Medal for participation in the Russian-Japanese War. Lozovsky E.V.

09.03.2022

By the beginning of the 20th century, the Far East became the object of acute imperialist contradictions between the major powers. One of the products of these contradictions was the war between Russia and Japan, who were unable to agree on the division of Korea and the northeastern part of China - Manchuria. On January 27, 1904, without declaring war, Japan attacked the Russian squadron stationed on the outer roadstead of Port Arthur. Russia was ill-prepared for this war, but was confident that it would be “small and victorious.”

In the first days of the war, two Russian warships - the cruiser Varyag and the gunboat Koreets - found themselves far from their squadron, in the Korean port of Chemulpo. The Russians decisively rejected the Japanese admiral's ultimatum to surrender and entered into an unequal battle with the Japanese squadron, which consisted of 14 ships. The armament on the Varyag was not the most modern even at that time, and the Japanese did not take the Korean seriously at all. The Japanese countered the two Russian ships with 181 powerful guns and 42 torpedo tubes. This was six times more than the Russians had.

The volleys of guns in this battle merged into a continuous roar. The Russian sailors fought to the death, and the enemy squadron suffered great damage: its ships were seriously damaged, and two cruisers even required immediate repairs at the docks. The cruiser "Varyag" also suffered, receiving four holes, almost all of its guns were broken, and half of its gun personnel were put out of action. And then the commander of the cruiser “Varyag”, captain 1st rank V.F. Rudnev, made a decision, supported by the entire crew: to sink the cruiser so that the enemy would not get it. “Varyag” and “Koreyets” entered the neutral port of Chemulpo, where ships of other countries were moored. The Japanese demanded the immediate extradition of the Russian sailors as prisoners of war, but the English, French and Italian sailors, who witnessed the unprecedented sea battle, they did not hand over the heroes and all the surviving Russian sailors were transported to their ships. The last to leave the Varyag was its wounded and shell-shocked commander. As he boarded the boat, he kissed the ladder handrails goodbye, after which the cruiser was sunk. There were still about 1,000 pounds of gunpowder left on the Koreyets. The gunboat was blown up.

St. Petersburg newspapers, citing information from London, declared 456 people killed, including 17 officers. The report of the commander of the Varyag to the Main Naval Staff on February 5, 1904 was much more restrained: “The cruiser Varyag and the gunboat Koreets withstood a battle with a squadron of six large cruisers and eight destroyers. The cruiser "Varyag", deprived of the opportunity to continue the battle, returned, united with the "Korean", to the raid in Chemulpo, where, having brought the teams to foreign cruisers, they sank their ships so as not to surrender them to the Japanese. On the "Varyag" midshipman Count Nirod and 33 sailors were killed, the commander was shell-shocked in the head, midshipmen were wounded: Gubonin - seriously, Loboda and Balk - lightly, 70 sailors - seriously, many lightly. There are no losses on the “Korean”. I report the selfless courage and excellent performance of duty of the officers and crew.”

On May 19, 1904, the heroes of the battle of Chemulpo were given a solemn meeting in Odessa, where they arrived on the ship Malaya. While still at sea, the boat “Tamara” approached them, on which the port manager delivered the awards. All sailors of the “Varyag” and “Korean” were awarded the Insignia of the Military Order of the 4th degree, the officers were awarded the Order of St. George of the 4th degree.

Medal for Russian sailors who took part in the battle of the cruiser “Varyag” and the gunboat “Koreets” with the Japanese squadron at Chemulpo on January 27, 1904.

Soon a special silver medal was established “For the battle of the Varyag and the Korean.” She was given a ribbon with the image of the naval St. Andrew's flag - white with an oblique blue cross. On the front side of the medal, in the center, is the St. George Cross inside a wreath of laurel leaves. Along the circumference there was an inscription: “For the battle of “Varyag” and “Korean” on January 27. 1904 – Chemulpo.” On the back of the medal, according to Peter the Great’s tradition, the cruiser “Varyag” and the gunboat “Koreets” were depicted, going out to sea to fight the Japanese squadron visible on the horizon. At the top, right under the ear, in the clouds, a four-pointed cross was placed as a symbol of the Christian faith. This award was announced to the participants in the battle at a dinner in the Winter Palace, where all the officers and sailors of the “Varyag” and “Korean” were invited after a magnificent meeting in St. Petersburg and a parade on Palace Square.

The commander of the Varyag, Vsevolod Fedorovich Rudnev, after returning to St. Petersburg in 1904, was appointed commander of the battleship Andrei Pervozvanny under construction and commander of the 14th naval crew, and the next year he was awarded the rank of rear admiral.

Medals for participants in the war with Japan 1904–1905.

The Russo-Japanese War was lost due to Russia's military backwardness and incompetent leadership, but Russian soldiers and sailors showed true heroism and high fighting qualities. The medal “In Memory of the Russian-Japanese War” was also awarded to the soldiers who fought valiantly. A silver medal was awarded to the defenders of Port Arthur, a light bronze medal was awarded to all direct participants in at least one battle on land or at sea, and a dark bronze medal was awarded to those who did not take part in the battles, but were in service in the Far East and along the Trans-Siberian Railway. The medal was worn on the Alexander-St. George ribbon, and those who were wounded in this war wore it with a bow. The obverse of the medal features the “All Seeing Eye” surrounded by radiance, with the date “1904–1905” at the bottom. On the reverse side there is an inscription in Slavic script: “May the Lord exalt you in due time.”

Two more awards tell us about the events of the Russo-Japanese War, about the tragic and heroic pages of Russian military history: the medal “In memory of the campaign to the Far East of the squadron of Admiral Rozhestvensky” and the cross for the defense of Port Arthur.

Award cross for participants in the defense of Port Arthur in 1904.

Officers were awarded a silver cross with swords crossed through the center. In the middle of it, on the medallion, is the silhouette of an armadillo, surrounded by the outline of six bastions. On the horizontal ends of the cross there is a raised inscription: “Port Arthur”. Soldiers, sailors and non-commissioned officers received a cross of the same shape and design, but iron, oxidized.

After the treacherous attack of the Japanese fleet on the Russian ships of the 1st Pacific Squadron in Port Arthur and Chemulpo, after a series of defeats on land in April 1904, the Russian government decided to send warships from the Baltic Fleet to the Far East. They were consolidated into a separate squadron, called the 2nd Pacific: it included both new, recently built ships and old ones that had been sailing for many years. On October 2, 1904, the main forces of the squadron (7 battleships, 1 armored cruiser, 5 cruisers, 7 destroyers and 8 military transports) left Libau. Rear Admiral Z.P. Rozhestvensky, who did not have the skills to command combat ships, was appointed commander of the 2nd Pacific Squadron. Many other officers and admirals were also not fit for purpose.

On the morning of May 14, 1905, the ships of the Russian squadron entered the narrow Tsushima Strait, where the Japanese concentrated 12 battleships, 16 large cruisers, 24 auxiliary cruisers, 21 destroyers, 42 destroyers, as well as many other ships. The ships of the Japanese fleet were of more recent construction, with strong armor and long-range artillery.

The superiority of the Japanese in the Battle of Tsushima and the inept actions of the command of the 2nd Pacific Squadron led to its defeat, but the Russian sailors, as always, behaved in battle with exceptional courage. In itself, the 220-day passage of a huge group of ships across three oceans in exceptionally difficult conditions was a feat. To commemorate this event and in recognition of the valor of Russian officers and sailors, a medal was established “to be worn on the chest by officers and lower ranks who were on ships that made this crossing.”

The front side of the medal depicted the Eastern Hemisphere with a dotted line of the squadron's route, and on the reverse side there was a vertically standing Admiralty anchor and the dates on both sides: “1904” and “1905”. The medal was made of light bronze and was worn on a white-orange-black ribbon. All surviving participants in the campaign and the Battle of Tsushima were awarded it.

Medals for doctors who took part in the war with Japan of 1904–1905.

In memory of the Russo-Japanese War, there was also a special Red Cross medal, which was awarded to everyone who took part in the activities of this society: employees of committees and offices, doctors, nurses, students, orderlies, hospital servants, etc. This medal, among others The award is distinguished by the fact that on the front side it has a convex equal-pointed cross filled with red enamel.

The medal in memory of the Russian-Japanese War was established on January 21, 1906. The medal was established in three metals: silver, light and dark bronze. Silver medals were intended for the defenders of Port Arthur, light bronze - for participants in other military operations, dark bronze - for persons who did not take part in the battles, but were in the theater of military operations. The circulation of silver medals was relatively small - 45 thousand pieces; about 700 thousand pieces of each type were produced for light and dark bronze medals. They tried to counterfeit only silver medals, as they are relatively expensive; the rest of the medals are plenty genuine.

All medals, as a rule, have a standard cut-out eye, but there are silver medals with a sawed-off eye. They are minted with a polished stamp and may have been intended for the first ceremonial awards. It can also be noted that there is a large number of bronze medals from private manufacturers, of the most varied quality. These medals were worn on the St. George-Alexandrovsky ribbon.

Red Cross Medal 1904-1905

The medal was established in January 1906 and was intended to reward both military and civilian doctors, as well as citizens who contributed through their actions or material assistance to the activities of the Russian Red Cross during the Russo-Japanese War. Due to the fact that until 1917 the mint did not produce enamel work, this medal was produced only by private firms and always bears the imprints of name marks and hallmarks.

Its size, as a rule, is 24 mm, but there are specimens with a diameter of 28 mm, with a convex applied image of a cross. About five years ago there were fakes of this medal, but the quality of their production was low; What especially stood out was the fuzzy, cast edge and the bubbly, dim enamel of the cross. The ribbon for the medal, like other Russian “medical” awards, is red moire, “Alexandrovskaya”.

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The armament on the Varyag was not the most modern even at that time, and the Japanese did not take the Korean seriously at all. The Japanese countered the two Russian ships with 181 powerful guns and 42 torpedo tubes. This was six times more than the Russians had.

The battle of the legendary cruiser "Varyag" with the Japanese squadron. Hood. P. Maltsev

Award cross for participants in the defense of Port Arthur in 1904.

And then the commander of the cruiser “Varyag”, captain 1st rank V.F. Rudnev, made a decision, supported by the entire crew: to sink the cruiser so that the enemy would not get it. “Varyag” and “Koreyets” entered the neutral port of Chemulpo, where ships of other countries were moored. The Japanese demanded the immediate extradition of the Russian sailors as prisoners of war, but the English, French and Italian sailors, who witnessed the unprecedented naval battle, did not extradite the heroes and transported all the surviving Russian sailors to their ships.

The last to leave the Varyag was its wounded and shell-shocked commander. As he boarded the boat, he kissed the ladder handrails goodbye, after which the cruiser was sunk. There were still about 1,000 pounds of gunpowder left on the Koreyets. The gunboat was blown up.

On the "Varyag" midshipman Count Nirod and 33 sailors were killed, the commander was shell-shocked in the head, midshipmen were wounded: Gubonin - seriously, Loboda and Balk - lightly, 70 sailors - seriously, many lightly. There were no losses on the "Korean". I report the selfless courage and excellent performance of duty of the officers and crew.”

Medal for Russian sailors - participants in the battle of the cruiser "Varyag" and the gunboat "Koreets" with the Japanese squadron at Chemulpo on January 27, 1904.

At the top, right under the ear, in the clouds, a four-pointed cross was placed as a symbol of the Christian faith. This award was announced to the participants in the battle at a dinner in the Winter Palace, where all the officers and sailors of the “Varyag” and “Korean” were invited after a magnificent meeting in St. Petersburg and a parade on Palace Square.

The Russo-Japanese War was lost due to Russia's military backwardness and incompetent leadership, but Russian soldiers and sailors showed true heroism and high fighting qualities. The medal “In Memory of the Russian-Japanese War” was also awarded to the soldiers who fought valiantly. A silver medal was awarded to the defenders of Port Arthur, a light bronze medal to all direct participants in at least one battle on land or sea, and a dark bronze medal to those who did not take part in the battles, but were in service in the Far East and along the Trans-Siberian Railway. The medal was worn on the Alexander-St. George ribbon, and those who were wounded in this war wore it with a bow. The front side of the medal depicts the “All-Seeing Eye” surrounded by radiance, with the date “1904-1905” at the bottom. On the reverse side there is an inscription in Slavic script: “May the Lord exalt you in due time.”

Battle of Tsushima. 1905

After the treacherous attack of the Japanese fleet on the Russian ships of the 1st Pacific Squadron in Port Arthur and Chemulpo, after a series of defeats on land in April 1904, the Russian government decided to send warships from the Baltic Fleet to the Far East. They were consolidated into a separate squadron, called the 2nd Pacific: it included both new, recently built ships and old ones that had been sailing for many years. On October 2, 1904, the main forces of the squadron (7 battleships, 1 armored cruiser, 5 cruisers, 7 destroyers and 8 military transports) left Libau. Rear Admiral Z. P. Rozhestvensky, who did not have the skills to command combat ships, was appointed commander of the 2nd Pacific Squadron. Many other officers and admirals were also not fit for purpose.

On the morning of May 14, 1905, the ships of the Russian squadron entered the narrow Tsushima Strait, where the Japanese concentrated 12 battleships, 16 large cruisers, 24 auxiliary cruisers, 21 destroyers, 42 destroyers, and many other ships. The ships of the Japanese fleet were of more recent construction, with strong armor and long-range artillery.

Medals for doctors who took part in the war with Japan of 1904-1905.

On the obverse of the medal was an image of the Eastern Hemisphere with a dotted line of the squadron's route, and on the reverse was a vertically standing Admiralty anchor and the dates on both sides: "1904" and "1905". The medal was made of light bronze and was worn on a white-orange-black ribbon. All surviving participants in the campaign and the Battle of Tsushima were awarded it.

Medal for participation in the Russo-Japanese War

A country	Japan
Type	Campaign Medal.
Establishment date	March 31, 1906.
Status	Not awarded.
Who is it awarded to?	Participant in the Russo-Japanese War
Awarded by	Emperor of Japan
Reasons for the award	Participation in the Russo-Japanese War
Options	Diameter - 30 mm.

Medal for participation in the Russo-Japanese War(medal for participation in the military campaign of 37-38 years of the Meiji era) - Japanese state award, established by Imperial Decree No. 51 of March 31, 1906. The medal was awarded to all military personnel of the Japanese Army and Navy who participated in the Russo-Japanese War. The medal was also awarded to those who died; in this case, the award was given to close relatives.

History of the award

Medal for participation in the Russian-Japanese War in a box. Obverse.

Medal for participation in the Russo-Japanese War and a box for it. Reverse.

Medal for participation in the Russo-Japanese War. Obverse and reverse.

The Russo-Japanese War was a military conflict between the Russian and Japanese empires for control of Manchuria and Korea. The war was a consequence of clashes of colonial interests in China. The attack of the Japanese fleet on the Russian squadron on the outer roadstead of Port Arthur on the night of January 27, 1904 led to the disabling of several of the strongest ships of the Russian squadron and ensured the unhindered landing of Japanese troops in Korea in February 1904. In May 1904, thanks to the inaction of the Russian command, the Japanese landed troops on the Kwantung Peninsula and cut off the railway connection between Port Arthur and Russia. The siege of Port Arthur was begun by Japanese troops by the beginning of August 1904, and on December 20, 1904, the fortress garrison was forced to surrender. The remains of the Russian squadron in Port Arthur were sunk by Japanese siege artillery or blown up by their own crew. In February 1905, the Japanese forced the Russian army to retreat in the general battle of Mukden, and on May 14, 1905 - May 15, 1905, in the Battle of Tsushima, they defeated the Russian squadron transferred to the Far East from the Baltic. The reasons for the failures of the Russian armies and navy were the incompleteness of military-strategic preparation, the remoteness of the theater of military operations from the main centers of the country and the army, the extremely limited communication networks and the technological lag of Tsarist Russia from its enemy.

As a result of the defeats, a revolutionary situation arose and developed in Russia. The war ended with the Treaty of Portsmouth, signed on August 23, 1905, which recorded Russia's cession to Japan of the southern part of Sakhalin and its lease rights to the Liaodong Peninsula and the South Manchurian Railway.

Such great successes of the army and navy had to be celebrated with a special award. The medal for participation in the Russo-Japanese War was established by Imperial Decree No. 51 of March 31, 1906.

Statute of the award

Reasons for awarding

Participation in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905. The medal was also awarded posthumously, in which case the award was given to close relatives.

Wearing order

The medal was worn on a ribbon on the left side of the chest in a group with other awards.

Place in the hierarchy of awards

The Russo-Japanese War Medal is a military medal of honor that was highly valued by the Japanese military. Military medals of honor (Japanese: 従軍記章 jugun kisho) - a set of military medals established throughout the existence of the Japanese Empire to reward all military personnel for participating in military operations of the imperial army and navy.

Description of the award

The original award document (certificate) for the medal for participation in the Russo-Japanese War. Paper. The recipient was Private First Class Yamashita Shige.

Collection "Rewards" from the Yamamoto Isoroku campaign.

Medal sizes

Diameter - 30 mm, thickness - 2.8 mm, strip - 36 x 8 mm, tape width - 37 mm.

Appearance

The medal is made of light bronze. Pendant - hinged type, with a bar, with the inscription " Military medal"(jugun kisho).

On the obverse crossed flags of the army and naval forces of Japan, above them the imperial coat of arms - chrysanthemum, under the flags at the bottom of the medal is the coat of arms - paulownia.

On reverse framed by palm and laurel branches, Japanese shield, with the inscription in hieroglyphs - “Military campaign of 37-38 Meiji years” (1904-1905) (Meiji 37-38 nen sen’eki). By the time the medal was established, palm and laurel were used as traditional symbols were typical for the award systems of Western countries and had not previously been used by the Japanese.

Ribbon made of moire silk, green with white edges, with the addition of a blue stripe in the center, symbolizing military victories at sea.

Box for the medal. The medal was given to the recipient in a special wooden varnished box.

Award documents

Along with the medal, a paper certificate for awarding this award was also issued. The certificate was beautifully designed and printed. The format of the award document is 424 x 335 mm.

Below is an example of the translation of one such testimony.

Certificate (certificate) for “Medal for participation in the Russo-Japanese War”

Certificate for “Medal for Participation in the Russo-Japanese War”

Fallen, Infantry 1st Class, Amano Tokusuke Mother of (deceased) Army Private 1st Class Order 8th Class, Amano Atsusuke

In accordance with the regulations on awards for the campaign of the 37-38 years of the Meiji era, on the basis of the award submission submitted by the Minister of War to the Emperor and approved on March 30, 39 of the Meiji era, a “medal for participation in a military campaign” is awarded, which is registered.

April 1st, 1906.

Emperor's Will

(seal) Management of awards of the Great Japanese Empire.

The junior president of the awards department, second rank, cavalier 1st degree, Count Ogyu Yuzuru, certified this certificate and entered it under number 11866658 in the notebook for registering certificates of military service in 37-8 Meiji.

Junior secretary of the awards department, fourth rank, 3rd degree cavalier Yokota Kanae.

Senior secretary of the awards department, sixth rank, 5th degree holder of Fuji Zengen.

Reward in Wargaming projects

This award is present in the game World of Warships, as part of the collection of awards in the Yamamoto Isoroku campaign. This collectible item can be obtained by opening special containers. These containers can be obtained by completing missions in the Yamamoto Isoroku campaign or by trading duplicates of this collection.

Examples of awards

Vice Admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy in ceremonial uniform, participant in the first Sino-Japanese War, the Russo-Japanese War and the suppression of the Yihetuan Uprising in China (Boxer Rebellion).

The recipients of this medal were such famous admirals as:

Image	Briefly about the gentleman
	Togo Heihachiro(Japanese: 東郷平八郎, 1863 - 1934) - Japanese naval officer, admiral of the Japanese fleet and marshal of the Empire of Japan. Commanded the Japanese Combined Fleet in the Russo-Japanese War. After Tsushima, Togo was awarded all the highest awards in Japan. From 1914 to 1924 he was one of the educators of Prince Hirohito, the future Emperor of Japan.
	Yamamoto Isoroku(Japanese: 山本五十六; 1884 - 1943) - Japanese naval officer, past the path from a cadet during the Russo-Japanese War to a fleet admiral and commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet of the Empire of Japan during

The medal in memory of the Russian-Japanese War is not considered rare and is artistically unremarkable. However, no Russian medal is mentioned in various publications as often as this one. The reason for this is the story, which was first transmitted orally, and then began to wander through the pages of various publications. The most detailed presentation of it is found in the memoirs of General A.A. Ignatiev, “Fifty Years in Service.” Here he is, at that time the captain, who returned from Manchuria, examines the medal given to him: “ The medal was a poor copy of the World War II medal, bronze instead of silver; on the reverse side, it bore the inscription “May God exalt you in due time.” - "What time? When?" – I tried to ask my colleagues on the General Staff. - “Well, why are you finding fault with everything?” - only one answered me. Others, more knowledgeable, advised to keep quiet, telling “in secret” what helpful, unreasonable clerks can lead to. Peace with the Japanese had not yet been concluded, but the main headquarters had already drawn up a report to the “highest name” on the need to create a special medal for the participants in the Manchurian War. The king, apparently, hesitated against the proposed inscription: “May the Lord exalt you,” he wrote in pencil in the margins of the paper: “Report in due time.” When it was necessary to transfer the inscription for minting, the words “in due time”, which accidentally fell just opposite the line with the text of the inscription, were attached to it» .

The book by A.A. Ignatiev is not the only one that sets out this version of the origin of the inscription on the medal in memory of the Russian-Japanese War; the writer D.N. Semenovsky cites it in his memoirs from the words of A.M. Gorky. It was so widespread and so firmly ingrained in the minds of contemporaries that as soon as the famous collector and researcher V.G. von Richter turned for clarification to the expert on Russian award medals, military historian Colonel A.I. Grigorovich, he confirmed it without hesitation reliability . The opinion of A.I. Grigorovich was all the more authoritative because at the time of the events described he was the librarian of the Main and General Headquarters. It is not surprising that this version became generally accepted, and no one doubted it or tried to verify it.

However, who considered the four-word inscription more suitable and more intelligible, W.G. von Richter turned out to be a seer when he wrote that the solution to this riddle is in our archives. A draft medal with notes from Nicholas II was discovered in the funds of the Russian State Military Historical Archive by V.A. Durov: “ The drawing proposed for consideration depicted two versions of the front side and five versions of the reverse side of the designed medal. The Emperor placed a cross next to one of the options on the front side (the radiant all-seeing eye, below the date “1904-1905”), which, having thus been approved, was transferred to the metal sample. The tsar crossed out the drawing of the reverse side of the medal paired with the front side with the same pencil, and in the upper part of the sheet he wrote: “May God exalt you in due time,” which became the text of the medal". Finally, D.I. Peters published the described drawing itself.

It must have been that the clerks did not duplicate, as was customary, the notes and resolution of the Emperor, since, when sending the drawings to the Chapter of Orders on December 11, 1905, the Head of the Office of the Ministry of the Imperial Court, A.A. Mosolov, indicated in a covering letter that they belonged to the Emperor. The Chancellor of the Orders, Baron V.B. Fredericks, forwarding them the next day to the office of the Ministry, also informed the addressee that “ the cross (in blue pencil) on the front image of the medal under No. 1 is affixed by the hand of the GOVERNMENT EMPEROR, and the inscription on the reverse side of the medal (at the top of the drawings) is also inscribed by HIS MAJESTY’S OWN hand” .

On the same day, December 12, 1905, the assistant to the Head of the Military Campaign Chancellery, Prince V.N. Orlov, sent the following handwritten note from the Emperor to the Chancellor of the Orders for announcement to the Minister of War: “ In memory of the Japanese War of 1904-1905. establish medals of three categories: 1) Silver - for the defenders of Port Arthur. 2) Light bronze - for all participants in campaigns who were in battles and 3) Dark bronze for all who did not take part in battles, but were in the Far East in the area of military operations” .

It took a little more than a month to finalize the documents, and finally, on January 21, 1906, the medal to be worn on the chest on the Alexander-St. George ribbon was officially established and the rules for awarding it were determined: “ I. A silver medal is awarded to the following persons who were permanently or temporarily in Port Arthur and its fortified area in the period after the Jin-Zhou battle (May 12, 1904) until the end of the siege (December 20, 1904): 1). To all ranks of the military and naval departments, border guards and Kwantung volunteer squads. 2). Officials of other departments, if they were in Port Arthur during the siege, on duty. 3). Priests, doctors and other medical officials, orderlies and nurses who served in the military and naval departments, in the Red Cross society and in other medical institutions who provided assistance to sick and wounded soldiers, and 4). To the residents of Port Arthur who participated in the defense of this city. II. The light bronze medal is awarded to the following categories of persons if they participated during 1904-1905 in one or more battles against the Japanese on land or sea: 1). Generals, officers and lower ranks of the military and naval departments, as well as ranks of the State Militia, Border Guards and volunteers who were in the troops and special squads. 2). All class and medical ranks in general, priests, orderlies and sisters of mercy, as well as persons not belonging to a military rank, if during the battle they performed official duties with military units and detachments, as well as on ships of the fleet that took part in it. 3). Persons of all classes who have been awarded the insignia of the Military Order or a medal with the inscription “for bravery”. III. The dark bronze medal is awarded to everyone who did not take part in battles, but served in the active armies and in the institutions attached to them, as well as in units, directorates and institutions of the military and naval departments located during the war - in the period from January 26 1904 to December 1, 1905, i.e., the day of ratification of the peace treaty, in the Far East and along the Siberian and Samara-Zlatoust railways, in areas declared under martial law, namely: 1). All ranks in general: military, naval, border guards and militia. 2), Priests, doctors and other medical officials, orderlies and nurses who served in the military or naval departments, in the border guards, the Red Cross Society and in all medical institutions that provided assistance to the sick and wounded in the area of military operations; persons not belonging to a military rank, if these persons were on duty in the military and medical institutions. 3). Various ranks of the military, naval and civil departments, as well as female persons who were assigned to different Directorates and institutions for service purposes, as well as those sent to their locations. 4). Free for hired servants from retired and reserve lower ranks and those from civilians who do not belong to a military rank, who were with the troops that directly acted against the enemy, who provided military distinction, and in general to persons of all classes who provided any special services during the war with Japan merits, for the honoring of these persons by the command of those troops and institutions under which they were at that time<...>are not eligible to receive<...>medals: a). those under trial or investigation, if, at the end of the cases being carried out about them, they will be subject to exclusion from the military or naval departments, and b). contracted sutlers and civilian people who were with the troops, with the exception of those named in paragraph 4» .

From the above documents it is clear that the role of Nicholas II in the development of the draft medal in memory of the Russian-Japanese War was great: he was the author of the main provisions, award rules and the final edition of the inscription on the reverse side (in my opinion, the first source indicated in a short note was the writer and collector from Kostroma V.V. Pashin - in the “First Cathedral Epistle of the Holy Apostle Peter” it is said: “ So, humble yourself under the strong hand of God, may he exalt you in due time""). For the inscription on the medal, a replica of the second part of this phrase was used - the wish for the recipients to be rewarded after death (each in his own time!) with the Kingdom of Heaven. The Eye of Providence depicted on the front side of the medal was supposed to mean that the result of the war was the will of God.

It seems quite possible that the role of Nicholas II in the design of the medal itself was not limited to the selection and approval of the drawings of its front and back sides, although documents confirming this have not yet been found.

Let's pay attention to the design drawings. They are located on one sheet in three rows: in the top row on the tape - the front side, which received the approval of the Emperor, and the back - with the inscription “ ”; in the middle row - the front side with the image All-Seeing Eye, but without dates, the reverse side with the inscription as on the previous one, but with dates, and then two reverse sides with inscriptions, which are two different replicas of the same verse from the Epistle of St. Peter as the approved one; finally in the bottom row there is an image of the reverse side with the inscription “ Thy will be done” and dates.

The images of the front and back sides are connected by thin lines, which allows us to judge which versions of the medal were proposed for approval: 1) hp : image of the All-Seeing Eye, below the circumference of the date; ob.s. : inscription " In you, Lord, we trust, may we not be ashamed forever”; 2) and 3) hp : same image; ob.s. : options for replicas of a verse from the Epistle of St. Peter; 4) hp : image of the All-Seeing Eye; ob.s. : inscription " In you, Lord, we trust, may we not be ashamed forever”, below are the dates; 5) hp : same image; ob.s. : inscription " Thy will be done” and dates under the separator.

It seems that the reasons why the 1st, 4th and 5th options were rejected are clear: the first two were a mechanical hybrid of commemorative medals Patriotic War 1812 and in memory of the war of 1853-1856, and the latter had such an impotently pessimistic inscription that it was hardly suitable for a medal intended for mass distribution.

The two remaining options have only some differences in the inscription on the reverse side, going back to the same source, so they can be considered one option, which was simply approved in the new edition.

Now it is impossible to say how the Emperor even came up with the idea to use this phrase from the Bible for the inscription on the medal, but there are a number of circumstances that are worth paying attention to.

Since February 1905, the magazine “Bulletin of the Military Clergy” began to publish “The Diary of a Regimental Priest Serving in the Far East” by M.V. Serebryansky, in which these words are repeated several times. It is known that Nicholas II read a lot, although, as a rule, he did not note in his diary either the authors or the titles of the books he read. There is no mention there of the diary of Fr. Mitrofan Serebryansky. However, in order to feel the mood that pervaded the diary, he most likely did not even need to pick it up. The fact is that the Chief of the 51st Chernigov Dragoon Regiment, in which Fr. Mitrofan was the sister of the Empress, Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna, with whom he corresponded. It is not at all necessary that in the very first letters from Manchuria he shared his moods with the Grand Duchess, but on February 4, 1905, she lost her husband, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, killed by a bomb from the terrorist Kalyaev, and Fr. Mitrofan first sent her a telegram, and then a letter in which he tried to console her as best he could. At the same time, he could also quote the mentioned passage from the First Council Epistle of the Holy Apostle Peter. Meanwhile, in the diary of Emperor Nicholas II it is noted that, starting in the spring of 1905, Elizaveta Feodorovna often came from Moscow and stayed with the royal family for several days, or even weeks. This was the case in those days when the design of the medal in memory of the Russo-Japanese War was approved and, apparently, developed.

Thus, the appearance of this particular inscription on the medal was not the result of an accident, the Emperor knew this fragment of Holy Scripture, and then the story presented by A.A. Ignatiev has no basis. It is even less plausible in the presentation of A.M. Gorky, retold by D.N. Semenovsky. Ignatiev, or the one from whom he heard this story, at least clearly understood the procedure for developing and approving medals in memory of wars, about which neither Gorky nor Semenovsky had the slightest idea. Suffice it to say that they named “ministers” as the culprits of the misunderstanding. Meanwhile, it was these officials who, less than anyone else, could have become its cause, since the orders of the Emperor they received were conveyed to the executors in a form that precluded double interpretation, which, by the way, is clearly visible in the accompanying notes cited above for the design drawing of the medal in question .

Thus, Gorky’s version can be considered secondary, and the primary one, apparently, is the version presented by Ignatiev. Then, with a high degree of probability, we can assume that this legend was born among officers, or more precisely, among officers of the General Staff, to which A.A. Ignatiev himself belonged. This also explains its initially relatively low prevalence - the officers of the General Staff constituted a rather closed caste in the army, the combat officers did not like them and venomously called them “moments”. This legend reached Gorky from dozens of people and probably came from one of the soldiers who overheard the officers’ conversation.

There is no doubt that the “lower ranks” were keenly interested in the content of the conversations of their commanders and superiors. Thus, V.P. Kostenko notes in his diary on October 4, 1904: “ At dinner, I often notice that one or another of the messengers serving the table lingers not at all in order to collect plates or deliver the next dish, but to listen to the last phrase of the senior officer<....>or the watch commander who has just arrived from the navigation bridge. From scraps of words in the pantry they draw their own conclusions, which a quarter later watches are already becoming common property on the forecastle and in the cockpits". And although we are talking about the navy here, there is no reason to believe that things were different in the army.

If we assume that as a result of the above reasoning, with a high degree of probability, the environment in which this legend arose and the ways of its further spread have been determined, then it remains to answer, perhaps, the most important question - why did it appear in the first place?

The decision to end the war was made Russian government at a time when Japan, having achieved major successes in the land and sea theaters of war, found itself in a very difficult situation. The enormous strain on material and moral resources cost her dearly: the economy and finances were depleted, and discontent grew among large sections of the population. The Russians in Manchuria clearly saw that the morale of the Japanese troops was gradually weakening, and the number of prisoners began to increase.

At the same time, Russia’s military resources, even after the fall of Port Arthur and the Tsushima defeat, seemed colossal; equipment and troops were brought to the Far East, which could soon rush to the enemy. Many, and especially the officers, were looking forward to this moment in order to end the war victoriously and thus wash away the shame of previous defeats both from the army as a whole and from themselves personally; the conclusion of peace deprived them of this opportunity.

Under such circumstances, it is no wonder that a significant part of these officers considered the top military leadership to be the culprit of their disgrace, which turned out to be unable to lead the army to victory and defend its interests before the tsar and in the government. However, it was unsafe to criticize the “tops”; Lieutenant General E.I. Martynov, who published a number of critical articles in the newspapers “Molva”, “Rus”, “Military Voice” and “Russian Invalid”, was dismissed from the army for this. Others who were dissatisfied, but did not want to share his fate, could only express their protest by showing, so to speak, “a cookie in their pocket.”

All this could have been put to rest if the medal with the inscription “May the Lord exalt you” did not exist in reality, and in all the prescribed metals. The author had the opportunity to hold it in his hands several times under various circumstances, and its image is in the posthumous collection of works of V.G. von Richter, who considered the medal with the “four-word” inscription to be a test medal made at the Mint. He did not pay any attention to the fact that its front side bore obvious signs of private fabrication. Such inattention is all the more surprising since V. G. von Richter was a born researcher, and he had more than enough material for comparison, since there are a great many known medals in memory of the Russian-Japanese War, manufactured by private companies.

Mint-produced medals are sculpted with rays of radiance emanating from one center, a dot after the date, and a close-fitting eyelet. The image on the “private” medals is formed by lines, rays of radiance general center they do not have a dot after the date, and the eye is connected to the circle by a small bridge. Additional signs of private fabrication are the smaller thickness of the circle (about 2.0 mm), as well as the hallmark and nameplate on the ear of the silver medal. Of course, medals made by different companies differ in details.

“For what to them (private firms – Auto.) was spent on making special stamps and minting these medals in a very limited number of copies,– writes V.G. von Richter, – or private firms hoped to cover their costs by supplying these “fakes” to the collections of collectors, of whom, at best, there were no more than a dozen. After all, everyone who had the right to wear a medal for this war purchased only “official” medals.". Here, “official” are medals that correspond to the approved model, regardless of the place of their minting.

Vladimir Gvidovich, I think, is wrong. The greatest difficulty was making the stamp on the front side, which was the same for both medals. Making a stamp on the reverse side was not difficult, and the cost of this could be more than recouped by selling a dozen “trial” medals to collectors. It also cannot be ruled out that one of the officers ordered a medal with the “correct” inscription after hearing the legend. Of course, in any of these cases the manufacturer preferred to remain incognito.

Will this legend ever die? I won’t risk answering in the affirmative, because, despite the fact that a fair amount of time has passed since the publications mentioned above, notes, articles and even books retelling it continue to appear with frightening regularity. Moreover, new legends arise. Thus, I.V. Vsevolodov claims that “ participants in the Tsushima battle could not claim the medal “In Memory of the Russo-Japanese War” and were left without a reward at all”, although from the rules for awarding it it is absolutely clear that they were entitled to a light bronze medal.

The funds of the Naval Archives have preserved information about a curious incident caused by the fact that this medal was awarded according to lists, as happens when there are a large number of recipients, and not individually. The lists were compiled by different bosses independently of one another. As a result, Lieutenant M.S. Roshchakovsky was awarded a silver medal as a participant in the defense of Port Arthur (the destroyer “Resolute”, under his command, broke into the Chinese port of Zhifu to convey an important message, was interned there, and then, in violation international law captured by the Japanese, despite the desperate resistance of an unarmed crew) and a light bronze medal for having taken part in the Battle of Tsushima on the coastal defense battleship Admiral Senyavin. Both medals are mentioned among his other awards in his service record, however, the light bronze one was later crossed out. As a result, M.S. Roshchakovsky was left with only a silver medal as an award of a higher value.

Another initiative of the Emperor regarding the awarding of participants in the Russo-Japanese War was the introduction of a bow to the medal in memory of this war.

On February 7, 1906, a discussion of this issue was assigned to the General Staff, which initially proposed granting the right to wear a bow “ exclusively to persons who actually took part in the battles with the Japanese and, moreover, only to the wounded, but not shell-shocked or who remained unharmed, as well as to all combat ranks of the Port Arthur garrison who were in the fortress during the siege.”. It is not clear what motivated the officials of the General Staff when they proposed dividing the garrison of the blocked fortress on a purely formal basis. Such a proposal may perhaps not best characterize the degree of their awareness of the real combat life of the troops.

The Chapter of Orders, the conclusion of which the General Staff requested on February 13, 1906, in its relation on February 14, firstly, quite rightly drew the attention of the addressee to the fact that “ shell shocks often received in battle, in their consequences, entail more severe suffering than a minor wound, therefore, including all shell-shocked people in the same category as the wounded would seem quite desirable”, and, secondly, he proposed that the right to wear a bow, in addition to the ranks of the Port Arthur garrison, be extended to “ some military units from the Manchurian Army, which particularly distinguished themselves in the bloody battles of this theater of military operations (Turenchen, Liaoyang, Shahe, Putilov Hill, etc.). Often such units, during stubborn multi-day defense of positions and attacks on enemy positions, lost over 1/2, 2/3 or more of their strength.”. It is impossible to understand from the document whether the last proposal of the Chapter was a consequence of the ignorance of its officials about the existence of collective military awards or an attempt to introduce individual external distinctions for ranks who were in military units at a time when these units showed military valor, but further development it didn't receive.

In a letter sent on February 17, 1906 to the Main Naval Headquarters, the conclusion of which on this issue was also required for the preparation of a report to the Emperor, the Main Headquarters, although it cited the opinion of the Chapter of Orders, continued to insist on its point of view: “ In some cases, of course, the seriousness of shell shock cannot be denied, but nevertheless, there are no sufficient grounds to agree to the blanket equation of the shell-shocked with the wounded, and special insignia are established by law for awarding entire units of troops that showed exemplary courage and bravery during the war , like St. George’s banners and standards, St. George’s silver trumpets and horns, “campaigns” for military distinction, badges on headdresses and others, and therefore the Main Headquarters, in order to identify those who undoubtedly suffered from the total mass of participants in the past campaign, considers it more correct and quite fair to grant the right to wear the above-mentioned bow ONLY TO PERSONS WOUNDED IN BATTLES WITH THE JAPANESE(highlighted in the document – Auto.)” .