Hero City (Soviet Union)
Hero City (
According to the statute, the hero city was issued the
History
The usage of the term "hero city" is dated to articles in
On June 22, 1961 (the 20th anniversary of the beginning of the Great Patriotic War) the term "Hero City" was applied to
The statute of the title was officially introduced on May 8, 1965, by the
Subsequent awards were issued as follows:
- September 14, 1973: Kerch and Novorossiysk.[2]
- June 26, 1974: Minsk[2]
- December 7, 1976: Tula[2]
- May 6, 1985: Murmansk and Smolensk[2]
In 1988 the issuance of the award was officially discontinued.
Suggestions for expanding the list
The suggestion was first proposed by the Azerbaijani ambassador to Russia Polad Bülbüloğlu in an interview in February 2015. In the interview, he said that Baku getting the status of Hero City "would be quite fair" and that it "would be a respect to the people who lost their lives working day and night" along with being an "important socio-political act".[4] In an interview with Vestnik Kavkaza, historian Efim Pivovar recommended that the Russian Federation not assign the city this title and instead support an initiative through the Commonwealth of Independent States to award Baku, as well as cities like Tashkent, with this title.[5] In January 2020, Russian Deputy Dmitry Savelyev became one of the first sitting members of parliament to publicly support this.[6]
Hero Cities list
Brest Fortress
The fortress in
German artillery heavily shelled the fortress; the subsequent attempt to quickly take it with infantry failed, however, and the Germans started a lengthy siege. The Brest garrison, although cut off from reinforcements and having run out of food, water and ammunition, fought and counter-attacked until the very last minute. The Germans deployed tanks, tear gas and flame throwers. After the Germans had taken most of the ruined fortifications, taking heavy casualties, fighting continued underground.
The fighting ended only on June 29. The actual front had by then already moved hundreds of kilometres further east. Even after the fortress was officially taken, the few surviving defenders continued to hide in the basements and to harass the Germans for several months.
Leningrad
The city of Leningrad, now known as Saint Petersburg, saw what is regarded as one of the greatest human tragedies of the entire war. Leningrad, one of the cities with a large amount of classical and baroque architecture on the Baltic Sea, was a city with a pre-war population of three million inhabitants. By August 1941, the Germans had reached the city's southern outskirts. Finnish forces had meanwhile recaptured the Karelian Isthmus northwest of the city, which they had lost after the Winter War in 1940.
The city was completely cut off from all land access on September 8, 1941. As the
Thousands of Leningrad citizens froze or starved to death in the first winter of the siege alone, dying at home in their beds or collapsing from exhaustion in the streets. Meanwhile, German artillery continued to bombard the city. Although the siege lasted for 872 days, the city did not surrender. When Lake Ladoga froze in the winter, the Road of Life was opened to the Soviet-held southern shore, with a long trail of trucks bringing food and supplies to the besieged city and evacuating citizens on their way back. Both the food and the civilian transports were constantly attacked by the Germans with artillery shelling and air raids.
When Soviet forces eventually lifted the siege in January 1944, over one million inhabitants of Leningrad had died from starvation, exposure and German shelling. 300,000 soldiers had perished in the defence and relief of Leningrad. Leningrad was awarded the title Hero City in 1965, being the first city to receive that distinction.
Volgograd (Stalingrad)
Odessa
In early August 1941, the
Sevastopol
The Soviet Black Sea port of
Moscow
At the gates of the Soviet capital, the German invaders suffered their first defeat in 1941. The advance of the German Army Group Centre came to a halt in late November 1941, at the outskirts of Moscow itself. The Soviet Government had by then been evacuated, yet Joseph Stalin remained in the city. The population helped build defensive positions in the streets. The underground metro stations provided shelter during German air raids.
General Georgy Zhukov, who assumed command of the city's defence, largely left close combat tactics to the local commanders on the city's approaches, and focused on concentrating fresh troops from Siberia for an eventual counter-attack. The Soviet counter-offensive was launched on December 5 and 6, 1941. In the freezing cold of an unusually harsh winter, Soviet forces, including well-equipped ski battalions, drove the exhausted Germans back out of reach of Moscow and consolidated their positions on January 7, 1942. The victory in the battle provided an important boost in morale for the Soviet population. Moscow was awarded the title Hero City in 1965.
Kiev
The capital of present-day
During the German occupation of Kiev, hundreds of thousands of civilians were killed or deported for forced labour. Kiev again became a battlefield when advancing Soviet forces pushed the Germans back West, liberating the city on November 6, 1943. Kiev was awarded the title Hero City in 1965.
Novorossiysk
The city of Novorossiysk on the eastern coast of the Black Sea provided a stronghold against the German summer offensive of 1942. Intense fighting in and around the city lasted from August until it was captured by the Germans in mid-September 1942. The Soviets however retained possession of the eastern part of the bay, which prevented the Germans from using the port for supply shipments. Novorossiysk was awarded the title Hero City in 1973.
Kerch
Kerch, a Ukrainian port in the East of the Crimean peninsula, formed a bridgehead at the strait dividing Crimea from the Southern Russian mainland. After fierce fighting, it was taken by the Germans in November 1941. On December 30, 1941, the Soviets recaptured the city in a naval landing operation. In May 1942 the Germans occupied the city again, yet Soviet partisan forces held out in the cliffs near the city until October 1942. On October 31, 1943, another Soviet naval landing was launched. The largely ruined city was finally liberated on April 11, 1944. Kerch was awarded the title Hero City in 1973.
Minsk
The city of
Tula
Tula, a historical Russian city with important military industry south of Moscow, became the target of a German offensive to break Soviet resistance in the Moscow area between October 24 and December 5, 1941. The heavily fortified city held out, however, and secured the Southern flank during the Soviet defence of Moscow and the subsequent counter-offensive. Tula was awarded the title Hero City in 1976.
Murmansk
The city of Murmansk, located on the Kola Peninsula close to the Norwegian and Finnish borders, was a strategically important sea port and industrial city. It was the only Soviet port on the northern coast that did not freeze in the winter, and was vital for the transport of supplies to the South. German forces, including 800 Finns under German command, launched an offensive against Murmansk on June 29, 1941. More than 180,000 grenades and inflammable shells were fired on the city itself. Fierce Soviet resistance in the tundra and several Soviet counter-attacks made an Axis breakthrough impossible, however. Axis forces discontinued their attacks in late October 1941, having failed to take Murmansk or to cut off the Karelian railway line. Murmansk was awarded the title Hero City in 1985.
Smolensk
Located on the approaches to Moscow, the city of Smolensk saw fierce fighting in the summer of 1941. German armoured divisions of Army Group Centre began an offensive on July 10, 1941, to encircle Soviet forces in the Smolensk area. Soviet resistance was strong, and several counter-attacks were conducted. The Soviets even managed to temporarily break the German encirclement and to evacuate troops out of the pocket. The battle ended in early September. The bitter fighting had considerably delayed the overall German advance toward Moscow, so that defence lines further east could be strengthened. Smolensk was awarded the title Hero City in 1985.
Gallery of Memorial Obelisks
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Volgograd Hero City Obelisk
-
Kiev Hero City Obelisk [nb 1]
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Minsk Hero City Obelisk
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Odessa Hero City Obelisk
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Sevastopol Hero City Obelisk
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Kerch Hero City Obelisk
- ^ The Order of Lenin has been removed from the obelisk in 2022 due to decommunization.[7]
Similar awards
Russia
On April 5, 2005, the
In 2020, the title of "City of Labour Valour" was established, honouring the cities who had a record of uninterrupted production of military and civilian products at industrial enterprises during the Second World War.[9] Twenty cities currently hold the title.
Russian-supported republics
In
In Ukraine, the self-proclaimed
Ukraine
In 2022, during the
Other countries
A number of other countries also awarded their highest military decorations to cities or other territorial units in commemoration of events of World War II and other conflicts:
- Stalingrad.
- Cuba: The Republic of Cuba awards the title of Hero City to those cities with recognized military history, either in the 19th or 20th century. The most prominent example of these is the Hero City of Santiago de Cuba, awarded as such for its part in the Cuban War of Independence against the Spanish, the Spanish–American War and the Cuban Revolution.
- Indonesia: Surabaya can be considered Indonesia's equivalent to a Hero City, regarded as such because of the bravery of its residents during the 1945 Battle of Surabaya, the first ever major battle experienced by the young republic during the Indonesian National Revolution.[citation needed]
- Italy: A number of cities have been awarded the Gold Medal of Military Valor.
- Malta: The George Cross was awarded to the island of Malta in 1942.
- Battle of Praia Bay and Angra likewise became Angra do Heroísmo or "Angra the Heroic" for the same victory.[citation needed]
- Spain: During the First Carlist War the city of Zaragoza was awarded the title "Siempre Heroica" (always heroic) for the citizens' spontaneous defense of the city during the Cincomarzada.
- Vietnam: The Socialist Republic of Vietnam awards the title of Hero City to those cities with recognized military history. The most prominent example of these is the Hero City of Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, awarded as such for its part in the Vietnam War.
- .
- Turkey: Three cities have been honored for their resistance movements against foreign invaders in Indepence War: Antep honoured as "Gazi" (a Turkic-Islamic equivalent for "veteran", which is also wide-used title for Ataturk) in 1921, Maraş as "Kahraman" ("Hero") in 1973 and Urfa as "Şanlı" ("Glorius") in 1984. Also, all of this cities awarded with İstiklâl Madalyası ("Medal of Indepence").
See also
References
- ISBN 978-1136787850.
- ^ a b c d e f g Mikhailov, Andrei (May 8, 2015). "Hero Cities still victorious and heroic, despite squabble". Pravda.ru. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
- ^ ISBN 5224035872.
- ^ "Polad Bulbuloglu: Giving Hero City status to Baku would be important socio-political act - Azvision.az". 2015.
- ^ "Efim Pivovar, Mikhail Mukhin: "Baku should get the status of a hero city"".
- ^ "Russian MP urged to give Baku the title "Hero City"". Archived from the original on April 8, 2022. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
- ^ "Фото. С обелиска на площади Победы демонтировали изображения Ленина". April 25, 2022. Retrieved February 6, 2023.
- ISBN 978-1317862284.
- ^ "Часть 1 статьи 1 Федерального закона от 01.03.2020 № 41-ФЗ "О почетном звании Российской Федерации "Город трудовой доблести""". publication.pravo.gov.ru. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
- ^ "Цхинвал Город – Герой".
- ^ "Глава ДНР Александр Захарченко присвоил Донецку звание "Город-герой"". gorod-donetsk.com (in Russian). August 28, 2017. Retrieved October 6, 2020.
- ^ "Zelensky gives the honorary title 'Hero City' to Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Mariupol, Kherson, Hostomel, and Volnovakha". March 6, 2022.
- ^ "Zelensky awards Hero City title to Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Mariupol, Kherson, Hostomel and Volnovakha".
- ^ "Zelensky gives four cities honorary title of 'Hero City' and seven National Guard service members 'Hero of Ukraine' title". March 24, 2022.