Order of Merit for the Fatherland

Order "For Merit to the Fatherland"
Star and Badge of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland"
Awarded by  Russian Federation
Type	Four grade order
Eligibility	Russian citizens
Awarded for	Outstanding contributions to the state
Status	Active
Statistics
Established	March 2, 1994
Precedence
Next (higher)	Order of St. George
Next (lower)	Order of Saint Catherine
Related	Medal of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland"
Ribbon of the Order 1st class Ribbon of the Order 2nd class Ribbon of the Order 3rd class Ribbon of the Order 4th class

The Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" (Russian: Орден «За заслуги перед Отечеством», Orden "Zaslugi pered Otechestvom) is a state decoration of the Russian Federation. It was instituted on March 2, 1994 by Presidential Decree 442. Until the re-establishment of the Order of St. Andrew in 1998, it was the highest Order of the Russian Federation, though it is still the highest Civilian decoration of the state. The Order of St. Andrew decoration is given to Military personnel only. The statute of the Order was modified on January 6, 1999 by Presidential Decree 19 and again on September 7, 2010 by Presidential Decree 1099.

The Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" is a mixed civilian and military order created in four classes. It is awarded for outstanding contributions to the state associated with the development of Russian statehood, advances in labour, peace, friendship and cooperation between nations, or for significant contributions to the defence of the Fatherland.

The highest of the four classes is the Order I class, the lowest being the Order IV class. These classes are awarded sequentially from the IV to the I class. Persons awarded the Order For Service to the Fatherland IV class should have already been awarded another Order of the Russian Federation and the Medal of the Order For Service to the Fatherland I class. For especially meritorious service to the State, the Order For Service to the Fatherland IV class may be conferred without previous award of the Medal of the Order For Service to the Fatherland I class if previously awarded the title "Hero of the Russian Federation", "Hero of the Soviet Union" or "Hero of Socialist Labor", as well as if previously awarded the Order of St. George, the Order of Alexander Nevsky, the Order of Suvorov, the Order of Ushakov, the Order of Zhukov, the Order of Kutuzov, the Order of Nakhimov, the Order For Courage, or who were awarded an honorary title of the Russian Federation. In exceptional cases, the President of the Russian Federation may decide to award the Order For Service to the Fatherland to persons not previously awarded state awards of the Russian Federation.