Amazing pieces of jewelry design, the orders of the Russian Empire were, first of all, signs of high status and were reserved for only the noblest of the aristocracy.
Why would a country need a system of awards? Peter the Great knew the answer to this question. When he became the Russian tsar, he understood that Russia needed to take a giant leap forward in order to catch up with European competitors, and introducing a system of state awards was a very timely idea.
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