The Landau Gold Medal (Russian : Премия имени Л. Д. Ландау) is the highest award in theoretical physics awarded by the Russian Academy of Sciences and its predecessor the Soviet Academy of Sciences. It was established in 1971 and is named after Soviet physicist and Nobel Laureate Lev Landau. When awarded by the Soviet Academy of Sciences the award was the "Landau Prize"; the name was changed to the "Landau Gold Medal" in 1992.