TASS-DOSSIER /Kirill Titov/. For the first time at the national level, the concept of “hero city” appeared in the editorial of the newspaper “Pravda” dated December 24, 1942. It was dedicated to the decree of the Presidium Supreme Council USSR on the establishment of medals for the defense of Leningrad, Stalingrad, Odessa and Sevastopol. In official documents, Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), Stalingrad (now Volgograd), Sevastopol and Odessa were named “hero cities” for the first time - in the order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the USSR Joseph Stalin dated May 1, 1945. It talked about organizing fireworks in these cities. On June 21, 1961, in the decrees of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR “On awarding the city of Kyiv with the Order of Lenin” and “On the establishment of the medal “For the Defense of Kyiv,” the capital of Ukraine was called a “hero city.”

On May 8, 1965, in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War, the Presidium of the Supreme Council (SC) of the USSR approved the provision for the honorary title “Hero City”. The main criterion according to which cities received this status was the historical assessment of the contribution of their defenders to the victory over the enemy. “Hero-cities” became the centers of the largest battles of the Great Patriotic War (for example, the Battle of Leningrad, the Battle of Stalingrad, etc.), cities whose defense determined the victory of Soviet troops in the main strategic directions of the front. In addition, this status was given to cities whose residents continued to fight the enemy during the occupation. According to the law, the “hero cities” were awarded the Order of Lenin, the Gold Star medal and a diploma from the Presidium of the USSR Armed Forces. In addition, obelisks were installed in them with the text of the decree conferring the honorary title, as well as with images of the awards received.

On May 8, 1965, five decrees of the Presidium of the USSR Armed Forces were issued on presenting awards to the “hero cities” of Leningrad, Volgograd, Kyiv, Sevastopol, and Odessa. On the same day, Moscow was awarded the honorary title “Hero City”, and Brest Fortress- “hero-fortress” with the presentation of the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal. On September 14, 1973, Kerch and Novorossiysk received the title, on June 26, 1974 - Minsk, on December 7, 1976 - Tula, on May 6, 1985 - Murmansk and Smolensk.

In total, 12 cities of the former Soviet Union and the Brest Fortress. In 1988, the practice of conferring the title was stopped by a resolution of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

New honorary title - "City of Military Glory"

May 9, 2006 federal law, signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, a new honorary title was established - “City of Military Glory”. It is assigned to cities “on the territory of which or in the immediate vicinity of which, during fierce battles, the defenders of the Fatherland showed courage, fortitude and mass heroism, including cities that were awarded the title “hero city.” Currently, there are 45 cities in Russia have the honorary title "City of Military Glory".

In Moscow, in the Alexander Garden near the Kremlin wall, near the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, there is a granite alley of hero cities. There are 12 porphyry blocks here, each of which bears the name of one of the hero cities and an embossed image of the Gold Star medal. Capsules filled with earth are walled up in the blocks. Piskarevskoye Cemetery in Leningrad and Mamayev Kurgan in Volgograd, from the foot of the walls of the Brest Fortress and the Obelisk of Glory of the Defenders of Kyiv, from the defense lines of Odessa and Novorossiysk, from Malakhov Kurgan in Sevastopol and Victory Square in Minsk, from Mount Mithridates near Kerch, defensive positions near Tula, Murmansk and Smolensk. On November 17, 2009, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree according to which the granite alley of hero cities near the Kremlin wall was included in the National Memorial of Military Glory, along with the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and a memorial sign in honor of the cities awarded the honorary title “City of Military Glory.”

Memorial complex "Brest Fortress". Photo: Sergey Grits / AR

Why twelve cities and one fortress of the Soviet Union received the highest honorary title

When it comes to talking about the hero cities of Russia, the list of them will be incomplete without those cities that are today located on the territory of Ukraine and Belarus. Indeed, during the years of the Great Patriotic War, when all twelve cities and one fortress covered themselves with unfading glory, the entire Soviet Union was called Russia, without dividing it into separate parts.

For the first time, Leningrad, Stalingrad, Sevastopol and Odessa were named hero cities on May 1, 1945. On June 21, 1961, Kyiv was added to their number, and on May 8, 1965, the honorary title “Hero City” became official and was awarded to “cities of the Soviet Union whose workers showed massive heroism and courage in defending the Motherland in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.” ." Since July 18, 1980, the title of hero city has become the highest degree of distinction for settlement. Below is a list of hero cities, compiled by the time they were awarded the highest degree of distinction.

The 900-day siege of Leningrad became a symbol of courage Soviet people, their readiness to die, but not to let the enemy pass. During the blockade, every fifth resident of the city died, but despite this, the city continued to supply the front with weapons, ammunition and food.

The heroic defense of Odessa lasted almost a month and a half - 73 days. During this time, almost 160 thousand enemy soldiers were destroyed. And then, during the occupation of the city, Odessa partisans, who went into the city catacombs, destroyed another 5,000 Nazis.

The second defense of Sevastopol, which lasted for 250 days, was a repetition of the legendary First Defense in the years Crimean War XIX century. The city withstood four assaults and was abandoned only after the enemy managed to occupy the entire Crimean peninsula and completely cut off the residents of Sevastopol from the main forces

Monument "Soldier and Sailor" heroic defenders Sevastopol. Photo: Marina Lystseva / TASS

Stalingrad became synonymous with victory: it was here, as they said at that time, that the back of the fascist troops was broken. With the defense of Stalingrad and the encirclement of the 6th Army of Field Marshal Paulus, the offensive of Soviet troops began along the entire front, ending on May 9, 1945 in Berlin.

The sculptures “Stand to the Death” and “The Motherland Calls” in the historical and memorial complex “Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad” on Mamayev Kurgan in Volgograd. Photo: Eduard Kotlyakov / TASS

The defense of Kyiv at the end of the summer of 1941 became one of the most striking episodes of the first months of the Great Patriotic War: the city’s defenders pulled back 19 German divisions, making it possible to prepare a defense line in the interior of the country. And the liberation of Kyiv in the fall of 1943 became the most important milestone in the Red Army’s offensive to the West.

“We will die, but we will not leave the fortress,” one of its nameless defenders wrote on the wall of one of the casemates of the Brest Fortress. According to the Barbarossa plan, the fortress was supposed to fall on the very first day of the war, but its soldiers fought with unparalleled courage until the beginning of July 1941.

The capital of our country became the very city under which the Red Army, after a long retreat, managed to inflict such a blow on the enemy that it forced him to stop. And the parade on Red Square on November 7, 1941, at the very height of the battle for Moscow, clearly showed: neither surrender the city, nor surrender Soviet people not going to.

Adzhimushkay quarries and Eltigen landing - these two concepts are inextricably linked with military history Kerch. The courage of the defenders of the quarries, who withstood considerable enemy forces, and the heroism of Eltigen’s paratroopers, who died but held an important bridgehead, coupled with the fortitude of the townspeople during the defense of Kerch, were the reasons for awarding the city a high rank.

The battle for Novorossiysk lasted 225 days, and during all this time the Nazis failed to completely capture the city. The legendary Malaya Zemlya bridgehead also played a vital role in the defense, and the battle for the city itself did not allow the enemy to realize plans to capture the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus.

Finding itself at the forefront of the main attack of the Wehrmacht, which was rushing towards Moscow, Minsk was occupied already on the sixth day of the war, and was liberated only on July 3, 1944. But for all three years the intensity of the partisan war in the city did not decrease: it was not for nothing that eight participants of the Minsk underground were awarded the title of Heroes of the Soviet Union.

The defense of Tula is an example of unprecedented courage, first of all, of its citizens: the destroyer battalions made up of them held out as long as it took to transfer regular troops to the city. As a result, Tula, whose arms factories did not stop their work even for a day, never surrendered to the enemy, although the enemy was already standing on its outskirts.

The ice-free northern port of Murmansk became the main base where Lend-Lease convoys were received and from where British and American tanks, cars and planes went to the front in a continuous stream. Even the constant bombing to which the Nazis constantly subjected the city could not prevent this: in three years, 185,000 bombs were dropped on Murmansk soil!

The famous Battle of Smolensk in 1941 lasted for two months, and although it was not possible to defend the city, the battle for it delayed the Wehrmacht divisions rushing towards Moscow for a long time. And the courage of the Smolensk partisans, who gave no rest to the invaders for two years, became as legendary as the heroism of their Bryansk comrades.

How many cities of military glory are there in Russia?

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the practice of awarding the title Hero City was stopped, but remembering the courage and heroism of the defenders of the Fatherland in Russia, a new title “City of Military Glory” was introduced.

Honorary title "City of Military Glory" Russian cities began receiving in 2007: the first were Belgorod, Kursk and Orel. As the presidential decree states, this title is awarded “for courage, fortitude and mass heroism shown by the city’s defenders in the struggle for the freedom and independence of the Fatherland.” In total, as of 2015, 45 Russian cities are cities of military glory, not only in the west of the country, but also in Far East.

The city of the first fireworks given in honor of its liberation in 1943.

The city after which one of the most famous battles Great Patriotic War - Kursk Bulge.

It began with a blow in the direction of Eagle strategic operation“Kutuzov”, and after liberation, the first parade of partisan formations in the history of the war took place in the city.

On the outskirts of Vladikavkaz, Wehrmacht troops were stopped, whose target was the oil fields of the Caspian Sea.

The battle for Malgobek became key during the battle for the Caucasus: it was here that Soviet troops managed to stop the Nazis rushing to Grozny.

The city in the vicinity of which one of the most tragic and bloody battles of the Great Patriotic War unfolded - the Rzhev operation.

Yelnya became the first big city, liberated in 1941 as a result of the autumn counter-offensive of the Red Army.

Liberated during the counter-offensive near Moscow in December 1941, the city served as the center of the Oryol region until the liberation of Oryol.

The Battle of Voronezh played a key role in the defense of Stalingrad: the Wehrmacht troops were delayed for several days, which made it possible to strengthen the defense of the city on the Volga.

The famous Luga line, which delayed the advance of Army Group North troops on Leningrad, passed through this city.

During the Great Patriotic War, the city was the main base of the Soviet Northern Fleet of the USSR Navy: submarines and escort ships for allied convoys were based here.

The first liberation of Rostov-on-Don in November 1941 was also the first major victory of the Red Army since the beginning of the Great Patriotic War.

After the capture of Sevastopol, the city became the main base of the Black Sea Fleet, which the Wehrmacht failed to take even after a five-month siege.

This city is covered military glory more than one century: since 1242, from the day of the Battle of Lake Peipus, it has more than once played the role of the northern shield of Russia.

The cradle of Russian democracy and a city that went down in history as the place of the reign of Alexander Nevsky, a commander whose name was given to one of the most honorable orders during the Great Patriotic War.

Although it was here at the end of November that the Nazis launched their last attempt to attack Moscow, they failed to take the city.

Vyazma glorified itself in two Patriotic Wars: 1812 and the Great Patriotic War, becoming the site of several major battles.

The fortress city, the citadel of the Baltic Fleet, has never allowed an enemy beyond the walls of its forts in its history.

Divided by the Nara River into two parts, the city steadfastly resisted the Nazis: they never managed to cross the river.

The city, which has served as the defender of Russia’s western borders for eight centuries, is one of the symbols of the glory of the Russian Airborne Forces.

During Batu’s invasion of Rus', Kozelsk offered the most fierce resistance to the invaders, for which it received the nickname “Evil City” from them.

Having first glorified itself in the battles of Peter the Great, Arkhangelsk, along with Murmansk, received allied convoys during the Great Patriotic War.

One of the key cities during the Battle of Moscow, which forever glorified the soldiers of the famous Panfilov Division.

Bryansk became a city-symbol of partisan glory: in the region more than 100 partisan detachments fought against the Nazis.

The liberation of Nalchik was one of the first offensive operations during the Great Patriotic War carried out by regular troops together with partisan detachments.

The city, which became part of Russia through the efforts of Peter I, ceded to Finland after 1917 and returned in 1939, was the site of fierce fighting during the Soviet-Finnish and Great Patriotic Wars.

It was in this city that during Operation Uranus to encircle the 6th Army of the Wehrmacht on November 23, 1942, the ring of Soviet troops closed.

An outpost of Russia in the Far East, Vladivostok became famous both during the Russo-Japanese War and during the Second World War, when it served as one of the destination ports for allied convoys.

It was one of the key cities during the defense of Leningrad, and in November 1941, it was here that the first offensive in the northwestern direction began.

Kalinin was the focal point of the defense of Moscow in the fall and winter of 1941 and became one of the first cities liberated by the Red Army during the counter-offensive near Moscow.

During the Battle of Crimea and the Battle of the Caucasus, the port of Anapa served as one of the bases of the Black Sea Fleet and the place of formation of the legendary Black Sea Marine battalions.

During the defense of Leningrad, the front line passed 3-4 km from the center of Kolpino, but despite this, the city continued to repair military equipment and supply the army with food. via

To be continued...

How many hero cities do we have?
How, after the Great Patriotic War, cities were awarded the title of hero cities / “Russian Victories” series

On May 8, 1965, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR approved the Regulations on the honorary title “Hero City”. Also in

Memorial complex "Brest Fortress" / Photo: Sergey Grits

For which twelve cities and one fortress of the Soviet Union received the highest honorary title. When it comes to talking about the hero cities of Russia, the list of them will be incomplete without those cities that are today located on the territory of Ukraine and Belarus. Indeed, during the Great Patriotic War, when all twelve cities and one fortress covered themselves with unfading glory, the entire Soviet Union was called Russia, without dividing it into separate parts.

For the first time, Leningrad, Stalingrad, Sevastopol and Odessa were named hero cities on May 1, 1945. On June 21, 1961, Kyiv was added to their number, and on May 8, 1965, the honorary title “Hero City” became official and was awarded to “cities of the Soviet Union whose workers showed massive heroism and courage in defending the Motherland in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.” ." Since July 18, 1980, the title of hero city has become the highest degree of distinction for a locality. Below is a list of hero cities, compiled by the time they were awarded the highest degree of distinction.

The 900-day siege of Leningrad became a symbol of the courage of the Soviet people, their willingness to die, but not to let the enemy pass. During the blockade, every fifth resident of the city died, but despite this, the city continued to supply the front with weapons, ammunition and food.

The second defense of Sevastopol, which lasted 250 days, was a repetition of the legendary First Defense during the Crimean War of the 19th century. The city withstood four assaults and was abandoned only after the enemy managed to occupy the entire Crimean peninsula and completely cut off the residents of Sevastopol from the main forces.

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Monument “Soldier and Sailor” to the heroic defenders of Sevastopol / Photo: Marina Lystseva

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Sculptures “Stand to the Death” and “Motherland Calls” in the historical and memorial complex “Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad” on Mamayev Kurgan in Volgograd / Photo: Eduard Kotlyakov

The capital of our country became the very city under which the Red Army, after a long retreat, managed to inflict such a blow on the enemy that it forced him to stop. And the parade on Red Square on November 7, 1941, at the very height of the battle for Moscow, clearly showed: the Soviet people were not going to surrender the city or surrender.

Adzhimushkay quarries and Eltigen landing - these two concepts are inextricably linked with the military history of Kerch. The courage of the defenders of the quarries, who withstood considerable enemy forces, and the heroism of Eltigen’s paratroopers, who died but held an important bridgehead, coupled with the fortitude of the townspeople during the defense of Kerch, were the reasons for awarding the city a high rank.

From the comments to the article:

Yuri writes: - Correct topic, but there are a lot of mistakes - I’ll start in order - the first part of the hero city

73 days is not a month and a half, but more than two....this is about the defense of Odessa.

The Brest Fortress held out not until the beginning of July, but at least until July 20, 1941 (the famous date on the plaque).

- “The battle for Novorossiysk lasted 225 days” - a fundamentally incorrect statement - the fight on Malaya Zemlya continued for 225 days. The Novorossiysk defensive operation began on August 29, 1942, and the Novorossiysk offensive operation ended on September 16, 1943, so not 225 days, but more than a year, and almost without a break, battles for Novorossiysk took place. The Malaya Zemlya bridgehead was created not for defense, but rather for the liberation of Novorossiysk, and on the first day of the landing, Ts. Kunnikov’s detachment, which was considered a distraction, achieved significant success.

- “Tula, whose arms factories did not stop their work for a day,” - A significant part of Tula’s enterprises was evacuated - to Saratov (production of PTRS, Izhevsk (production of TT), Mednogorsk (production of SVT-40).

I wanted to write about the Hero Cities of the USSR, the list includes twelve cities and one fortress. The blow of the trained and well-armed German army that fell on our country in June 1941 was powerful and crushing. In the path of the enemy’s advance stood Soviet cities, whose residents, together with the regular army, waged a heroic, exhausting struggle against the almost always superior forces of the fascists.
In Moscow, in the Alexander Garden near the Kremlin walls, next to the Eternal Flame and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, there are granite slabs - symbols of twelve Hero Cities and one Hero Fortress. A star and a vessel with earth, which was brought from heroic cities, are built into the slab.
What is a hero city? This is the highest degree of distinction, which is awarded to those cities of the Soviet Union whose citizens showed massive heroism and courage in defending our country during the Great Patriotic War. Cities - Heroes were awarded the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal. These awards were depicted on city banners.
The first cities awarded the honorary title “Hero City” on May 8, 1965, in honor of the twentieth anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War, by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Council, became Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg), Kyiv, Volgograd (Stalingrad), Sevastopol, Odessa, Moscow, Brest Fortress.
How many Hero Cities were there in the USSR, list:
1. Hero City Leningrad (St. Petersburg) received this title on May 8, 1965.
The Germans wanted to wipe Leningrad off the face of the earth and exterminate the population. Leningraders, who were under siege for almost 900 days during the war (from September 8, 1941 to January 27, 1944), showed incredible heroism and courage. At the same time, the residents managed to hold the city and help the front. About two million Leningraders died from air raids, bombs, shell explosions, disease and hunger. In our “northern” capital, numerous memorial structures have been erected in memory of this time. On Victory Square in honor of the defenders of Leningrad. And the “torn” bronze ring, being part of the monument, became a symbol of breaking the blockade.
2. Odessa received the title “Hero City” on May 8, 1965.
During the war, Odessa fought against superior fascist forces for seventy-three days. All this time, eighteen Nazi divisions were pinned down near the city walls. To capture Odessa, the Germans allocated forces that were five times greater than the number of defenders of the city. On August 13, 1941, the city was completely blocked from land. Everyone united to protect the city. The Germans blocked the water station that supplied the city drinking water. But the residents began to dig wells; the rocky ground yielded little water; its consumption was recorded using cards. There weren’t enough tanks - they pulled abandoned German tanks from the battlefield and painted stars instead of crosses, and went into battle on these tanks. But, in spite of everything, the enemy was unable to break the resistance of the city’s defenders. After the city was captured by the Germans in October 1941, a partisan war began: the partisans settled in the unoccupied part of the city, in the catacombs. During the occupation, tens of thousands of Odessa civilians were executed, most of them Jews. Soviet troops liberated Odessa on April 10, 1944.
Sevastopol began to be bombed from the very first day of the war. The German army invaded Crimea, after which the defense of Sevastopol began, which lasted two hundred and fifty days (from October 30, 1941 to July 4, 1942). The entire way of city life was rebuilt on a military scale, Sevastopol events worked for the needs of the front, and a powerful partisan movement was launched near Sevastopol. On July 9, Soviet troops left Sevastopol, before which the garrison fiercely defended itself for two weeks against enemy forces superior in numbers and military equipment. But exactly a year before Great Victory, On May 9, 1944, Soviet troops liberated Sevastopol.
4. Volgograd (during the war - Stalingrad) became a “Hero City” on May 8, 1965.
Stalingrad (now Volgograd) is a city that has become a household name when talking about any turning point in any military campaign.
Through the incredible efforts of army heroes and ordinary residents in Stalingrad, the course of that terrible war was changed. The Nazis launched a massive offensive on the southern front, they sought to capture the Caucasus, the lower Volga and Kuban, where the most fertile lands in our country are concentrated. The Germans did not expect such a “cauldron” and until recently did not believe that it had happened. The Wehrmacht formations were defeated by Soviet troops, and commander Paulus was captured. The defense of Stalingrad lasted 200 days. There were battles for every street, for every house. Almost fifty thousand people - ordinary residents of the city - signed up for the people's militia alone. And the city’s factories continued to operate and produce what was needed for the front. The losses among the fighters were enormous. Battle of Stalingrad became one of the bloodiest in the history of mankind! I remember the figure: German aircraft dropped one million bombs weighing one hundred thousand tons on Stalingrad! But the exact number of city residents killed is impossible to establish; the damage caused to the city was enormous, more than eighty percent of the housing stock was destroyed. The famous Mamayev Kurgan and the Motherland sculpture towering on it are a grandiose monument-reminder of the heroic defense of Volgograd.
5. The city of Kyiv was awarded the title “Hero City” on May 8, 1965.
Kyiv entered the war almost from its first day. Already at the beginning of July 1941, fighting began on the outskirts of the city. The defending Soviet armies fought grueling battles, and militia units were created in the city. Their joint actions and the efforts of ordinary city residents delayed parts of the Germans for almost two months, during which large enterprises of the city and some of its residents were evacuated. The Germans, after long resistance from the defenders of Kyiv, were forced to pull back some troops from the Moscow direction and transfer them to Kyiv. In general, the defense of Kyiv lasted seventy days. But in September 1941, Soviet troops were forced to retreat. A brutal regime of occupation of the city began, some of the residents were killed, others were sent to work in Germany. In the north-west of Kyiv, the Germans created the Syretsky concentration camp (Babi Yar), where they shot more than one hundred thousand Kyiv residents and prisoners of war. On November 6, 1943, the city of Kyiv was liberated by the Red Army.
6. Moscow was awarded the title “Hero City” on May 8, 1965.
Our capital received the title of "Hero City" in 1941-42. The Germans concentrated colossal forces for this operation - 77 divisions, 1,700 tanks, more than a million personnel. The capture of Moscow for the Germans would be comparable to a complete victory over the Soviet Union. But the forces of the entire country carried out a common task - to defend Moscow: kilometers of dug trenches, defensive fortifications, millions of lives... On December 5, 1941, the Soviet Army was able to push the enemy away from Moscow and go on the offensive, the myth of the “invincible” army of the Nazis collapsed. This marked the beginning of a revolution in the course of the war, and faith in victory became stronger. This outcome of the battle for Moscow had a cost of almost two and a half million lives of our citizens. According to the original design, it was dedicated to the defenders of Moscow, but now it is one of the main monuments to all the soldiers of that war.

Last edited: 18 Feb 2017
7. Novorossiysk has held the title “Hero City” since September 14, 1973.
Novorossiysk became a new target for the Nazis after their plans for an operation in the Caucasus were thwarted. With the capture of Novorossiysk, the Germans wanted to begin advancing along the southern part of the Black Sea coast. It was assumed that through the “sea gate” - the city of Novorossiysk - the Germans would supply weapons, tanks and fresh forces, and export grain, non-ferrous metals, natural resources, and timber from the territory of the Soviet Union. Statistics compare the inequality of forces: 10 Germans fought against one Soviet tank, 8 Germans fought against 1 Soviet aircraft, for every nine Red Army soldiers there were fifteen soldiers of the Nazi army. The battle for Novorossiysk lasted two hundred and twenty-five days. More than ninety percent of the city was destroyed. The exploits of the marines who courageously defended the city, the paratroopers who boldly entered from the sea and stunned the enemy, and the motorized riflemen who broke through the defenses from land will forever go down in history.
Tula bravely defended itself from the twenty-fourth of October to the fifth of December 1941. The rapid movement from the city of Orel, which was taken almost immediately, to Tula was part of the German operation to quickly advance towards Moscow. The Germans managed to capture Oryol so quickly that, according to recollections, “tanks entered the city when trams were running peacefully there.” Among those defending the city were a 1,500-strong workers' regiment and an NKVD regiment created from police officers to guard defense factories. Up to several thousand people worked daily on the construction of defense structures, most of whom were women. In addition, work was underway to evacuate defense factories from Tula. The city of gunsmiths was under siege, constantly subjected to shelling and tank attacks, but did not surrender to the Germans. Tula survived those harsh days, being under siege and constantly exposed to shelling and air raids. Great importance in holding the city belongs to partisan detachments operating near Tula. The Red Army, having held Tula, did not allow the Wehrmacht troops to make a breakthrough to Moscow from the south. This victory came at a difficult price... And every third Tula citizen who went to the front did not return from the war.
9. Kerch received the title “Hero City”, on the 30th anniversary of the liberation of Crimea on September 14, 1973. The city of Kerch was captured by the Germans in November 1941, and at the very end of December of the same 1941, the city was liberated by the troops of the Black Sea Fleet and the Azov Flotilla. But in May 1942, the Germans again began an attack on Kerch, concentrating large forces on the Kerch Peninsula. The fighting was fierce, Kerch was again occupied by the Nazis. The partisans began to strengthen themselves in the Adzhimushkai quarries. They defended themselves to the last bullet, starved and died from their wounds right there, in the damp and dark quarries. According to some sources, there were up to fifteen thousand people in the Adzhimushkai quarries in every possible way: they threw burning bombs, pumped gas so that those who were killed. is inside, slowly and painfully suffocating from lack of air, but the defenders came up with an idea. different ways to find a way out of the current situation: burning bombs were thrown into containers with sand, and the walls were treated to make them gas-tight. But main problem For those who lived and defended themselves in the quarries, it was water, or rather the lack of it. People collected water drop by drop, even extracting it from damp walls. And when the Germans heard the knocking, they realized that there, in the quarries, they were looking for water, digging something like wells. The Germans immediately blew up this place.
10. Minsk has held the title “Hero City” since June 26, 1974.
Minsk, the capital of today's state of Belarus, was captured by the Germans on the sixth day of the war. And from the very first day, endless German air raids began. The occupation of Minsk lasted for three years, the city was turned into ruins: plants, factories, power plants, and almost eighty percent of residential buildings were destroyed. Despite the cruelest terror, a powerful underground operated on the territory of Minsk and the region, and the Minsk region became the center of partisan patriotic movement. Now the Independence Day of Belarus is celebrated on July 3. This memorable date, on this day, July 3, 1944, Minsk was liberated by Soviet troops. Minsk received the honorary title "Hero City" in 1974. One of the main symbols of the valor of Soviet soldiers was the encirclement of a hundred thousand enemy group (“Minsk Cauldron”).
Smolensk became a powerful barrier to the path of the aggressive German army towards Moscow. The German Army Group Center, powerfully equipped with tanks and aircraft, operated in the Smolensk-Moscow direction. The incredible tenacity of the Soviet troops near Smolensk for the first time stopped the strong German army, which had only been advancing since 1939. The heroic defense of Smolensk, where women and children stood alongside men, amazed the German generals. The Smolensk region suffered greatly during the war. The Germans took the city, but Smolensk did not submit. During the period of fascist occupation, numerous underground associations and partisan detachments operated in the territory of Smolensk and the region. The Smolensk region was under occupation for two years and three months. Already retreating, the Nazis decided to wipe Smolensk from the face of the earth, but Soviet troops prevented these plans. At the same time, thousands of explosive objects and time bombs, which the Germans had planted during their retreat, were neutralized in the city. After liberation, Smolensk was included in the list of fifteen cities subject to priority restoration.
12. Murmansk received the title “Hero City” on May 6, 1985.
The capture of Murmansk had important for the Germans. This is both the northern ice-free port and Railway to Leningrad, where the Northern Sea Route began and where the Soviet Navy base was located. Plus, Murmansk is a rich natural region, with big amount wealth, among which the Germans were especially interested in nickel for smelting high-strength steel. The twenty-seven thousand strong German corps with tanks and powerful artillery was opposed by a twelve thousand strong group of border guards, whose main weapon was a rifle. The Germans set only a few days to cover the distance from the Kola Peninsula to reach Murmansk. The border guards suffered the most; they fought to the last bullet. The Germans recalled that in response to the offer to surrender they heard only machine gun fire. Stubborn resistance awaited the Germans on the approaches to Murmansk. There were battles for every meter of land, for every hill. The tenacity and courage of Soviet soldiers, officers, and sailors thwarted the attack on the city three times. There were many northerners and residents of Murmansk in the ranks of the Marine Corps. At a time when danger loomed over their hometown, many of them wrote reports about being written off to land for protection. native land. Murmansk fought heroically - in the trenches and on the streets, on port piers and ship decks. The enemy's strike forces were paralyzed, the state border was held. German officers had to explain themselves in Berlin for the failures in the Arctic; they singled out a number of reasons - difficult terrain conditions, bad roads and the incredible stamina and heroism of the Soviet people. In Murmansk there is a memorial “Defenders of the Soviet Arctic during the war”, a monument to a soldier in a raincoat and with a machine gun, he is also called “Alyosha”.
- The Brest Fortress received the title "Hero Fortress" on May 8, 1965.
The Germans planned to reach Moscow in just six weeks after the start of the war... The garrison of the Brest Fortress was taken by surprise early in the morning, on the first day of the war, June 22, 1941. A powerful assault began. The heroic struggle of the fortress garrison continued for more than a month. The enemy was shocked by the dedication of the fortress defenders. The Germans were forced to detain large military forces. And at that time, the most important thing was to gain time and delay the enemy’s advance into the interior of the country. The forum is there in the very first days of the war.
Last edited: 18 Feb 2017
, thank you for the very interesting detailed material. I learned a lot of new things. How exactly did the hero cities of the USSR defend the list you provided here? My grandfather fought in the Brest Fortress, who was captured and sent to, from where he managed to escape.
I was on an excursion in Volgograd when I was still in school. The Motherland Memorial made an indelible impression on me even when I was a little boy. I remember how you approach Volgograd by train and the “Motherland” rises, the feeling of pride for your country was overwhelming. What can I say, all the cities and heroes of the USSR deservedly made it onto the list.

, I haven’t been to Volgograd, I also want to see the Motherland and show it to the children.
While preparing this material, I learned a lot of new things.
For example, the beginning of the war, Smolensk region, a military unit under the command of Flerov (the name, you see, is not particularly well-known, and yet). Well-fed, confident Germans march on Moscow, set themselves deadlines for conquest... and then - such resistance. The people, the “mysterious Russian people” fight like animals. Reckless and furious. So the Germans somehow surrounded Flerov’s unit and thought, that’s it, we offer to surrender. And in response, the encirclement fired simultaneously from all guns at the Germans. Everyone flew into the air, both Germans and Russians. The Germans could not recover from such “behavior” for a long time...
This was just the beginning; there were many “surprises” ahead about the fearlessness of Soviet soldiers.

Hero City is the highest degree of distinction awarded to twelve cities of the Soviet Union, famous for their heroic defense during the Great Patriotic War. For the first time, the cities of Leningrad, Stalingrad, Sevastopol and Odessa were named hero cities in Order No. 20 of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of May 1, 1945. Kyiv was named a hero city in the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated June 21, 1961 “On the establishment of the medal “For the Defense of Kyiv”.”

The regulations on the honorary title “Hero City” were approved later, on May 8, 1965, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. On the same day, seven decrees were issued, according to which Leningrad and Kyiv were awarded the Golden Star medal, Volgograd (formerly Stalingrad), Sevastopol and Odessa - the Golden Star medal and the Order of Lenin, and Moscow and the Brest Fortress were awarded the title " Hero City" and "Hero Fortress", respectively, with the presentation of the Gold Star medal and the Order of Lenin. On July 18, 1980, the wording of the Regulations was changed: it began to talk not about an honorary title, but about the highest degree of distinction - the title “Hero City”.

Leningrad was awarded the title "Hero City" on May 8, 1965. Fierce fighting on the outskirts of the city began on July 10, 1941. Numerical superiority was on the side of the Germans: almost 2.5 times more soldiers, 10 times more aircraft, 1.2 times more tanks and almost 6 times more mortars. On September 8, 1941, the Nazis managed to capture Shlisselburg and thus take control of the source of the Neva. Leningrad was blocked from land (cut off from Mainland). From that moment on, the 872-day blockade of the city began.

Despite the terrible famine and continuous enemy attacks, which killed almost 650,000 city residents, Leningraders showed themselves to be true heroes. More than 500 thousand people went to work on the construction of defensive structures; they built 35 km of barricades and anti-tank obstacles, as well as more than 4,000 bunkers and pillboxes; 22,000 firing points are equipped. Hero Leningraders gave the front thousands of field and naval guns, repaired and launched 2,000 tanks, produced 10 million shells and mines, 225,000 machine guns and 12,000 mortars.

During the blockade of Leningrad, about 150 thousand shells were fired and 102,520 incendiary and 4,655 high-explosive bombs were dropped. 840 were put out of action industrial enterprises, more than 10 thousand residential buildings. The Nazis failed to capture Leningrad either on the move, or by storm, or by siege and starvation.

The first breakthrough of the blockade of Leningrad occurred on January 18, 1943, through the efforts of troops of the Volkhov and Leningrad fronts, when a corridor 8-11 km wide was formed between the front line and Lake Ladoga. But only on January 27, 1944, the blockade of the city was completely lifted.

2 Stalingrad (Volgograd)

In the summer of 1942, German troops launched a massive offensive on the southern front, seeking to capture the Caucasus, the Don region, the lower Volga and Kuban - the richest and most fertile lands of the Soviet Union. Hitler was going to deal with this in a week. In order to stop the enemy's advance, the Stalingrad Front was created.

On July 17, 1942, one of the greatest and largest battles in the history of World War II began - the Battle of Stalingrad. It lasted 200 days. The first attack on the city took place on August 23, 1942. Then, just north of Stalingrad, the Germans almost approached the Volga. Policemen, sailors of the Volga Fleet, NKVD troops, cadets and other volunteers were sent to defend the city. That same night, the Germans launched their first air raid on the city, and on August 25, a state of siege was introduced in Stalingrad. Despite the almost continuous shelling, the Stalingrad factories continued to operate and produce tanks, Katyushas, cannons, mortars and a huge number of shells.

On September 12, 1942, the enemy came close to the city. Two months of fierce battles for Stalingrad caused significant damage to the Germans: the Nazis lost about 700 thousand people killed and wounded.

On November 19, 1942, the counter-offensive of the Soviet army began. The offensive operation continued for 75 days, as a result of which the Germans at Stalingrad were surrounded and completely defeated. On February 2, 1943, the battle ended. For the entire time of the Battle of Stalingrad german army lost more than 1,500,000 people.

Stalingrad was one of the first to be called a hero city. And officially the title “Hero City” was awarded to Volgograd on May 8, 1965.

3 Sevastopol

By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the city of Sevastopol was the largest port on the Black Sea and the main naval base of the USSR. His heroic defense against the Nazis began on October 30, 1941 and lasted 250 days.

The first assault on Sevastopol is considered to be the attempt of German troops to capture the city on the move during October 30 - November 21, 1941. From October 30 to November 11, battles were fought on the distant approaches to Sevastopol; on November 2, attacks began on the outer line of defense of the fortress. On November 9-10, the Wehrmacht managed to completely surround the city from land. On November 11, with the approach of the main group of the 11th Army of the Wehrmacht, battles began along the entire perimeter. Over the course of 10 days, the attackers managed to slightly penetrate the forward defense line, after which there was a pause in the battle. On November 21, after shelling from coastal batteries, two cruisers and the battleship Paris Commune, the Wehrmacht stopped the assault on the city.

The Nazis made a second attempt to capture the city in December 1941. This time they had at their disposal seven infantry divisions, two mountain rifle brigades, over 150 tanks, 300 aircraft and 1,275 guns and mortars. But this attempt also failed.

By the end of spring 1942, the Germans had amassed 200,000 soldiers, 600 aircraft, 450 tanks and more than 2,000 guns and mortars to Sevastopol. They managed to blockade the city from the air and increased their activity at sea, as a result of which the city's defenders were forced to retreat. On July 3, 1942, the Sovinformburo reported on the loss of Sevastopol.

The battles for the liberation of Sevastopol began on April 15, 1944. Particularly fierce battles were fought in the area adjacent to Sapun Mountain. On May 9, 1944, the Soviet army liberated Sevastopol. Sevastopol was one of the first to receive the title of Hero City on May 8, 1965.

4 Odessa

In August 1941, Odessa was completely surrounded by Nazi troops. Its heroic defense lasted 73 days, during which the Soviet army and militia units defended the city from enemy invasion. From the mainland side, Odessa was defended by the Primorsky Army, from the sea - by ships of the Black Sea Fleet, with the support of artillery from the shore. To capture the city, the enemy threw forces five times larger than its defenders.

German troops launched the first big assault on Odessa on August 20, 1941, but Soviet troops stopped their advance 10-14 kilometers from the city borders. Every day, 10-12 thousand women and children dug trenches, laid mines, and pulled wire fences. In total, during the defense, 40,000 mines were planted by residents, more than 250 kilometers of anti-tank ditches were dug, and about 250 barricades were built on the city streets. The hands of teenagers who worked in factories produced about 300,000 hand grenades and the same number of anti-tank and anti-personnel mines. During the months of defense, 38 thousand ordinary residents-heroes of Odessa moved to the ancient Odessa catacombs, stretching for many kilometers underground, to take part in the defense of their home city.

But the city was still captured on October 16, 1941. Odessa was liberated on April 10, 1944, and the title of Hero City was awarded in 1965.

5 Moscow

In the plans of Nazi Germany, the capture of Moscow was of central importance. To capture the city, a special operation codenamed “Typhoon” was developed. The Germans launched a major offensive against the capital in October and November 1941.

In the October operation, the Nazi command used 74 divisions (including 22 motorized and tank), 1.8 million officers and soldiers, 1,390 aircraft, 1,700 tanks, 14,000 mortars and guns. Hitler's command set the task: to capture Moscow by October 16, 1941. But the Nazis were unable to break through to Moscow. The second operation consisted of 51 combat-ready divisions. On the Soviet side, a little more than a million people, 677 aircraft, 970 tanks and 7,600 mortars and guns stood up to defend the city.

As a result of a fierce battle that lasted more than 200 days, the enemy was driven back from Moscow. This event dispelled the myth of the invincibility of the Nazis. For exemplary performance of combat missions, 36 thousand defenders of the city were awarded various orders and medals, and 110 people were awarded the title “Hero of the Soviet Union.” More than a million soldiers were awarded the medal “For the Defense of Moscow”.

6 Kyiv

German troops launched a surprise attack on the city of Kyiv from the air on June 22, 1941 - in the very first hours of the war, a heroic struggle for the city began, which lasted 72 days. Kyiv was defended not only by Soviet soldiers, but also by ordinary residents. Huge efforts were made for this by militia units, of which there were nineteen by the beginning of July. Also, 13 fighter battalions were formed from among the townspeople, and in total 33,000 people from the city’s residents took part in the defense of Kyiv. The people of Kiev built more than 1,400 pillboxes and manually dug 55 kilometers of anti-tank ditches.

The Germans failed to take Kyiv on the fly. However, on July 30, 1941, the fascist army made a new attempt to storm the city. On the tenth of August, she managed to break through the defenses on its southwestern outskirts, but through the joint efforts of the people's militia and regular troops they managed to repel the enemy. By August 15, the militia pushed the Nazis back to their previous positions. Enemy losses near Kiev numbered more than 100,000 people. The Nazis did not undertake any more direct assaults on the city. Such prolonged resistance by the city’s defenders forced the enemy to withdraw part of the forces from the offensive in the Moscow direction and transfer them to Kyiv, due to which the Soviet soldiers were forced to retreat on September 19, 1941.

The Germans who occupied the city established a regime of brutal occupation. More than 200,000 Kiev residents were killed, and about 100,000 people were sent to Germany for forced labor. Kyiv was liberated on November 6, 1943. In 1965, Kyiv was awarded the title of Hero City.

7 Kerch

Kerch was one of the first cities to come under attack by German troops at the beginning of the war. During all this time, the front line passed through it four times and during the war years the city was occupied twice, as a result of which 15 thousand civilians were killed and more than 14 thousand were taken to Germany for forced labor. The city was captured for the first time in November 1941, after bloody battles. But already on December 30, during the Kerch-Feodosia landing operation, Kerch was liberated by Soviet troops.

In May 1942, the Germans concentrated large forces and launched a new attack on the city. As a result of heavy and stubborn fighting, Kerch was abandoned again. It was from this time that the world-famous guerrilla war began in the Kerch (Adzhimushkay) quarries. Throughout the occupation, several thousand partisans and regular army soldiers were hiding in them, who did not allow the German troops to live in peace. During the 320 days that the city was in the hands of the enemy, the occupiers destroyed all the factories, burned all the bridges and ships, cut down and burned parks and gardens, destroyed the power station and telegraph, and blew up the railway lines. Kerch was almost completely wiped off the face of the earth.

During the battles for the liberation of the Caucasus and Crimea, on April 11, 1944, the city of Kerch was liberated by soldiers of the Separate Primorsky Army and the Black Sea Fleet. On September 14, 1973, Kerch was awarded the title of Hero City.

8 Novorossiysk

To protect the city of Novorossiysk, on August 17, 1942, the Novorossiysk defensive region was created, which included the 47th Army, sailors of the Azov Military Flotilla and the Black Sea Fleet. People's militia units were actively created in the city, more than 200 defensive firing points and command posts were built, and an anti-tank and anti-personnel obstacle course more than thirty kilometers long was equipped.

The ships of the Black Sea Fleet particularly distinguished themselves in the fight for Novorossiysk. Despite the heroic efforts of the defenders of Novorossiysk, the forces were unequal, and on September 7, 1942, the enemy managed to enter the city and capture several administrative objects in it. But after four days the Nazis were stopped in the south-eastern part of the city and moved to a defensive position.

To liberate Novorossiysk, Soviet naval paratroopers landed on the southern border of the hero city, near the village of Stanichki, on the night of February 4, 1943. A kind of bridgehead with an area of 30 square meters. kilometers, entered the chronicle of the Great Patriotic War under the name “Malaya Zemlya”. The battle for Novorossiysk lasted 225 days and ended with the complete liberation of the hero city on September 16, 1943. On September 14, 1973, Novorossiysk received the title of Hero City.

9 Minsk

From the first days of the Great Patriotic War, Minsk found itself in the very center of the battles, as it was in the direction of the main attack of the Germans - towards Moscow. The advanced units of the enemy troops approached the city on June 26, 1941. They were met by only one 64th Infantry Division, which in just three days of fierce fighting destroyed about 300 enemy vehicles and armored vehicles, as well as many tanks. On June twenty-seventh the Nazis were pushed back, 10 km from Minsk - this reduced impact force and the pace of the Nazis’ advance to the east. However, after stubborn and heavy fighting, on June 28, Soviet troops were forced to retreat and leave the city.

The Nazis established a strict occupation regime in Minsk; they destroyed a huge number of both prisoners of war and civilians of the city. But underground groups and sabotage detachments began to be created in the city. Thanks to the partisans, many offensive operations Germans. More than 11,000 trains were derailed, and the partisans blew up more than 300,000 rails. Several military and administrative facilities were blown up.

On July 3, 1944, Soviet tanks entered the city during its liberation from the Germans. On June 26, 1974, Minsk was awarded the title of Hero City.

10 Tula

By October 1941, the Germans managed to advance quite far into Russia. Orel was taken, from which only 180 km remained to Tula. There were no military units in Tula, except for: one NKVD regiment, which guarded the defense factories operating here at full capacity, the 732nd anti-aircraft artillery regiment, covering the city from the air, and fighter battalions consisting of workers and employees.

Immediately after the capture of Orel, Tula was placed under martial law. Residents of the city surrounded Tula with ribbons of trenches, dug anti-tank ditches inside the city, installed gouges and hedgehogs, and built barricades and strongholds. In parallel to this, there was active work for the evacuation of defense plants.

The Germans sent three tank divisions, one motorized division and the “Great Germany” regiment to capture Tula. Despite fierce attacks, in which about a hundred tanks took part from the enemy, the enemy did not manage to break through to Tula in any sector of the battles. On December 7, 1976, Tula received the title of Hero City.

11 Murmansk

To seize the lands of the Arctic, from Norway and Finland, the Germans deployed the “Norway” front. The invaders' plans included an attack on Kola Peninsula. The defense of the peninsula was deployed on the Northern Front, a strip 500 km long. It was these units that covered the Murmansk, Kandelak and Ukhta directions. Ships of the Northern Fleet and ground troops Soviet army, protecting the Arctic from the invasion of German troops.

The enemy offensive began on June 29, 1941, but Soviet soldiers stopped the enemy 20-30 kilometers from the border line. At the cost of fierce fighting, the front line remained unchanged until 1944, when Soviet troops launched an offensive. Murmansk is one of those cities that became front-line from the very first days of the war. The Nazis carried out 792 air raids and dropped 185 thousand bombs on the city - however, Murmansk survived and continued to operate as a port city. Under regular air raids, ordinary citizens-heroes carried out the unloading and loading of ships, the construction of bomb shelters, and production military equipment. During all the war years, the Murmansk port received 250 ships and processed 2 million tons of various cargo.

The main strategic actions developed not on land, but in the waters of the northern seas. The heroes of the Northern Fleet destroyed more than 200 German warships and about 400 transport ships. And in the fall of 1944, the fleet expelled the enemy, and the threat of capturing Murmansk passed. Murmansk received the title “Hero City” on May 6, 1985.

12 Smolensk

With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, Smolensk found itself on the path of the main attack of German troops towards Moscow. The city was first bombed on June 24, 1941, and 4 days later the Nazis launched a second air attack on Smolensk, as a result of which the central part of the city was completely destroyed.

On July 10, 1941, the famous Battle of Smolensk began, which lasted until September 10 of the same year. Soldiers stood up to defend the city Western Front Red Army. The enemy outnumbered them in manpower, artillery and aircraft (2 times), as well as in tank equipment (4 times).

Despite the heroic efforts of the defenders of Smolensk, on July 29, 1941, the Nazis managed to enter the city. The occupation lasted until September 25, 1943, but during these years the residents continued to fight the enemy, creating partisan detachments and conducting underground subversive activities.