Vene teenetemärgid ja 1812.–1814. aasta kampaania [Russian Imperial Decorations and the 1812–1814 Campaign]

Abstract

The article provides an overview of the Russian imperial decorations and their investiture from the Patriotic War of 1812 to the Allies capturing Paris in 1814. Additionally, the influence of the Napoleonic Wars on the systems of honorary decorations of the key participating countries is discussed. It can be claimed that the Napoleonic Wars efected a certain democratisation on the national systems of decoration. First and foremost, this applies to Napoleon’s France. The Legion of Honour (Légion d’ honneur) established in 1804 can be regarded as the first modern decoration ever. It was an order not awarded on the basis of descent or estate but according to speciic merits and courage on the battlefield.

(Longer version of this abstract is included in the article, starting from p 150.)