On August 8, 2000, the Order of St. George was reinstated as Russia’s highest military award. On this day, a decree by the President of the Russian Federation was signed, approving the statute of the award, the regulations for the Badge of Honor—the St. George’s Cross—and its description.

The Order of St. George was initially established in 1769 by Catherine the Great. The motto of the award is “For Service and Bravery!” It was awarded exclusively to military personnel “for bravery, zeal, and dedication to military service, and for excellence in the art of war.”

A total of 23 people were awarded the first degree of the order, about 120 the second degree, around 640 the third degree, and about 15,000 the fourth degree. The generals and field marshals Mikhail Kutuzov, Mikhail Barclay de Tolly, Ivan Paskevich, and Ivan Dibich were the recipients of all four degrees of the award.

After the 1917 October Revolution, the order was abolished, but in 1992 the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Federation decided to reinstate it.

The Order of St. George is awarded to senior and high-ranking military officers for conducting combat operations to defend the Fatherland against external enemies, resulting in the complete defeat of the enemy, as well as for conducting combat and other operations in other countries in support of or restoring international peace and security, which become models of military art. Their feats should exemplify valor and bravery and be awarded state decorations of the Russian Federation for distinctions shown in combat.

There are four degrees of the order. Recipients of the first and second degrees are awarded both the badge and the star, while those of the third and fourth degrees receive only the badge. The names of the recipients are inscribed on marble plaques in the St. George Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow.

The first recipient of the order after its reinstatement was Colonel-General Sergey Makarov, Commander of the North Caucasus Military District. On August 18, 2008, he was awarded the fourth degree of the order for successfully conducting operations in the conflict zone in South Ossetia.

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