Documents on the attempt to award the city of Novorossiysk the title of “Novorossiysk”. Novorossiysk the title Hero-City in 1958

Document publication

doi 10.28995/2073-0101-2025-2-493–511

For citation

Krinko, Evgeny F. (2025). Documents on the attempt to assign the city of Novorossiysk the title. Novorossiysk the title Hero-City in 1958, Herald of an Archivist, № 2, pp. 493–511, doi 10.28995/2073-0101-2025-2-493–511

Krinko, Evgeny F., Southern Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Rostov-on-Don, Russia

Documents on the attempt to award the city of Novorossiysk the title of “Novorossiysk”. Novorossiysk the title Hero-City in 1958

Abstract

The article notes that Hero-Cities played a significant role in perpetuating the memory of the events of the Great Patriotic War in the USSR. However, the circumstances of the very awarding of the honorary title in historiography are not given enough attention, including due to the lack of necessary sources at the disposal of researchers. The purpose of the publication is to introduce documents about the attempt to award Novorossiysk the honorary title of Hero-City in 1958. The initiative was taken by the Novorossiysk City Committee of the CPSU and the City Executive Committee. The memorial initiative was supported by the Krasnodar Krai Committee of the CPSU and the Krai Executive Committee, as well as the Black Sea Fleet Command. However, the party leadership refused to accept the decision. The relevant justification was prepared by the military-historical department of the Military-Scientific Department of the Military-Scientific Directorate of the General Staff of the Soviet Army. It examined the emergence of this honorary title, comparing the contribution of different hero-cities to the history of the Great Patriotic War in terms of the duration of their defense, the number of enemy forces chained and losses suffered, and the scale of the population's participation under the leadership of party organizations. As a result, it was concluded that the defense of Novorossiysk could not be placed next to the defense of Leningrad, Stalingrad, Sevastopol and Odessa, previously recognized as hero-cities. The publication presents four interrelated documents: an extract from the minutes of the meeting of the bureau of the Krasnodar Regional Committee of the CPSU and the Kray Executive Committee, sent to the Central Committee of the CPSU, which contains a proposal to authorize the Novorossiysk City Committee of the CPSU and the City Executive Committee to hold a celebration of the 15th anniversary of the liberation of the city from the occupants, requests to award Novorossiysk the title of hero-city and award 150-200 active participants in its defense, liberation and restoration; petition of the Black Sea Fleet Command to the Presidium of the CPSU Central Committee to award Novorossiysk the title of hero-city; remarks of the head of the military-historical department of the Military and Scientific Directorate of the General Staff of the Soviet Army, Lieutenant-General S. P. Platonov; information on the decision taken by the head of the Department of Party organs of the CPSU Central Committee for the RSFSR V. M. Churaev. P. Platonov; information on the decision made by the Head of the Department of Party Bodies of the CPSU Central Committee for the RSFSR, V. M. Churaev. The informative value of the documents is assessed taking into account the principle of historicism, using problem-chronological, retrospective and diachronic methods, as well as source analysis, which made it possible to trace the dynamics in the development and implementation of the memorial initiative in the context of the events of the “thaw” period. The publication allows us to answer more general questions about the attitude of the Soviet leadership to the honorary title of Hero-City and reveal its symbolic significance.

Keywords

Great Patriotic War, Hero-City, Novorossiysk, Malaya Zemlya, historical memory, memory policy, immortalization of feats.

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About authors

Krinko Evgeny F. Doctor of Historical Sciences, Federal Research Center Southern Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Deputy Director for Scientific Work, Rostov-on-Don, Russia, +7-863-250-98-33, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

ORCID 0000-0003-3008-5626

Grant information

The publication was prepared within the framework of the implementation of the GE UNC RAS for 2025, Project No. gr. 125011200150-2, 125011200146-5

The article was received in the editorial office on 16.07.2024, recommended for publication on 20.03.2025