The purpose of the medal is to honour those who took part in the confrontations with Soviet forces during The Barricades in 1991, part of the struggle for Latvia to regain its independence and put an end to the Soviet occupation. The first medal was awarded in 1996, and the last one in October 2011. An amendment to the law regulating the award of the medal made in 2007 stipulated that no new nominations for the awarding of the medal could take place after 31 December 2008. Thus, the medal is no longer awarded as it is deemed that all those eligible for it have already received it; around 32,000 people have been awarded the medal.