Cross of St . George The Cross of St . George ( ) is a state decoration of the Russian Federation . It was initially established by Imperial Russia where it was officially known as the Decoration of the Military Order of St . George between 1807 and 1913 . The Cross of St George was reinstated into the Russian awards system in 1992 . History 1807 - 1917 . Established in the February 1807 decree of Emperor Alexander I , it was intended as a reward for " undaunted courage " by the lower ranks ( soldiers , sailors and NCO s ) of the military . Article 4 of the decree ordered the decoration to hang from the same ribbon as the Order of Saint George . There was only a single class with no restriction as to the number of awards per person . The first soldier to be awarded the Cross of St . George was a cavalry non - commissioned officer named Yegor Ivanovich Mitrokhin . He received the award for distinction in the battle against the French at Friedland on June 2 , 1807 . Numbering of the crosses on the reverse began in January 1809 , conversely , a register of the awards was also started that same year . By this time , approximately 10 , 000 crosses had already been awarded . By the beginning of the War of 1812 , 16 , 833 crosses had been produced by the Mint . Statistics of awards over the first years is detailed below : An 1856 royal decree divided the decoration into four classes . A person initially received the fourth class and would subsequently be promoted to higher classes for further acts of bravery ; one who received all four classes was called a " Full Cavalier of St . George " . The first and second classes were made of gold , the third and fourth were made of silver . The numbering on the reverse began anew for each class of the decoration . A 1913 royal decree officialized the name " Cross of St George " and the numbering began anew . In 1915 , due to war shortages , the first and second class decorations were made of lower grade gold ( 60 % gold , 39 . 5 % silver , 0 . 5 % copper ) . The third and fourth class decorations were produced in the same 99 % silver . 26 , 950 first class crosses ( № 5531 to № 32 , 840 ) and 52 , 900 second class crosses ( № 65 , 030 to № 12 , 131 ) were produced in low grade gold . Approximate number of St . George Crosses awarded from 1914 to 1917 : " 1M " was used in the serial number to indicate the number 1 million . On September 10 , 1916 , the Highest Council of Ministers approved a change to the St George Cross removing the gold and silver from its making . They began to mint crosses made of " yellow metal " ( JM ) and of " white metal " ( BM ) . The crosses first and second class , made of yellow metal had the letters " JM " ( Russian « ЖМ » ) above the serial number , the crosses 2nd and 3rd class , made of white metal had the letters " BM " ( Russian « БМ » ) above the serial number . The number of crosses produced for each class in " JM " and " BM " : In 1917 , the Provisional Government changed the statute of the cross allowing its award to junior officers . When awarded as such , a silver laurel branch device was affixed to the ribbon . The Cross of St . George was abolished after the Russian Revolution of 1917 , the Order of Glory nominally replaced it during the Soviet Era . 1992 Reinstatement . Following the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 , the Cross of St George was reinstated by Decision of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Federation № 2557 - I of March 20 , 1992 . Its award criteria were amended twice , first on August 8 , 2000 by Presidential Decree 1463 and most recently by Presidential Decree 1099 of September 7 , 2010 . The Cross of St George is awarded to soldiers , sailors , sergeants , petty officers , warrant officers and junior officers for deeds and distinction in battle in defence of the Fatherland , as well as for deeds and distinction in battle on the territory of other states while maintaining or restoring international peace and security with recognized instances of courage , dedication and military skill . Awarded sequentially in four classes from the fourth to the first for subsequent acts of courage . The first post reinstatement award ceremony took place in August 2008 to soldiers who displayed courage and heroism during the armed conflict in South Ossetia . On that day , Russian President Dmitry Medvedev decorated 11 soldiers and sergeants with the Cross of St George fourth class for courage and heroism displayed in the performance of military duties . A further 263 servicemen were decorated with the Cross of St George for distinction displayed in the peacekeeping operation to force Georgia to peace . List of the eleven initial recipients of August 2008 Award Description . The modern Cross of St . George is virtually identical to the imperial variant . It is a 34mm wide cross pattée worn on the left side of the chest with other medals , the obverse has a central medallion bearing the right facing image of St . George on horseback slaying the dragon . The reverse of the central medallion bears the Cyrillic monogram of the Order of St . George " SG " ( Russian : « СГ » ) . The reverse of the two lateral arms of the cross bear the serial number of the award , the left arm having an embossed letter " N " at its left extremity . The class of the cross is embossed on the reverse of the lower arm , " 1 - я степ " for the 1st class , " 2 - я степ " for the 2nd class , " 3 - я степ " for the 3rd class and " 4 - я степ " for the 4th class . The crosses 1st and 2nd class are made of gilt silver , the crosses 3rd and 4th class are made of silver . All four crosses hang from the standard Russian pentagonal mount covered with an overlapping 24mm wide silk moiré ribbon of St . George . A bow made of the same ribbon is affixed to the crosses 1st and 3rd class to distinguish them from the 2nd and 4th class awards . When the cross is not worn , a ribbon bar is worn on the uniform . The ribbon bar is 8mm high by 24mm wide , it bears a 7mm high golden metallic roman numeral denoting the class of the award .