The list of reasons for the promotion was quite wide: many years of impeccable service, charity work, merits in science and art, courageous deeds and the like. Separately, it should be noted about the possibilities of rewarding mothers of heroes whose feats are “worthy of perpetuation in the annals of the Fatherland”. The first and only in the history of the sign its presentation took place precisely according to this prescription.

In April 1916, Vera Panaeva, the mother of four sons, received a second-degree badge, three of whom died on the fronts of the First World War. They were officers of the Akhtyr Hussar Regiment and cavaliers of the Order of St. George of the fourth degree.

After the liquidation of the Russian Empire, intentions appeared to establish Ukrainian national awards. In particular, in May 1918, on behalf of the Hetman of the Ukrainian State Pavel Skoropadsky, the commission developed proposals for an award system in which the main place was occupied by the Order of the Holy Princess Olga - to commemorate the merits of women “in the public field”. However, it was not destined to realize the plan: after a series of changes in power, Ukraine became part of the Soviet Union.

In the award business in the USSR, for the first time, emphasis was placed on the role of women as mothers. In July 1944, the Supreme Council of the Soviet Union established the title and order of Mother Heroine, the Order of Mother Glory of three degrees and the Medal of Motherhood of two degrees. The beginning of this type of awards occurred for several reasons. First of all, it was necessary to increase the birth rate, because the country suffered millions of human losses in the war. In addition, the leadership of the state sought to celebrate mothers with many children, whose sons and daughters died at the front.

The order "Mother Heroine" had the shape of a five-pointed star. The title belonged to the list of highest awards; it was awarded for the birth and upbringing of 10 or more children. For nine, eight, or seven children, they were awarded the Order of Maternal Glory, respectively, of the first, second, or third degree. The award was an oval medallion on which the figure of a woman with a baby in her arms was located. To get the Maternity Medal (her mother and child were also depicted on her obverse), it was necessary to have five or six children. The award was awarded after the last child turned one year old and if all previous children were alive, except for those who died or went missing while performing military duty, saving someone else's life, protecting order and the like. The indicated persons, as well as adopted children, were taken into account during the award ceremony.
The first title of “Mother Heroine” took place in the autumn of 1944. The order at number one was awarded to Anna Savelyevna Aleksakhina , the mother of 12 children, eight of whom fought at the front. Half of them did not return ... In total, about 430 thousand women were awarded the title by the beginning of the 1990s. Among his laureates was the “anti-heroine” - Ninel Ovechkina, who in 1988, along with her children, captured a passenger plane to escape from the USSR.

In the middle of the 20th century, awards for mothers were established in many countries by “socialist camps,” and some of them were reproduced by Soviet ones, for example, in Albania and Romania.

In the post-Soviet space, the tradition of celebrating the upbringing of children has been preserved in most states, and in some of them the awards are intended not only for women, but for both parents. In Russia there is an order and a medal “Parental Glory” (from 6 and 4 children), in Ukraine - a medal “Mother Heroine” (from 5) and an order of Princess Olga, in Belarus - an order of the Mother (from 5), in Armenia - the medal “Parental Glory” (from 6), in Kazakhstan - “Golden Pendant” and “Silver Pendant” (6 and from 7), in Moldova - the Order “Gratitude of the Motherland” (from 5) .
In Kyrgyzstan, the Order “Mother Heroine” is awarded not only to women with seven or more children, but also to those mothers whose children were awarded the title Hero of the Kyrgyz Republic. The situation with the Maternal Glory medal is similar: to get it, you need to have 6 children or more than 15 years old to work perfectly in institutions for orphans or disabled people, or to contribute to the protection of motherhood and childhood. In two other countries, awards were established to celebrate women for state and public activities. In Georgia, this is the Order of Queen Tamara, and in Turkmenistan - the Order of the “Female Soul”.

• Russian awards
• Awards of Ukraine

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