Russia on Friday awarded its highest state honour ‘Order of St Andrew the Apostle’ to PM Narendra Modi for promoting bilateral special and privileged strategic partnership.”On April 12, 2019, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi was decorated with the Order of St Andrew the Apostle – the highest state decoration of Russia – for exceptional services in promoting special and privileged strategic partnership between the Russian Federation and the Republic of India and friendly relations between the Russian and Indian peoples,” announced a Russian government statement.
The award was extended on behalf of Russian President Vladimir Putin with whom Modi shares a strong chemistry.
The two leaders met on numerous occasions including an informal summit over past five years promoting defence and economic partnership. Putin was the only P-5 leader who telephoned
Modi after the Pulwama terror attack as he defended India’s right to self-defence.
The Order of St Andrew the Apostle is awarded to prominent statesmen and public figures and representatives of science, culture, the arts and various industries for their exceptional services in promoting the prosperity, greatness and glory of Russia. The order can also be awarded to foreign heads of state for outstanding services to Russia.
Among the foreign awardees are the President of China Xi Jinping, the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Geydar Aliev. The ceremony for the award is usually held at the St Andrew Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace.
The most recent person who was decorated is Valentina Matvienko, Chairperson of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation. She was awarded the order on March 28, 2019The Order was established in 1698 by Tsar Peter the Great, in honour of Saint Andrew, the first apostle of Jesus and patron saint of Russia. It was bestowed in a single class and was only awarded for the most outstanding civilian or military merit.
Let’s go back to the history a bit...The Order of St. Andrew the Apostle the First-Called (Russian: Орден Святого апостола Андрея Первозванного) is the highest orderof the Russian Federation. Established as the first and highest order of chivalry of the Russian Empire in 1698, it was abolished under the USSR before being re-established as the top Russian order in 1998.The Order was established in 1698 by TsarPeter the Great, in honour of Saint Andrew, the first apostle of Jesus and patron saint of Russia. It was bestowed in a single class and was only awarded for the most outstanding civilian or military merit.Peter learned of the practice of bestowing awards from his travels in the West during the Great Embassy. In the past, service to the Russian state was rewarded with money or large estates. He witnessed first hand the awards ceremonies for England’s Order of the Garter and Austria’s Order of the Golden Fleece and noticed the loyalty and pride of the awardees. It also saved the state land and money.Count Fyodor Golovin was the first recipient of the order. Until its abolition following the Russian Revolution of 1917, just over one thousand awards had been made. During the monarchy, recipients of the Order of St. Andrew also automatically received the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky, the Order of the White Eagle, the Order of St. Anne first class, and the Order St. Stanislaus first class. Moreover, recipients of lower ranks were automatically promoted to the rank of lieutenant general or vice admiral. The Order of Saint Andrew continued to be awarded by the Russian Imperial House in exile. The first post revolutionary presentation was to HH Prince Georgy Konstantinovich of Russia on attaining his dynastic majority in April 1923.