Constantine Medal of the IRGS
About the medal
The Constantine Medal – a gold medal worth 200 silver rubles – was the highest award of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society. The medal was established by Society’s first chairman, Great Duke Constantine, and quite expectedly, was named after him. The medal was awarded from 1849 till 1929 inclusive. From 1924 till 1929 the Medal was called “The highest award of the Russian Geographical Society”.
Established on
December 3, 1946
Awarded for
The Constantine Medal was awarded annually for a valuable contribution to geographical knowledge. Its recepients were either explorers, who have made a significant geographical discovery or authors of outstanding publications in geography, ethnography or statistics of Russia.
The first recipient
The Medal was first conferred in 1849 on E.Gofman, for his excellent work during the first expedition of the Russian Geographical Society to the Northern Urals (1847-1848), of which he was the head.
Other recipients
1858 – Ivan Aksakov, for his research into trade fairs in Ukraine;
1863 – Vladimir Dahl, for the Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language;
1878 – Adolf Nordensheld, for his voyage and research in the Arctic Ocean along the northern coast of Western and Eastern Siberia;
1900 – Vladimir Obruchev, for his publications on Asian geology;
1902 – Pyotr Kozlov, for the 1899-1901 expedition to Tibet;
1905 – Alexander Kolchak, for participation in Baron E. Toll’s expedition, and for the journey to Bennett Island in particular;
1907 – Grigoriy Grum-Grzhimailo, for all his works in Asian geography and for his “Description of a journey in Western China. Volume III”;
1907 – Fridtjof Nansen, for his remarkable feats, which constitute a whole era in the Arctic Ocean exploration;
1874 – Nikolai Przhevalsky, for his pre-eminent scientific research, geographical discoveries and travels to Mongolia and the Tangut land.