Medal of Nesterov
The Medal of Nesterov is a Russian state decoration named after Pyotr Nesterov, a pioneer of Russian military aviation and a World War I fighter pilot. It was created on March 2, 1994 to fill a gap after the Russian Air Force was formed and serves as the aviation counterpart to the naval Ushakov Medal and the ground Suvorov Medal.
The medal honors bravery and personal courage in defending the Fatherland and state interests, shown during combat duties, exercises, or in advancing aviation. It is awarded for excellent performance in combat and air training, readiness of aircraft, special merit in developing, operating, and maintaining aircraft, and for professional piloting skill.
Eligibility includes personnel from the Air Force and other air arms of the Armed Forces, the Federal Security Service aviation, the Interior Ministry aviation, as well as aircrews of civil aviation and those in the aviation industry.
First awarded in 1995, its statute was amended in 1999 and 2010. The Medal of Nesterov is worn on the left breast, immediately after the Medal of Zhukov.
Appearance: a 32 mm circular silver medal. The obverse features a forward-facing bust of Pyotr Nesterov in uniform with laurel branches above and the inscription PETER NESTEROV. The reverse shows a double-headed eagle with a propeller, a sword, and a flaming grenade. In the lower half is a line for the award serial number and a maker’s mark.
The medal hangs from a blue silk moiré ribbon, 24 mm wide, with 3 mm yellow edge stripes.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 19:42 (CET).