military governor
What military rank did Pavel Nakhimov have in May 1852?
Pavel Nakhimov Pavel Stepanovich Nakhimov ( , ) ( – ) , one of the most famous admirals in Russian naval history , is best remembered as the commander of naval and land forces during the Siege of Sevastopol ( 1854-1855 ) during the Crimean War . Biography . Born in the village of ( district ) of Smolensk Governorate into a noble Russian family . He was the seventh of eleven children of a landlord , a second major Stepan Mikhailovich Nakhimov and his wife Feodosia Ivanovna Nakhimova ( née Kozlovskaya ) . Six of his siblings died as infants ; all of his four brothers also became professional seamen , including vice admiral ( 1805—1872 ) . In 1817 he entered the Naval Academy for the Nobility ( Morskoy Dvoryanskiy Korpus ) in Saint Petersburg . He made his first sea voyage in 1817 , aboard the frigate Feniks ( Phoenix ) , to the shores of Sweden and Denmark . 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 second Fleet Crew ( Flotskiy Ekipazh ) of the Russian Imperial Navys Baltic Fleet . At the beginning of his naval career , Nakhimovs experience was limited to voyages in the Baltic Sea and to a more extensive trip from the White Sea port of Arkhangelsk to Kronstadt naval base near Saint Petersburg . His lucky break came in March 1822 , when he was assigned to the frigate Kreiser ( Cruiser ) ; the vessel took part in a round-the-globe expedition commanded by the well-known Russian explorer Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev ( 1788-1851 ) , who had already undertaken several such voyages . During the three-year voyage , Nakhimov was promoted to the rank of lieutenant . On conclusion of this adventure , he received his first award , the Order of Saint Vladimir IV degree . He returned to his native Smolensk and was assigned to the 74-gun warship Azov , which made its maiden voyage from Arkhangelsk to Kronstadt in the autumn of 1826 . In the summer of 1827 , Azov sailed to the Mediterranean as flagship of the Russian squadron under the command of Rear-Admiral Lodewijk van Heiden for a joint expedition with the French and British navies against the Ottomans . Just before its departure , Emperor Nicholas I visited the Azov and ordered that in the case of hostilities , the crew should deal with the enemy as the Russians do . Azov , under then-Captain First Rank M.P . Lazarev , distinguished itself most prominently in the Battle of Navarino ( 20 October 1827 ) , during which the allied British-French-Russian fleet totally destroyed the Ottoman squadron . For his outstanding gunnery performance during the battle , the 27-year-old Nakhimov was promoted to the captaincy of a trophy ship and was decorated by the allied governments . During the Crimean War of 1853-1856 Nakhimov distinguished himself by annihilating the Ottoman fleet at Sinope in 1853 . His finest hour came during the siege of Sevastopol , where he and Admiral V . A . Kornilov organized from scratch the land defense of the city and its port , the home base of the Russian Black Sea Fleet . As the commander of the port and the military governor of the city , Nakhimov became in fact the head of the Sevastopol naval and land defense forces . On , while inspecting the forward-defense positions on Malakhov Kurgan , he was fatally wounded by a sniper ; he died two days later . Nakhimov was buried inside St Vladimirs Cathedral in Sevastopol along with Mikhail Lazarev , V.A . Kornilov and Vladimir Istomin . There is a monument erected in his memory . The Soviet government instituted posthumous honors as well , introducing Nakhimov Naval Schools for teenagers in 1943 , and establishing in 1944 both the Order of Nakhimov ( with two degrees ) and the Nakhimov Medal for Navy personnel . The Order of Nakhimov , one of the highest military decorations in the Soviet Union , continues in the Russian Federation . Ships named after Nakhimov . - Admiral Nakhimov , a Russian armoured cruiser . - Original name of Chervona Ukraina , a . - Admiral Nakhimov , a . - , a Soviet passenger liner . - Admiral Nakhimov , a Kresta II-class cruiser . - Admiral Nakhimov ( formerly Kalinin ) , a Honours and awards . - Order of St . Vladimir , 4th class ( 1825 ; the voyage on the frigate Cruiser ) - Order of Saint George , 4th class ( 1827 ; for service in the Battle of Navarino - Order of St . Anna , 2nd class ( 1830 ) - Order of St . Anna , 2nd class with the Imperial Crown ( 1837 ; for diligent and zealous excellent service ) - Order of St . Vladimir , 3rd class ( 1842 ; for diligent and zealous excellent service ) - Badge of distinction For impeccable service XXV years . ( 1846 ) - Order of St . Stanislaus , 1st class ( 1847 ) - Order of St . Anna , 1st class ( 1849 ) - Order of St . Anna , 1st class with the Imperial Crown ( 1851 ) - Order of St . Vladimir , 2nd class ( 1853 ; For the successful transfer of 13th Division ) - Order of Saint George , 2nd class ( 1853 ; For the victory at Sinope ) - Order of the White Eagle ( Russia ) , ( 1855 ; For actions in the defence of Sevastopol ) - Order of the Bath ( United Kingdom ) - Order of the Redeemer ( Greece ) References . - Naval commanders in the history of the Russian maritime