RUSSIAN IMPERIAL ORDER OF SAINT STANISLAUS

Imperial Russian Saint Stanislaus medal in Gold with red translucent enameling. Missing the centerpiece to the reverse with the original silk ribbon. The Imperial Order of Saint Stanislaus also spelled Stanislas or Stanislav, is a Russian dynastic order of knighthood founded as Order of the Knights of Saint Stanislaus, Bishop and Martyr in 1765 by King Stanislaw II Augustus of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In 1831 after the downfall of the November Uprising, the order was incorporated into the Chapter of Russian Orders as part of the honours system of the Russian Empire by Emperor Nicholas I of Russia. In 1839, the Russian Order of Saint Stanislaus received new statutes, including granting status of nobility to its recipients in all three classes. As a result of the Russian Revolution 1917, activities were suspended by the Soviet Union, although it has since been awarded by the head of the Imperial House of Romanov as a dynastic order. When in 1918 Poland regained its independence as the Second Polish Republic, a Polish order was introduced as a successor to the Polish Order of Saint Stanislaus, the Order of Polonia Restituta. However, the Order of Saint Stanislas continued to be awarded after the revolution by Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich, Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich, and Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna; the latter a claimant to the headship of the Imperial House.