The Order of Merit for the Fatherland (Russian: Орден «За заслуги перед Отечеством») was instituted on 2 March 1994 by Presidential Decree. The statutes describe it as a decoration for merit, not an order of knights.

The order has a collar

Collar (clothing)

In clothing, a collar is the part of a shirt, dress, coat or blouse that fastens around or frames the neck. Among clothing construction professionals, a collar is differentiated from other necklines such as revers and lapels, by being made from a separate piece of fabric, rather than a folded or...

 and four classes. The collar and a slightly different badge are the insignia of the President of the Russian Federation. The only foreigner to have received a collar was the French President Jacques Chirac

Jacques Chirac

Jacques René Chirac is a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He previously served as Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988 , and as Mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995.After completing his studies of the DEA's degree at the...

. There is an associated medal, in two classes, gold and silver.

Although Russia is usually considered a "motherland

Mother Russia

Mother Russia is a national personification of Russia, appearing in patriotic posters, statues etc. In the Soviet period, the term Mother Motherland was preferred, as representing the multi-ethnic Soviet Union; still, there is a clear similarity between the pre-1917 Mother Russia and the Soviet...

", the word oтечество means "fatherland".