The cities of the Smolensk region were presented with the gifts from the President

The Administration of the Smolensk region hosted the ceremony of presenting the official gifts of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin to the Hero-city of Smolensk, to the cities of Military Glory Vyazma and Elnya, to the towns of Krasniy and Dorogobuzh which played an important role in the Patriotic War of 1812.

The event was attended by Deputy Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Central Federal District Nikolay Ovsiyenko and Governor Alexey Ostrovskiy, Smolensk Regional Duma members, heads of the local authorities.

"I came to Smolensk with the special task from the President – to award official gifts from the President. The number of the cities receiving gifts proves the fact that the Smolensk land traditionally defended the homeland. The Smolensk land always rose to protect the interests of Russia both in ancient times and in our recent history - we know that the Smolensk people always showed miraculous heroism, ingenuity and endurance", - said the Deputy Plenipotentiary representative in his opening speech.

The official gift from Russian President Vladimir Putin is a collection of medals, which were made as a limited edition at the St. Petersburg Mint of Goznak. The set consists of a medal "In memory of the 200th anniversary of the Patriotic War of 1812" and copies of the 20 medals from the historical series of Fyodor Tolstoy (1814-1836), dedicated to the most important events of the war.

"I would like to say that we are all in great debt to our ancestors, to those people who deserved the awards of the President. It is good that we remember them and their exploits, and it is important to make our children and grandchildren know about them too", - said Nikolay Ovsienko at the end of the ceremony.