Pavel Stepanovich Nakhimov (Russian: Павел Степанович Нахимов, pronounced [ˈpavʲɪl sʲtʲɪˈpanəvʲɪtɕ nɐˈxʲiməf]; July 5 [O.S.

He was the seventh of eleven children of a landlord and Second Major Stepan Mikhailovich Nakhimov and his wife Feodosia Ivanovna Nakhimova (née Kozlovskaya).

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.

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".

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.

[4] 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.

[5][6] Early in his career, Nakhimov was criticized for "brutality towards sailors"; this allegation would not affect the public perception of him being a popular commander.

[9][10] By the time of the battle, Nakhimov had six battleships, two frigates, and three steamers and outgunned the Ottomans with weapons such as Paixhans guns.

[10] On November 30, 1853, Nakhimov's squadron entered the bay where the Ottoman fleet commanded by Admiral Osman Pasha was.

"[12] 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.

"[7] Despite his popularity with populist factions, the Imperial government did not recognize Nakhimov, as evidenced by its efforts to force artists of the panoramic painting "Defense of Sevastopol, 1854-5" to remove his figure and replace it with Mikhail Dmitrievich Gorchakov.

[15] A bust portraying Russian admirals and sailors from the Crimean War, including Nakhimov, was erected at Sevastopol Park after renovations in 2008.