Order of the White Eagle (Russian Empire)
| Imperial Order of the White Eagle Орден Белого Орла |
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|---|---|
Grand Cordon set
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Awarded by  Head of the House of Romanov |
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| Type | Dynastic Order |
| Royal house | House of Romanov |
| Religious affiliation | Russian Orthodox |
| Ribbon | Navy Blue. |
| Motto |
Pro Fide, Rege et Lege For Faith, The King and The Law |
| Status | Rarely constituted |
| Sovereign | Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna of Russia |
| Grades | Knight Grand Cordon with Collar Knight/Dame Grand Cordon |
| Statistics | |
| Established |
1831 – 1918 (National Order) 1918 - Present (House Order) |
| Precedence | |
| Next (higher) | Imperial Order of St. Prince Alexander Nevsky |
| Next (lower) | Imperial Military Order of St. George |
 The Ribbon of the Order |
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The Order of the White Eagle (Russian: О́рден Бе́лого Орла́) was an Imperial Russian Order based on the Polish honor. Emperor Nicholas I of Russia established the award in 1831 as the Imperial and Royal Order of the White Eagle. A recipient of the Order was granted the title Knight of the Order of the White Eagle.
The "white eagle" has been associated with Poland even prior to statehood; first appearing on the Polish Coat of Arms in the 13th century. The original Order of the White Eagle (Polish: Order Orła Białego) was reputedly established by King Władysław I in 1325. There is no evidence of it being awarded, however, until 1705 under Augustus II the Strong, King of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
After the Third Partition of Poland in 1795, the Order of the White Eagle briefly disappeared along with the Polish monarchy. After his death in 1798, Empress Alexandra wore the Collar of the Grand Master of the Order at Nicholas’s coronation as King of Poland. The order was resurrected in 1807 by Napoleon I in his short-lived Duchy of Warsaw.
In 1815, the Congress of Vienna divided the historically Polish lands among Prussia, the Austrian Empire and the Russian Empire. The majority of the territory was renamed the Kingdom of Poland and was to be an autonomous member of the Russian Empire.
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