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.

It was first mentioned in the historical documents in 1150 when according to the order of Kniaz' (Prince) Rostislav of Smolensk it was to pay a tax of four grivnas and a fox skin.

The settlement shared the history of the Smolensk lands—it paid duty to the Golden Horde, then was captured by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was returned to Russia with the rest of the Smolensk Voivodeship at the close of the Russo-Polish War of 1654–1667. In 1776, it was granted town status.

In 1812, during the French invasion of Russia, Yelnya became an important center of the partisan movement. During the counter-offensive campaign, Mikhail Kutuzov's headquarters were located here.

During the II World War, Yelnya was a place of several important battles. On August 30, 1941, it became the place of the Yelnya Offensive, the first successful offensive operation of Soviet troops in the Great Patriotic War. In 1942, Yelninsky District became a part of the so-called "Dorogobuzh Partisan Krai". The German garrison in the town was not able to control the rural territories which were effectively under the partisan control. In March 1942, partisans even liberated the town, killing more than a thousand German troops, but in three days on March 18, 1942 they were forced to retreat back to the forests.