Recipients of the Order of Saint Stanislaus (Russian)

Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (Italian: [dʒuˈzɛppe ˈverdi]; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the help of a local patron, Antonio Barezzi. Verdi came to dominate the Italian opera scene after the era of Gioachino Rossini, Vincenzo Bellini, and Gaetano Donizetti, whose works significantly influenced him.
In his early operas, Verdi demonstrated sympathy with the Risorgimento movement which sought the unification of Italy. He also participated briefly as an elected politician. The chorus "Va, pensiero" from his early opera Nabucco (1842), and similar choruses in later operas, were much in the spirit of the unification movement, and the composer himself became esteemed as a representative of these ideals. An intensely private person, Verdi did not seek to ingratiate himself with popular movements. As he became professionally successful, he was able to reduce his operatic workload and sought to establish himself as a landowner in his native region. He surprised the musical world by returning, after his success with the opera Aida (1871), with three late masterpieces: his Requiem (1874), and the operas Otello (1887) and Falstaff (1893).
His operas remain extremely popular, especially the three peaks of his 'middle period': Rigoletto, Il trovatore and La traviata. The bicentenary of his birth in 2013 was widely celebrated in broadcasts and performances.

Marie Camille Armand de La Forgue de Bellegarde (29 March 1841 – 23 October 1905) was a French military officer and horse rider and instructor.
La Forgue de Bellegarde joined the French Army in 1860, enrolling at the École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr. Upon graduation, he was commissioned as a junior officer in the 2nd Chasseurs Regiment, becoming a lieutenant in 1968. Following the Franco-Prussian War, during which he was captured and taken prisoner, he became an instructor at Saint-Cyr, where he rose to the rank of général de brigade. He retired in 1904.Among his many honours, La Forgue de Bellegarde was appointed a Commandeur of the Legion d'Honneur, and Officier d'Académie, and commander of the Russian Order of St. Stanislaus.Bellegarde was born in Gap on 29 March 1841, the son of politician Calixte Joseph Camille de La Forgue de Bellegarde. He was married and had two sons. On 23 October 1905, he suffered a stroke and died at his home in Cellettes.Some sources report that La Forgue de Bellegarde competed in the equestrian events at the 1900 Olympic Games, finishing third in the long jump.