On 9 December 2006, on St George's Day, a festive awards ceremony was held in the St George's Hall of the Winter Palace to hand out certificates from the Ministry of Culture and Mass Communications of the Russian Federation honoring contributions relating to the preparation and implementation of the transfer of the remains of Dowager Empress Maria Fedorovna, wife of Emperor Alexander III, from the Kingdom of Denmark for reinterment in the Peter and Paul Fortress of Petersburg.

Director of the State Hermitage Mikhail Piotrovsky, State Heraldry Master of Russia Georgy Vilinbakhov and Chairman of the Committee on External Relations of the Government of St Petersburg Alexander Prokhorenko handed out the certificates.

Certificates from the Ministry of Culture was given to the Acting Director of the Museum of History of Petersburg Boris Akarcheev; Metropolitan of St Petersburg and Ladoga Vladimir; the Military Commander of Petersburg Alexander Galkin; the Director of the Russian Ethnographic Museum, Vladimir Grusman; leader of the Admiralty Orchestra Alexei Karabanov; Director of the Petersburg Mint Sergei Orlov; General Director of the St Isaac's Cathedral State Museum and Monument Nikolai Nagorsky; Director of the Tsarskoye Selo State Museum-Preserve Ivan Sautov; Main Conductor and Artistic Director of the Academic Symphony Orchestra of the D.D. Shostakovich Academic Philharmonic of St Petersburg Alexander Dmitriev; head of the department in charge of international events of the Committee of Foreign Relations of St Petersburg Maria Parfenova; head of the Organizational Administration of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Government of St Petersburg Yuri Pivovarchuk; conductor and deputy head of the military orchestra of the Leningrad Military District Roman Plotnikov; General Director of the automotive complex "Funeral Services" Anatoly Tyakhkin; chief conductor and artistic director of the 5th Military Orchestra of the Leningrad Military District Grigory Sokolov; deputy director of the Organizational Administration of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Government of St Petersburg Natalya Tolokontseva.

Director of the State Hermitage Mikhail Piotrovsky and Deputy Director for Research, State Heraldry Master of Russia Georgy Vilinbakhov were awarded medals of the "125th Anniversary of the State Security Forces (Okhrana) of Russia."

Among those taking part in the ceremony were students of the Nakhimov Naval School and the Admiralty Orchestra of the Leningrad Naval Base under the direction of Honored Artist of Russia, 2nd Captain Alexei Karabanov.

In the St George's Hall of the Winter Palace

Words of greeting from Director of the State Hermitage Mikhail Piotrovsky

Metropolitan of St Petersburg and Ladoga Vladimir receives his award certificate