The Order of Nakhimov (russian: орден Нахимова) is a

military decoration Military awards and decorations are distinctions given as a mark of honor for military heroism, meritorious or outstanding service or achievement. DoD Manual 1348.33, 2010, Vol. 3 A decoration is often a medal consisting of a ribbon and a meda ...

of the

Russian Federation Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

named in honour of Russian

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet ...

Pavel Nakhimov Pavel Stepanovich Nakhimov (russian: Павел Степанович Нахимов, ; – ) was a Russian Admiral in the Imperial Russian Navy known for his victory in the Battle of Sinop and his leadership in the Siege of Sevastopol (1 ...

(1802–1855) and bestowed to naval officers for outstanding military leadership. The order was established during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

by decree of the

Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet (russian: Президиум Верховного Совета, Prezidium Verkhovnogo Soveta) was a body of state power in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Following the 1991

dissolution of the USSR The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...

, the Order of Nakhimov was retained unchanged by decision of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Federation № 2424-1 of March 2, 1992 but it was not awarded in this form. The all encompassing Decree of the President of the Russian Federation № 1099 of September 7, 2010 that modernised and reorganised the entire Russian awards system away from its Soviet past amended the Order of Nakhimov to its present form, a ribbon mounted single class Order.

Soviet statute

From its establishment in 1944 until September 2010, the Order of Nakhimov was awarded in two classes to officers of the

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

for outstanding achievements in the development, implementation and prosecution of naval operations resulting in the successful repelling of an opponent's offensive or for active fleet operations that caused considerable damage to the enemy while conserving fleet assets. The Order of Nakhimov 1st class was awarded to naval officers for: *cleverly planned and well executed operations coordinated with all naval forces in defensive positions, which led to the destruction and harassment of numerically superior enemy naval forces; *excellent management, bold and decisive leadership of individual actions of units and formations of the fleet engaged in naval battle or from coastal positions that led to the destruction of major enemy units, or caused it to fail to perform its tasks, while maintaining the combat readiness of its units or installations; *a well planned and successfully prosecuted anti amphibious operation which resulted in the enemy suffering great losses, lowering their combat effectiveness to the point of having to abandon the landing; *successful conduct of combat operations to ensure operation of the fleet at sea, their communication and defence of bases and coastlines; *well-organized and prosecuted naval operations protecting the flank of the Red Army's active operations and naval assaults of enemy held coastlines; The Order of Nakhimov 2nd class was awarded to naval officers for: *skilled and courageous action and personal leadership in the defence of lines of communication, bases and coastlines, which led to the destruction of large enemy forces successfully repelling the attack; *well-organized and successfully conducted de mining operations off the enemy coast, which ensured fleet operations and led to the destruction of important enemy naval assets; *well-organized and successfully conducted mine laying operations in enemy waters and near its coastlines, which assisted in the active operation of the fleet; *displaying personal courage in the successful execution of combat missions which led to the destruction of enemy naval assets; *outstanding leadership of subordinates in battle that led to victory over a numerically superior enemy while maintaining combat effectiveness of naval assets; *skilful support of operations which resulted in a major military victory. The Order of Nakhimov 1st class was worn on the right side of the chest and when in the presence of other Orders of the USSR, located immediately after the

Order of Kutuzov The Order of Kutuzov (russian: орден Кутузова ''orden Kutuzova'') is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named after famous Russian Field Marshal Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov (1745–1813). The Order was established ...

1st class. The Order 2nd class was also worn on the right side and located immediately after the Order of Kutuzov 2nd class.

Soviet and pre September 2010 award description

The Order of Nakhimov 1st class was of multi part construction consisting of a gold five pointed star displaying radiant rays, the bottom arm pointing straight down, a silver five pointed star with each arm ending in a naval sea anchor, its upper arm pointing straight up with the rays of the gold star protruding between its arms, a central gold medallion covered with dark enamel and the gold left profile relief image of the bust of admiral Nakhimov over two laurel branches at the center of the medallion, above the admiral's head along the medallion's upper circumference, the inscription in gilt letters "ADMIRAL NAKHIMOV" (russian: АДМИРАЛ НАХИМОВ). The

hammer and sickle The hammer and sickle (Unicode: "☭") zh, s=锤子和镰刀, p=Chuízi hé liándāo or zh, s=镰刀锤子, p=Liándāo chuízi, labels=no is a symbol meant to represent proletarian solidarity, a union between agricultural and industr ...

bisected the laurel branches on the central medallion. Five triangular red rubies were affixed to the silver star, one on each arm pointing out from the central medallion's outer edge. On the reverse of the silver star, a threaded screw and a 33 mm in diameter nut arrangement for attachment to clothing. The maker's (mint) mark was located at the upper part of the gold star's reverse, the award serial number was hand etched in the lower part. The Order of Nakhimov 2nd class was of two part construction and made entirely of silver with red enamel in lieu of rubies. The only noticeable difference between the Soviet and early Russian Federation variants was the abrogation of the hammer and sickle from the latter.

Soviet recipients (partial list)

The Order first class was awarded 82 times, including twice to naval units, such as the 1st

torpedo-boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of se ...

brigade of

Sevastopol Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...

and the 1st

Red Banner Red Banner (russian: Красное знамя) was a symbol of revolutionary struggle used late Russian Empire, in Soviet Russia, and in the USSR and the background of the Soviet state flag and other similar flags. Military units, ins ...

torpedo-boat brigade of the

Baltic Fleet , image = Great emblem of the Baltic fleet.svg , image_size = 150 , caption = Baltic Fleet Great ensign , dates = 18 May 1703 – present , country = , allegiance = (1703–1721) (1721–1917) (1917–1922) (1922–1991)(1991–present) ...

. The Order second class was awarded 469 times, including twice to naval units. The individuals listed below were awarded the Soviet variant of the Order of Nakhimov 1st class: * Admiral Nikolay Mikhaylovich Kharlamov * Rear Admiral Ivan Isidorovich Nosenko * Admiral Stepan Grigorievich Kucherov * Admiral Filipp Sergeyevich Oktyabrskiy * Admiral Arseniy Grigoriyevich Golovko * Admiral Vladimir Filippovich Tributs * Admiral of the Fleet Ivan Matveyevich Kapitanets * Rear Admiral Ivan Dmitrievich Papanin * Admiral Yuri Aleksandrovich Panteleyev *Admiral Nikolai Nikolaevich Amel'ko (both classes) *Coastguard Colonel General Ivan Vasil'evich Rogov *Rear Admiral Aleksandr Petrovich Aleksandrov *Vice Admiral Aleksandr Grigor'evich Orlov *Admiral of the Fleet Simon Fyodorovich Zhavoronkov * Admiral Vitaliy Alexeevich Fokin *Vice Admiral Ilya Danilovich Kulishov * Vice-Admiral Nikolai Mikhailovich Kulakov * Vice-Admiral Yuri Fedorovich Rall * Vice-Admiral Georgy Andreyevich Stepanov The individuals listed below were awarded the Soviet variant of the Order of Nakhimov 2nd class: * Admiral Vladimir Afanasyevich Kasatonov * Admiral of the Fleet Nikolai Dmitriyevich Sergeyev * Vice Admiral Grigori Ivanovich Shchedrin * Captain 1st grade Yaroslav Konstantinovich Iosseliani *Captain 3rd grade Yuri Konstantinovich Khlebnikov *Captain of naval aviation Dmitry Mitrofanovich Tatarenko *Vice Admiral Mikhail Petrovich Avgustinovich *Major of naval aviation Aleksandr Ermolaevich Gurgenidze *Rear Admiral Sergei Dmitrievich Zyuzin *Rear Admiral Maksim Petrovich Skriganov *Lieutenant Colonel of naval aviation Nikolai Alekseevich Musatov *Captain Lieutenant Athanasios Ivanovich Ivannikov *Rear Admiral Konstantin Konstantinovich Rodionov *Fleet Admiral Vladimir Afanas'evich Kasatonov *Captain 1st grade Nicholai Georgievich Tanskii

Statute of the modern award

The Order of Nakhimov is awarded to officers of the

for: *success in planning and conducting naval operations of combat formations (troops of

naval infantry Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refl ...

), which resulted in successfully repelling an enemy offensive by inflicting heavy losses; *having skilfully organized and conducted the operations of naval combat formations (troops) in cooperation with other services of the

Armed Forces of the Russian Federation The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (, ), commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces, are the military forces of Russia. In terms of active-duty personnel, they are the world's fifth-largest military force, with at least two m ...

, which resulted in the defeat of numerically superior enemy forces; *having skilfully organized and conducted a counterattack which resulted in the defeat of an enemy

amphibious assault Amphibious warfare is a type of offensive military operation that today uses naval ships to project ground and air power onto a hostile or potentially hostile shore at a designated landing beach. Through history the operations were conducted u ...

; *success in leadership of landings, for the successful execution of combat missions, displaying personal courage leading to the defeat of units of the enemy fleet, for destroying enemy shore facilities, for the disruption of enemy communications. It may also be awarded to military units that participated in successful naval operations and to foreign citizens, soldiers of allied forces from among the officers who took part alongside soldiers of the Russian Federation in organizing and conducting successful joint operations of allied troops (forces). The Order of Nakhimov is worn on the left side of the chest and when in the presence of other Orders and medals of the Russian Federation, is located immediately after the

Description of the modern award

Cruiser «Moskva» awarded the Order of Nakhimov - 22 Jul 2016 - 1

The badge of the Order Nakhimov is a 40 mm wide blue enamelled silver

cross pattée A cross pattée, cross patty or cross paty, also known as a cross formy or cross formée (french: croix pattée, german: Tatzenkreuz), is a type of Christian cross with arms that are narrow at the centre, and often flared in a curve or straight ...

with a narrow raised edge superimposed over a four pointed star, the ruby enamelled rays of which protrude between the arms of the cross and end in the shape of naval sea anchors. In the center of the obverse, a blue enamelled silver bordered medallion bearing the left profile bust of Admiral Nakhimov over laurel branches. Along the medallion’s circumference over the image of the bust, the relief silver inscription “Admiral Nakhimov” (russian: «Aдмирал Нахимов»). The medallion is surrounded by a silver chain. The Order Nakhimov is suspended to a standard Russian pentagonal mount by a ring through the suspension loop. The mount is covered by an overlapping 24 mm wide orange silk moiré ribbon with 1 mm wide black edge stripes and a 4 mm wide central black stripe.

References

External links

The Commission on State Awards under the President of the Russian Federation Legal Library of the USSRThe Russian GazetteSite of the President of the Russian Federation
{{Russian Awards Military awards and decorations of Russia Orders, decorations, and medals of Russia Russian awards Military awards and decorations of the Soviet Union Awards established in 1944