Order of Saint Catherine

Imperial Order of Saint Catherine Императорский Орден Святой Екатерины
Star of the order.
Awarded by Head of the House of Romanov (claimant)
Type	Dynastic Order
Royal house	House of Romanov
Religious affiliation	Russian Orthodox
Ribbon	Red with Silver thread on either side.
Motto	"For Love and Fatherland"
Eligibility	women
Status	Rarely constituted
Sovereign	Head of the House of Romanov
Grand Mistress	Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna of Russia (disputed)
Grades	Dame Grand Cross Dame
Precedence
Next (higher)	Imperial Order of Saint Andrew
Next (lower)	Imperial Order of the White Eagle
Equivalent	Imperial Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky
Ribbon of the order

The Imperial Order of Saint Catherine (Russian: Императорский Орден Святой Екатерины) was an award of Imperial Russia. Instituted on 24 November 1714 by Peter the Great on the occasion of his marriage to Catherine I of Russia. For the majority of the time of Imperial Russia, it was the only award for women; the Insignia of Saint Olga existed briefly from 1916 to 1917, but ceased with the fall of the Romanov dynasty.

The statutes of the Order were first published in 1713, and the order was under the patronage of Saint Catherine of Alexandria, the patron saint of the Empress. On 24 November 1714, on the Empress' name day, Peter the Great personally bestowed the insignia of the Order upon the Empress Catherine, creating her Grand Mistress of the Order. However, no further members were inducted until 1726. Today, Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna is acknowledged as Grand Mistress of the Order by Burke's World Orders of Knightood and Merit,^[1] and by the International Commission on Orders of Chivalry.^[2] This right is disputed by some members of the Romanov Family Association.