‘Do you know, [...] I have travelled a lot in the world, but nowhere have I come across a more patriotic town than our Novorossiisk.’ (Konstantin Podyma)1
The following comments are listed in order of subjects’ age, youngest first.
‘I am proud of Novorossiisk and don’t want to leave it. It has a splendid role in the history of the Great Patriotic War. People gave their lives for Novorossiisk and for our opportunity to live here. We, the children, are grateful.’ (Veronika)
‘People in Moscow don’t know where Novorossiisk is, even today, so they don’t know what happened here 65 years ago; maybe they don’t want to know. Perhaps it wasn’t as big a battle as Stalingrad, but it played a key role. Most people remember that Brezhnev fought here and that it’s a hero city. It was strategic and significant.’ (Nikita)
‘This is an unusual town; it is important because it was defended by lots of people. Lots of heroes were here.’ (Mikhail)
‘I feel pride and responsibility for the memory of those who helped our generation. Pride in those who gave their blood for the town. They gave us life. We like the rituals and parades on special days; this reminds us to be grateful.’ (Kolya)
‘Malaia zemlia has become well known in the town. It is part of the town’s organism, it’s a natural matter of fact, it’s like asking us how important it is to have feet.’ (Alina)
‘We know that Novorossiisk is a special town, compared with Krasnodar; Malaia zemlia is part of the town when we have celebrations.’ (Polina)
‘There is a bigger sense of patriotism here, in a hero city. The whole country suffered, but there is a special attitude to hero cities. Here it is underlined by remembrance events more than in other places. It’s a super town, and it is especially good to look across from the Maritime Academy to the Malaia zemlia monument.’ (Elvira)
‘Novorossiisk is a very significant place. I lived elsewhere, but now I like living in a hero city.’ (Diana)
‘I am not from around here, but now I associate myself with this town, and feel really proud to live in a hero city. There is no other hero city nearby; even Krasnodar, which is twice as big, isn’t a hero city. Now I call it my own and I like it more and more as the years pass.’ (Anton)
‘You walk on land soaked in blood.’ (Stanislav)
‘I like life in a hero city. I like its history. I think everything – monuments, nature, sea, and its history – are all linked with its mighty power. I want to transmit this to the next generation.’ (Nikolai)
‘Living in a hero city has little significance for life today, but I feel very proud of past events.’ (Nadezhda)
‘Living here brings responsibility and pride.’ (Oksana)
‘I like this town, with its historic past, and feel a sense of pride.’ (Antonina)
‘You have to think about what took place here, to know about it, to be sorry for the people.’ (Nina)
‘This may be a military town, but the people are ordinary. Novorossiisk is just one of many. Leningrad, Stalingrad and Moscow are genuine hero cities. But of course Malaia zemlia is part of my everyday life.’ (Yurii)
‘I was born in the former Soviet Union and I have always known that Novorossiisk was a hero city since my childhood. The attitude of people may have changed; it’s not really in the press so much now. But now I just feel respect for the town which does not depend on the fact that it’s a hero city; you don’t need to live here to feel respect for the fallen.’ (Boris)
‘This is a living place and this one place is special because this little bit of land was held. I am very proud and my son, when he was little, when we went to relatives, to other places in Russia, he always told people he lived in a hero city.’ (Lidiya)
‘I got married and came here in my youth, and have a feeling of pride, but I may feel the same about any other town if I lived there. We live on the exact spot where the battles took place. On the anniversary of the landings, three-quarters of the people come to honour the heroes; everyone comes: civil servants, children, residents, old people, come, and it’s really cold, but people come. They talk a lot about it then. It’s better to talk than to forget.’ (Irina)
‘Friends from some way away come to Novorossiisk, as this is a centre where memory is concentrated.’ (Vera)
‘I feel a responsibility, living here, as if I am the visiting card of the town. I am very proud of the local heroes and the monuments.’ (Svetlana)
‘I have lived here for 14 years. This is an unusual town, not simple or ordinary. Everything reminds you of the war years. There is respect for the heroes, to whom the monuments are dedicated. Your heart beats, on the streets, and especially on Malaia zemlia, where people go to relax; it’s attractive, and life goes on, but memory of the past is important. But I won’t swim in the sea, because the ground is sacred; we are reminded of how much blood was shed. It is a responsibility for our children, to keep the town and its streets clean and to respect memory, look after the monuments and influence personal behaviour. Malaia zemlia is part of my everyday life, as you come across all these places all the time in our town.’ (Elena)
‘I feel pride in my town, where there was a big battle.’ (Anastasiya)
‘We take memory and death so seriously, more than any other town.’ (Marina)
‘I have always lived here in Novorossiisk and feel a sense of responsibility. This is my personal view; it may be a small town, but this is a hero city. It was a real battle, lots of metal dropped on everyone, 1,250 kilograms per square metre, the beach-head was held, they defended the strategic gateway to the Caucasus, and stopped the Germans before they took the oil. That’s the reason it’s a hero city. But Novorossiisk was so small, it did not get the historic recognition it deserved.’ (Aleksei)
‘I like the monuments but it’s not important that this is a hero city.’ (Anna)
‘I don’t really feel a sense of responsibility for memory here.’ (Zinaida)
‘Of course I feel a responsibility for memory, it’s my own town, so we try to maintain memory, to teach our children, as best we can. But maybe Malaia zemlia isn’t part of everyday life.’ (Tatyana)
‘I am proud of my hero city.’ (Eduard)
‘I have a sense of respect and honour and some responsibility. The town was made a hero city after the victory, and each inhabitant has a feeling of responsibility and pride. It may be a small town, but it saw important events.’ (Natalya)
‘Maybe this isn’t a real hero city because the population was not involved in the defence and the fighting.’ (Dmitrii)