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.

Archangel Michael Monastery was built in the North Dvina River estuary by Novgorod state people in the 12th century. That time, the most important trade center of the region was Kholmogory settlement located in the place where the Dvina and the Pinega rivers met. The region was conquered by Tsar Ivan III of the Moscow state in 1478.

The Russian Tsar Ivan the Terrible ordered the establishment of a new settlement called Novokholmogory (New Kholmogory) in 1584. Later, the settlement was renamed after Archangel Michael Monastery located nearby. At that time, it was the only Russian seaport used for trading with Europe.

During both world wars, Arkhangelsk was a major port of entry for Allied aid. During World War II, the city became known in the West as one of the two main destinations (along with Murmansk) of the Arctic Convoys bringing supplies to assist the Russians who were cut off from their normal supply lines. During Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, Arkhangelsk was one of two cities (the other being Astrakhan) selected to mark the envisaged eastern limit of Nazi control. This military operation was to be halted at this A-A line but never reached it as the German forces failed to capture either of the two cities and also failed to capture Moscow.