Order of Saint Stanislaus

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The Order of Saint Stanislaus (Polish: Order św. Stanisława, Russian: Орденъ св. Станислава), also spelled Stanislas, was an order in Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The order existed between 1765 and 1917. The House of Romanov in exile continued awarding the order.

[edit] The Orders of Saint Stanislaus

There are several Orders of Saint Stanislaus in existence today. These different Orders and grand-masters do not recognize each other as legitimate successors or revivals of the Order of Saint Stanislaus. The knights and dames of these orders tend to disagree.

In chronological order:

• The order of Saint Stanislaus (Romanov).

This is the Tsarist order that was abolished in Russia in 1918. Nevertheless the head of the Imperial House of Romanov occasionally awards crosses in this order.

• A false order of Saint Stanislaus was active in Italy in the 1950's. It no longer exists.
• The order of Saint Stanislaus (1979).

This is the International Order of Saint Stanislaus founded in 1979 by the President of Poland in Exile, Juliusz Nowina-Sokolnicki.

• The Oekrainian chapter of the International Order of Saint Stanislaus founded in 1979 declared itself independent.
• The order of Saint Stanislaus (1990) founded by Polish citizens

[edit] History of the Order of Saint Stanislaus

Stanislaus II Augustus Poniatowski, King of Poland established the Order of the Knights of Saint Stanislaus, Bishop and Martyr on May 8, 1765 to honour the service to the King.

After the partition of Poland it was recognized in the Grand Duchy of Warsaw in 1807. Since 1815 in the Polish (Congress) Kingdom, the order, originally in a single class, was retained and divided into four classes. After the downfall of the November Uprising, the order was added to the awards system of the Russian Empire in 1832, where it remained until 1917. It was often awarded to the very policemen that suppressed Polish independence, democracy and culture and the order became very unpopular. In 1918 Poland regained its independence as the Second Polish Republic, the unpopular order was not renewed and replaced by the Order of Polonia Restituta.