Early CDV photo russian general ca. 1865, Crimean war veteran, many orders - help appreciated!

[ArHo]

Dear all,

recently I was lucky enough to be able to add this beautiful and early CDV-photo to my little collection.

I was able, I think / hope, to identify most medals / orders by myself but would be happy about corrections. I would date it to ca. 1865-1870 based on medals and photo-backside.

Any help on the rank (general, army?) and the identity of this highly decorated officer are very much appreciated ?

Cheers!

 

Medal-bar, left to right (viewer):

?? Order of St. George 4th class - or - Cross of St. George

?? Virtuti Militari 5th class

Medal for defence of Sewastopol

Medal for Crimean campaign

Medal for suppression of polish revolt 1863/64

 

Orders:

Order of St. George 2nd class - neck cross and breast star (left breast lower)

?? Order of St. Anne 1st class - neck cross with swords and breast star (left breast upper)

Order of St. Stanislaus 1st class - neck cross and breast star (right breast)

 

Long military service badge for officers (rectangular badge below the medal bar), number of years illegible, ribbon dito

 

Edited October 23, 2020 by ArHo

[Great Dane]

Neck cross on right breast looks like St. Stanislaus.

[paul wood]

I think 2nd might be Virtute Militari 5th class. The bottom square badge is the officers long service ribbon , either st george or vlad. Cant work out no of years which is in Roman numerals.

paul

 

[GreyC]

Nice one.

Here is a colleague of the above, taken by the same studio in 1863:

https://www.kuvakokoelmat.fi/pictures/view/HK19450220_1

GreyC

[Bayern]

Captain Carl Woldemar von Dahen after a couse in the Nikolai Staff School .St Petersburg 1863

[ArHo]

Hi @ all and thanks for your input! I changed my description according to your suggestions and made  another picture of the medals but am afraid this is the best it can get... @paul wood thanks, I think Virtuti Militari is a good candidate, it is a shame that the numerals on the badge cannot be read. @Great Dane you are right - St. Stanislaus it is! How could I confuse it... @GreyC & @Bayern thanks, a nice comparison piece!

I did a little research on the uniform and though I do not own any literature I found a contemporary of "john doe" - who wears an identical uniform. It is Alexander Konstantinowitsch Abramov (1836-1886) who was, as I understand, Lieutenant General (the two buttons on the shoulder boards can on my portrait be seen only on the left one). The picture is copyrighted so I will only post a link here: https://www.alamy.de/stockfoto-portrat-des-russischen-generals-alexander-konstantinowitsch-abramov-1836-1886-er-diente-unter-general-mikhail-chernyayev-wahrend-der-zeit-der-russischen-eroberung-von-zentralem-asien-am-besten-bekannt-fur-die-fuhrung-der-belagerung-gegen-usbekistan-stadt-samarkand-im-jahre-1868-84974675.html?pv=1&stamp=2&imageid=E505D2AB-EA92-4549-AA7E-740621DBA94F&p=75935&n=0&orientation=0&pn=1&searchtype=0&IsFromSearch=1&srch=foo%3dbar%26st%3d0%26pn%3d1%26ps%3d100%26sortby%3d2%26resultview%3dsortbyPopular%26npgs%3d0%26qt%3drussian%20general%20uniform%26qt_raw%3drussian%20general%20uniform%26lic%3d3%26mr%3d0%26pr%3d0%26ot%3d0%26creative%3d%26ag%3d0%26hc%3d0%26pc%3d%26blackwhite%3d%26cutout%3d%26tbar%3d1%26et%3d0x000000000000000000000%26vp%3d0%26loc%3d0%26imgt%3d0%26dtfr%3d%26dtto%3d%26size%3d0xFF%26archive%3d1%26groupid%3d%26pseudoid%3d%26a%3d%26cdid%3d%26cdsrt%3d%26name%3d%26qn%3d%26apalib%3d%26apalic%3d%26lightbox%3d%26gname%3d%26gtype%3d%26xstx%3d0%26simid%3d%26saveQry%3d%26editorial%3d1%26nu%3d%26t%3d%26edoptin%3d%26customgeoip%3d%26cap%3d1%26cbstore%3d1%26vd%3d0%26lb%3d%26fi%3d2%26edrf%3d%26ispremium%3d1%26flip%3d0%26pl%3d

 

Edited October 24, 2020 by ArHo

[JapanX]

List of 2nd class St. George order cavaliers 

https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Кавалеры_ордена_Святого_Георгия_II_класса

Edited December 3, 2020 by JapanX

[Lukasz Gaszewski]

Hello everyone and let me share some thoughts on that photo.

At this moment I cannot tell you who the gentleman is, although his face does not seem alien to me. Maybe I'll try to find out later. Anyway, he is wearing the uniform of a lieutenant general (I think I see three stars on the epaulettes), the type that was worn in 1860s and 1870s.

I think your identification of the medals is ok, only IMHO the first medal  is for the suppression of Hungary and Transylvania in 1849, rather than for defence of Sevastopol.

What you call Virtuti Militari, was officially named the Polish Deoration of Honour. It had almost identical form as Polish VM, but had little to do with it, as it was conferred to Russian troops that took part in the suppression of the Polish rising in 1831. The fact that it is only the lowest, 5th class (and I agree it is) means he must have been in the ranks when he received it.

I am also sorry to say that the gentleman does NOT have the Order of St. George 2nd Class ? The white neck cross is of the Prussian Order of Red Eagle 2nd Class and the star below the star of St. Stanislas is probably from it as well. The overlying dark cross is of the Order of St. Vladimir 3rd Class. A Russian officer would probably not let the Order of St. Vladimir cover up that of St. George, especially on the official photo, and he would certainly never let the star of St. George be worn below that of St. Stanislas - the lowest order in the Russian honours system.

Interestingly, the Order of St. Vladimir seems to not have swords, so it was probably awarded before 1855.

The photo itself must have been taken not earlier than in 1865, for it was then that the Medal for suppression of Polish revolt was established.

BTW: it is certainly not Carl von Dahen. As you can see, the man on the photo participated in the suppression of the 1830/31 rising and v. Dahen was born in 1838.