Russia's Hero Cities

"With his focus on two late-comers to the Soviet pantheon of Hero Cities, Tula and Novorossiysk, Ivo Mijnssen has written a fascinating history of the cultural, moral, and economic dimensions of the Russian politics of the 'Great Patriotic War.' The narrative is punctuated with enlightening insights from wide-ranging interviews, archival documents, the popular press and an analysis of the memorials themselves. This is a fine addition to the literature on how Russians remember the war."—Norman M. Naimark, Stanford University

"To understand mature Soviet society and contemporary Russia, one must understand the hero cult of World War II. Russia's Hero Cities provide a unique lens through which we spot the specific amalgam of the Soviet people's daily lives and identities in interaction with the ruling elite. One wonders why this outstanding book did not exist earlier!"—Susanne Schattenberg, author of Leonid Breschnew: Staatsmann und Schauspieler im Schatten Stalins, University of Bremen

"In this volume Ivo Mijnssen uses the thirteen 'Hero Cities' of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus as a lens to understand how Soveit officials shaped war memory through ritualized space. He argues that the designation of hero cities created an idealized narative of collective heroism which served the state's needs. . . . His accessible monograph contributes to the fields of Russian and Soviet history, architecture, and cultural memory studies in general. It serves as an excellent resource for shcolars and students interested in all aspects of Soviet war commemoration, celebration of Soviet holidays, and youth culture."—Adrienne M. Harris, Baylor University, Modern Language Review