Description

City of Military Glory is an honorary title bestowed upon the citizenry of Russian cities, where defenders had displayed courage, steadfastness, and mass heroism in the fight for their Fatherland’s freedom and independence during the Second World War.

Tver is one of the oldest Russian cities. In the first third of the 12th century, there was a fortress at the mouth of the Tvertsa River. The town was first mentioned in written sources in 1135. In the second half of the 12th century, Tver was a small fortress on the western border of the Suzdal principality.

In 1209, Tver passed to Grand Prince of Vladimir. The famous Russian ruler Alexander Nevskiy granted it to Yaroslav Yaroslavich, his younger brother, in 1246. In 1247, Tver became the capital of the Tver principality.

The geographical position of Tver on an important trade route connecting Novgorod with the north-eastern Rus, and the long distance from the Horde contributed to the influx of population to the region from the other Russian lands. The town grew quickly.

On November 20, 1931, the city was renamed Kalinin after the nominal head of state (1919-1946) and affiliate of Josef Stalin, Mikhail Kalinin, who had been born nearby.

During WWII the Kalinin front played an important role in case of defense of the capital. During offensive to Moscow in fall of 1941 the 3rd tank army of Wehrmacht was pushed to Kalinin to surround from the North the Red Army troops which defending the capital. On October 14 Germans took Kalinin, however couldn't promote further. Troops of the Kalinin front created a powerful barrier on the way of the enemy, daily attacked his line items near Kalinin and forced it to stop approach. Thereby the attempt of Germans to surround Moscow from the North was broken. On December 16, 1941 during counterattack of the Soviet troops near Moscow Kalinin was freed. During fights 20 thousand Soviet soldiers died, in the city 7,5 thousand buildings were destroyed, more than 70 entities were put out of action.