At a special ceremony held in the Merchants' Hall in Edinburgh and 23 April 2010, Russia's consul-general in Scotland, Sergey Krutikov, presented commemorative medals to 26 Scottish veterans of the World War II Arctic Convoys.
The ceremony was timed to mark the 65th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe on VE Day, 8 May.
World War II Arctic Convoys
These vital convoys of Merchant Navy ships carried essential supplies to Russia during World War II. They sailed from Greenock in the West of Scotland, down the Clyde from Glasgow, Loch Ewe in the north-west Highlands of Scotland and Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands to Murmansk and Archangel in the north of Russia.
The men on board the Arctic Convoys braved not only German submarines and Luftwaffe bombers but also foul and freezing weather and rough and icy seas. Britain's wartime prime minister Winston Churchill described them as the "bravest souls afloat."
2,800 Merchant Navy seamen of many different nationalities lost their lives while serving on the Arctic Convoys. Among other countries, they came from Scotland, the rest of Britain, the British Commonwealth, the United States and Russia.
Jock Dempster, Chairman of the Russian Arctic Convoy Club Scotland
Mr Dempster is now 81. He was a boy of 16 when he first served on the Arctic Convoys. At the ceremony in Edinburgh on Friday 23 April 2010, he said: "This event marks a very special day for us. The long-standing bond of friendship which existed between the Russian people and the veterans during the war has become even stronger since.
"The medal is much appreciated for adding formal recognition of the critical role we played in shipping vital supplies to Murmansk and Archangel. The medals will be treasured by the veterans and passed on with pride to their children."
Sergey Krutikov, Consul-General of the Russian Federation in Edinburgh
Mr Krutikov said at the Edinburgh ceremony that it was a great honour for him to present the medals on behalf of his country, further stating: "The presentation of the 65th anniversary medals is a sign of appreciation for the heroic deeds performed by Russian convoy veterans during the tough years of the war."
Sources include Scottish newspapers, BBC Scotland's Reporting Scotland and the STV news.
Read an article from the British Ministry of Defence on Arctic Convoy Veterans' return to Murmansk in 2009.
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