The Moscow Kremlin State Historical and Cultural Museum and Heritage Site reports that the Heroes of the Fatherland Day was commemorated with a presentation of orders and medals of the Russian Empire donated to the Museum collection. The ceremony took place at St. Catherine Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace on December 9, 2015. Elena Gagarina, Director General of the Moscow Kremlin Museums, introduced the Decorations to the President of Russia Vladimir Putin.
During the campaign started by the President, Russian philanthropists purchased and donated to the Moscow Kremlin Museums 104 unique pieces auctioned in 1920-1930. This is an extremely important acquisition to the collection of Russian Imperial orders and medals, both of high artistic and historical significance.
The scholars suppose the major part of the acquisitions to be the Armoury Chamber’s pieces transferred to the State Depository of treasures in 1922-1923. This way, almost all the Russian Orders with brilliants from the Imperial Cabinet and the Imperial Family’s diamond insignia were handed to the State Depository to be sold out through auctions and special places. This is why there are practically no decorations with diamonds in the Moscow Kremlin Museums’ collection. “Thanks to this acquisition the Armoury collection enters the new level. This is an eminent event in the history of forming either the Moscow Kremlin Museum’s collection or the whole Museum Fund of the Russian Federation", said Elena Gagarina. During the presentation, she highlighted two historical pieces attributed by the museum experts as state regalia. They are the Chain of the Order of the White Eagle executed for the Coronation ceremony of Emperor Nicholas I in a Catholic rite of the Polish Kingdom in May 12, 1829 and the smoky quartz Badge of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called most likely made for Catherine II or her successor.
The set of 43 gold medals is also of particular value for the museum collection. It includes such rare commemorative medals as tribute medals ‘On the Death of General Alexander Lanskoy’ and ‘On the Death of Emperor Peter II’, five coronation medals and medals on the Anniversaries of the Great Northern War made by famous medallist Müller on the order of Peter the Great to glorify the Russian victory over the Swedes in the copies of the famous medallist Timophey Ivanov in the second half of the 18th century.