A ceremony took place at the Kremlin conferring the title of City of Military Glory on Arkhangelsk, Kozelsk and Pskov.
The titles were conferred by presidential executive order of December 8, 2009 “for the courage, steadfastness and mass heroism the defenders of these cities displayed in fighting for the freedom and independence of the Fatherland”.
When presenting the cities' mayors with this honor, President Medvedev said: "Our task is to ensure that the glorious history of Pskov, Arkhangelsk, and Kozelsk is not limited to the heroic deeds of our ancestors, our predecessors. We ourselves must continue contributing to this history. We must work to revive Russia and we must modernise our nation, our economy, and our society. This, too, is often a very difficult goal, but the future of our nation depends on how successful we are in achieving it."
The Federal Law on the title of City of Military Glory was passed in May 2006. Under the law, the title is awarded to Russian cities whose defenders displayed great bravery and heroism in fierce battles in the cities themselves or in their environs.
So far, the title has been conferred on 19 other Russian towns and cities, namely Belgorod, Dmitrov, Kronstadt, Kursk, Luga, Malgobek, Naro-Fominsk, Orel, Polyarny, Rostov-on-Don, Rzhev, Tuapse, Velikiye Luki, Veliky Novgorod, Vladikavkaz, Voronezh, Vyazma, Yelets, and Yelnya.
