On arrival in Severomorsk, the acting president visited the military cemetery to lay a wreath at the tomb of Major-General Alexander Otrakovsky, the former commander of the Northern Fleet shore defence force and Hero of Russia, who was killed in Chechnya.
Later Mr Putin decorated Major-General Otrakovsky’s widow with the Star of Hero medal and presented orders and medals to Northern Fleet military personnel for their bravery and heroism in fighting illegal armed gangs in the North Caucasus.
Mr Putin said that the Northern Fleet marines were true heroes, who had demonstrated their bravery not only in training but also in counterterrorist operations in the North Caucasus.
The acting president also met with the Northern Fleet command.