Imperial Pavel Nakhimov; proof

Pavel Nakhimov commanded the Russian Black Sea Fleet at the Battle of Sinop in November 1853, where his squadron destroyed an Ottoman frigate force in what became the last major engagement fought entirely under sail. He died from a sniper's bullet at the siege of Sevastopol in 1855, which made him a martyred figure convenient for successive Russian governments. The Soviet Union named a naval order after him in 1944; this St. Petersburg Mint issue revives that commemorative tradition under the Russian Federation.