The Medal of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" (Russian: Медаль ордена «За заслуги перед Отечеством») is a Russian medal. It was established on 2 March 1994 by Presidential Decree No.442. Its award criteria were modified on 6 January 1999 by Presidential Decree 19 and again on 7 September 2010 by Presidential Decree 1099. The medal of the Order is divided into two classes, the first and the second, it is further divided into a civilian and a military division, the medal of the military division is awarded "with swords" and its criteria differ from those of the civilian division. Source: Wikipedia (en)