Pavel Nakhimov

Pavel Stepanovich Nakhimov (June 23, 1802 - 1855) was one of the most famous admirals in Russian naval history, is remembered above all as the commander of naval and land forces during the siege of Sevastopol in the Crimean War. Born in the Gorodok village of Vyaz'ma district of Smolensk region in the family of a retired major of Russian Army, he entered the Morskoy Shlyakhetskiy Corpus (Naval Academy for the Nobility) in St. Petersburg in 1815. His first sea voyage aboard the frigate "Fenix" to the shores of Sweden and Danemark took place in 1817. Soon afterwards he was promoted to the rank of non-commissioned officer. In February 1818 he passed examinations to become a midshipman and was immediately assigned to the seconnd Flotskiy Ekipazh (Fleet Crew) of the Russian Imperial Navy Baltic Fleet.

At the beginning of his naval career, Nakhimov's experience was limited to the voyages in the Baltic Sea, and a more extensive trip from the White Sea port of Arkhangelsk to Kronshtadt (Kronstadt / Cronstadt) naval base near St. Petersburg. His lucky strike came in March 1822 when he was assigned to frigate "Kreiser" taking part in the round-the-globe expedition under the command of the well-known Russian explorer admiral Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev who had already undertook several such voyages before that.

During the three-year-long round-the-world adventure Nakhimov was promoted to the rank of lieutenant, and on accomplishing this long voyage he received his first award, Order of Saint Vladimir IV degree. Then came the assignment to seventy-four-cannon Imperial Navy ship "Azov" whose maiden voyage from Arkhangelsk to Kronshtadt took place in autumn of 1826.

Next summer "Azov" sailed to the Mediterranean sea together with the Russian squdron under the command of rear-admiral Geiden for a joint allied expedition together with the French and English navies against the Ottoman Empire. Just before the departure "Azov" was visited by the Russian Emperor Nicholas I who gave the order in case of hostilities to deal with the enemy "as the Russians do". For his outstanding gunnery performance in the battle of Navarino Nakhimov was promoted to the captaincy of a trophy ship. He was also decorated by the allied governments.