History of the medal
The reign of the last Russian Emperor Nicholai II is characterized by a wide variety of award medals. Imperial Russian awards of this period comprise about 40 types. Most mass awarding was carried to praise the achievements in the «sovereign» service, both in the civilian and military.
Medals were established by decrees and «highest» orders of the Emperor and regulations of the Provisional Government. Some of them have not been published and were not included in the Complete Collection of Laws of the Russian Empire (CCL) and the Assembly of legalizations and orders of government. They can only be found in archival documents. Medals were given during this period by: the Chapter of Russian Imperial and Royal Orders, the Office of the Military camp, Military Ministry and Naval Department (for participation in the wars, campaigns and battles). After the death of the awarded people the medals were kept by the relatives and not returned to the government.
In the reign of Nicholai II there continued awarding with medals established by other emperors — «For diligence», «For the salvation of perishing,» «For the irreproachable service in the police,» «For the irreproachable service in the prison,» as well as the newly established — «For the works on the first general census of the population «,» In memory of the 25th anniversary of church schools «and others.
There was also established Medal «For diligent service» in 1801. The awardees were merchants, burghers and peasants of the various services provided to the Government, mainly for serving in elective office.
Statute of the medal
This Russian imperial ward was given to merchants, peasants and townspeople, as well as residents of the national borderlands of the Russian Empire («Asiatics») for services to the Government. From 1854 the medals were issued to non — commissioned officers who entered the service for the second time or rejected the resignation.
Description of the medal
The obverse of the coin depicts the earliest, shoulder-high picture of a young Alexander I, turned to the right, without any imperial attributes and clothes. There is an inscription on the rim: «B.M. Alexander I. Imperator and Absolute Sovereign of All-Russia», and a small signature of Carl Leberecht at the bottom.
On the reverse side of the coin inside the ornament of concentric circles there is a large horizontal inscription in three lines: «For diligent service.» The medal was made of gold, with a diameter of 50 mm.
There were four types of the medal: gold and silver to be worn around the neck, and gold and silver to be worn on the chest. Gold medals, by special order of the emperor, sometimes were decorated with diamonds. They were worn around the neck and chest on ribbons of St. Andrew, St. Vladimir, St. Alexander Nevsky, St. Anna and St. Stanislaus.