Badges and insignia were produced for a wide variety of institutions and organisations, many of them marvellous and attractive works of art, as well as being of great historical interest.

The collection of Russian badges and insignia includes decorations for graduates of military academies and schools, universities and institutes; regimental and official decorations; official insignia for members of various societies; commemorative badges represented in official documents by counters and numerous interesting private badges for the various institutions mentioned above.

The Soviet state produced numerous badges and insignia (there are over 25,000 in the collection) both as awards for outstanding workers (shock-workers and Stakhanovites), and to commemorate festivals and contests. These were mainly produced at the mints in Moscow and Leningrad. There are also large collections devoted to particular subjects, such as the chemical industry of the USSR, to the theatre, ballet and opera.

An important collection covers the insignia of masonic lodges and a large range of masonic attributes: cross-belts, collars with symbolic representations, and numerous papers, such as the regulations of lodges and certificates of membership.

Foreign badges and insignia are represented by contemporary souvenir and commemorative material, of particular interest being a group of commemorative badges for graduates of the Free University of Brussels.

Badge for Georgy Sedov's Expedition to the North Pole Gold and enamel Full description

Badge of the 31st Infantry of the Alexeyev Regiment Instituted 27 June 1911 Full description

If you enjoyed this collection, you might want to also visit the other collections at the State Hermitage Museum.

The Arsenal