Hero City (Soviet Union) in the context of "Title of honor"

Novorossiysk (Russian: Новоросси́йск, IPA: [nəvərɐˈsʲijsk] ; Adyghe: ЦӀэмэз, romanized: C̣ămăz) is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. It is one of the largest ports on the Black Sea. It was one of the few cities designated by the Soviet Union as a Hero City. The population was 262,293 (2021 census); 241,952 (2010 census); 232,079 (2002 census); 185,938 (1989 Soviet census).

Volgograd, formerly Tsaritsyn (1589–1925) and Stalingrad (1925–1961), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. The city lies on the western bank of the Volga, covering an area of 859.4 square kilometres (331.8 square miles), with a population of slightly over one million residents. Volgograd is the 16th-largest city by population size in Russia, the third-largest city of the Southern Federal District, and the fourth-largest city on the Volga.

The city was founded as the fortress of Tsaritsyn in 1589. By the 19th century, Tsaritsyn had become an important river-port and commercial centre, leading to its rapid population growth. In November 1917, at the start of the Russian Civil War, Tsaritsyn came under Bolshevik control. It fell briefly to the White Army in mid-1919 but returned to Bolshevik control in January 1920. In 1925, the city was renamed Stalingrad in honor of Joseph Stalin, who took part in defending the city against the White Army who had then ruled the country. During World War II, Axis forces attacked the city, leading to the Battle of Stalingrad, the largest and bloodiest battle in World War II, from which it received the title of Hero City. The Soviet victory at Stalingrad is widely held to be the turning point of World War II, leading to the destruction of the German army in the East. In 1961, Nikita Khrushchev's administration renamed the city to Volgograd as part of de-Stalinization.

Brest Fortress (Belarusian: Брэсцкая крэпасць, romanized: Bresckaja krepasć; Russian: Брестская крепость, romanized: Brestskaya krepost; Polish: Twierdza brzeska; Lithuanian: Bresto tvirtovė), formerly known as Brest-Litovsk Fortress, is a 19th-century fortress in Brest, Belarus. In 1965, the title Hero Fortress was given to the fortress to commemorate the defence of the frontier stronghold during the first week of Operation Barbarossa, when Axis forces invaded the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941. The title "Hero Fortress" corresponds to the title "Hero City" that the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union awarded to twelve Soviet cities.

The City of Military Glory (Russian: «Город воинской славы») is an honorary title bestowed upon the citizenry of cities in Russia where soldiers had displayed courage and heroism during the Second World War. The award, which to date has been bestowed upon 45 cities, is similar to the Hero City title awarded during the era of the Soviet Union and no city has yet received both awards.