Russia honours Scots veterans of Arctic convoys as part of VE Day

SCOTTISH veterans of the Arctic convoys will be honoured by the Russian government next week at a special ceremony to be held in Edinburgh to mark the 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.

A total of 30 veterans will receive the medals to commemorate their efforts to bring much-needed supplies to the Soviet Union and save the Russians from collapsing in the face of the Nazi onslaught.

The special ceremony at the Russian consulate in Edinburgh will be part of the world-wide commemorations of the end of the most destructive conflict in world history.

US President George Bush is expected to commemorate VE Day, next Sunday, at the Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial in Margraten, near Maastricht.

Afterwards he will travel to Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin to celebrate Victory Day in the Great Patriotic War, as it is known in Russia, on May 9.

Russians and other former Soviet republics remember May 9 as Victory Day, because although for the Western Allies and the Germans the war ended at 11pm Berlin time on May 8, the time difference meant the conflict did not end until 1am on May 9 Moscow time.

Bush has said he wants to attend the memorial ceremonies in Russia to thank Russian veterans for their sacrifices. More than 27 million lives were lost in the Soviet republics during the war.

Bush will join other world leaders including Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi, French leader Jacques Chirac, German chancellor Gerhard Schrder, Polish president Alexander Kwasniewski and European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso. They will all attend a military parade in Red Square as well as a formal reception at the State Kremlin Palace later the same day.

Downing Street refused to confirm if the Prime Minister would be attending the event in Moscow.

A spokeswoman said: "We do not give out details of the Prime Minister’s movements so far in advance. We are also in the middle of an election campaign so we cannot say who will be Prime Minister on VE Day."

However, Blair is expected to join the Queen at a service of remembrance and wreath laying on the steps of the Cenotaph in Whitehall, London, next Sunday.

In Scotland, VE Day commemorations will centre around a parade of veterans in Dundee before a memorial service at St Andrews Cathedral. First Minister Jack McConnell, the Lord Provost and Lord Lyle will all make readings during the service.

Edinburgh is due to celebrate Victory in Japan (VJ) day on July 10 with a parade through Parliament Square and a service of remembrance at St Giles Cathedral.

In all 30 surviving Scottish veterans of the convoys will receive the special medals from the Russian consulate in Edinburgh. Six will receive the medals at a ceremony on May 9.

The others will receive their medals in Edinburgh later this month. This will be the first time ever that the Russians have awarded medals in Scotland.

Moscow’s Consul General in Edinburgh, Vladimir Malygin, said: "For us this is a very important occasion. We are very grateful for the heroism of the men who sailed to Russia during the war."

But while the survivors are grateful to the Russians for the awards, the fact that the British government never struck a special Arctic convoy medal still causes controversy. Veterans believe they should receive a medal, but the government say that rules over war awards stop them issuing new medals more than five years after a conflict.

Jock Dempster, now 78, and the chairman of the Scottish branch of the Russian Convoy Club, said: "I shall wear this medal from the Russians with pride and in memory of those who gave their lives. The Russians are still very grateful for what we all did on the convoys. That is in contrast to our own government who just give us excuses for not casting a convoy medal. We all know they could do it if they wanted to."