Fyodor Ushakov Fyodor Fyodorovich Ushakov ( ) ( February 24 , 1745 , Burnakovo – October 14 , 1817 , Tambov Governorate ) was the most illustrious Russia n naval commander and admiral of the 18th century . Life and naval career . Ushakov was born in the village of Burnakovo in the Yaroslavl gubernia , to a modest family of the minor nobility . On February 15 , 1761 , he signed up for the Russian Navy in Saint Petersburg . After training , he served on a galley in the Baltic Fleet . In 1768 he was transferred to the Don Flotilla ( Azov Sea Navy ) in Taganrog and served in the Russo - Turkish War , 1768 - 1774 . He commanded Catherine II ' s own yacht , and later defended Russian trade ships in the Mediterranean from British pirate attacks . After the Russian Empire annexed Crimea ( 1783 ) , Ushakov personally supervised the construction of a naval base in Sevastopol and the building of docks in Kherson . During the Second Russo - Turkish War ( 1787 - 1792 ) he brilliantly defeated the Turks at Fidonisi ( 1788 ) , Kerch Strait ( 1790 ) , Tendra ( 1790 ) , and Cape Kaliakra ( 1791 ) . In these battles , he demonstrated the excellence of his innovative doctrines in the art of naval fighting . In 1798 Ushakov was promoted to full admiral and sent to the Mediterranean to support Suvorov ' s Italian campaign in command of a joint Russian - Turkish fleet . This expedition started with the conquest of the French departments in the Ionian islands , only acquired the year before from the demised Republic of Venice in the Treaty of Campo Formio , culminating in the and leading to the subsequent creation of the Republic of Seven Islands . Ushakov ' s squadron then blocked the French bases in Italy , notably Genoa and Ancona , and successfully assaulted Naples and Rome . Emperor Paul of Russia , in his capacity as the Grand Master of the Order of St John , ordered Ushakov to proceed to Malta , which the British had besieged to no effect . Admiral Nelson could not bear the idea that he would have to follow Ushakov ' s orders ( the Russian commander being his senior in naval rank ) and suggested dispatching the Russian squadron to Egypt instead . Brewing conflict between the commanders was prevented by Ushakov ' s being recalled to Russia in 1800 , where the new Emperor , Alexander I , failed to appreciate his victories . Ushakov resigned command in 1807 and withdrew into the Sanaksar Abbey in modern - day Mordovia . He was asked to command the local militia during the Patriotic War of 1812 but declined . In the course of 43 naval battles under his command he did not lose a single ship and never lost a battle . Tactics . Distinguishing features of Ushakov ' s tactics were the using of unified marching and fighting orders , resolute rapprochement with the enemy forces on a short distance without evolution of a fighting order , a concentration of the basic efforts against flagships of the enemy , reserve allocation ( « Kaiser - flag squadrons » ) , a combination of aim artillery fire and maneuver , chasing the enemy up to its full destruction or capture . Giving great value to sea and fire training of staff , Ushakov was the supporter of generalissimo Suvorov ' s principles of training of sailors and officers . Ushakov ' s innovations were the one of the first successful development of naval tactics from its " line " to manoeuvring concept . Memory . On March 3 , 1944 the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR established the Order of Ushakov which , among several other decorations , was preserved in Russia upon the dissolution of the USSR , thus remaining to be one of the highest military awards in the Russian Federation . In addition to the Order of Ushakov , there have been the Ushakov Medal and several warships named after Admiral Ushakov . The Baltic Naval Institute in Kaliningrad also carries his name . A minor planet 3010 Ushakov discovered by Soviet astronomer Lyudmila Ivanovna Chernykh in 1978 is named after him . Canonization . The Russian Orthodox Church glorified him as a patron saint of the Russian Navy in 2000 . His relics are preserved in Sanaksar . He was also declared the patron saint of Russian nuclear - armed strategic bombers in 2005 by Patriarch Alexius II and Cathedral of St . Theodore Ushakov