The Battle of Stalingrad was the turning point of the Great Patriotic War. After it, the advantage passed to the side of the Soviet army. Therefore, Stalingrad became one of the main symbols of the Great Victory of the Soviet people over Nazi Germany. But why was this hero city soon renamed? And what is the name of Stalingrad now?
Tsaritsyn, Stalingrad, Volgograd
In 1961, by decree of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR, the city was renamed, and now Stalingrad is called Volgograd. Until 1925, this city was called Tsaritsyn. When Joseph Stalin actually came to power in the USSR, the personality cult of the new leader began, and some cities began to bear his name. So Tsaritsyn became Stalingrad. But after Stalin's death in 1953, Nikita Khrushchev became the new leader of the country, and in 1956, at the 20th Congress of the Communist Party, he debunked Stalin's personality cult, pointing out all its negative consequences. After 5 years, the mass dismantling of monuments to Stalin began, and the cities that bore his name began to return their former names. But the origin of the name Tsaritsyn somewhat did not fit into the Soviet ideology, they began to choose a different name for the city and settled on Volgograd, since it stands on the great Russian river Volga.
Volgograd - on weekdays, Stalingrad - on holidays
True, in 2013, deputies of the Volgograd City Duma partially returned the old name to the city and decided to use the combination of the hero city of Stalingrad as a symbol of Volgograd on holidays such as May 9, February 23, June 22 and other significant dates associated with the history of the city. This was done as a tribute to veterans of the Great Patriotic War.
The first mention of the city dates back to 1589, when Ivan the Terrible ordered the construction of a fortress here to protect it from the steppe tribes.
History of the city of Volgograd
After the annexation of the Astrakhan Khanate to the Russian state in 1556, it was necessary to protect the river trade routes along the Volga. Ivan the Terrible in 1589 ordered the construction of a fortress here. The settlement was named Tsaritsyn, due to its location on the banks of the Tsaritsa River, which flows into the Volga. The name of the river is probably based on the Tatar words "sari-su" (yellow river) or "sari-chin" (yellow island). The wooden fortress, built on July 2, 1589, became part of the large defense line of the Muscovite kingdom along the southern border. From the south there was always the danger of an attack by the Crimean Horde, which was under the rule of Turkey. At first, the fortress was called "New City on Tsaritsyn Island", then "Tsar's City on Tsaritsyn Island" and only a few years later "Tsaritsyn".In May 1607, an uprising was raised in Tsaritsyn against Tsar Vasily Shuisky. Fyodor Sheremetev, having lifted the siege from Astrakhan, went with his detachment to Tsaritsyn. The fortress, after several assaults, was taken by the tsarist troops on October 24, 1607.
Ensemble of monuments "Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad" includes an arboretum, several squares, an alley of pyramidal poplars, many sculptures and monuments. The length of the memorial complex from the foot to the top of the hill is 1.5 km, all structures are made of reinforced concrete. A unique feature of the monument is that all the sculptures are hollow inside, although outwardly it often seems that they are made from solid pieces of stone. In the Hall of Military Glory, the names of soldiers are written on the walls, and in the center of the building there is a hand with a torch of the Eternal Flame. Nearby is the square of sorrow. In the corner of the square is a sculpture of a grieving mother. The monument is surrounded by water, and you can approach it on the slabs. Nearby is the square "Stood to the death", in the center of which there is a sculpture, personifying the image of our people, who defeated the enemy. The most important and world-famous monument of the entire ensemble is the monument "The Motherland Calls!".
Monument "Motherland is calling!" The height of this monument is 85 meters (including the sword), and if we take into account the underground part to the tip of the sword, 102 meters. Being near the feet of the monument, you feel like a grain of sand. The monument was designed by sculptor E.V. Vuchetich and engineer N.V. Nikitin. The monument is a figure of a woman with a sword raised up. This monument is an allegorical image of the Motherland, calling on all people to unite in order to defeat the enemy.
Church of All Saints- The temple was built on donations from the population. Assistance was also provided by Lukoil. The opening and consecration of the Church of All Saints took place on May 9, 2005 by Metropolitan German of Volgograd and Kamyshin. Above the entrance to the Temple is a pattern of stained glass. The temple was built next to the mass grave, thus logically completing the ensemble of monuments on Mamaev Kurgan.
Central embankment- Before the war, the embankment was a major cargo port. As far back as the end of the 19th century, the Tsaritsyno Quay occupied the second place in the Volga basin in terms of the volume of cargo arrived. There was also a river station for receiving passenger ships. Until 1930, several churches towered along the coast: John the Baptist, Assumption, Trinity, as well as the church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. Only one church was restored by the beginning of the 21st century - John the Baptist. In 1952, it was decided to make the main entrance to the city from the central embankment, from which acquaintance with other sights and places of the city should begin. It is worth highlighting the Rotunda, located on the Central Embankment. A staircase from it connects the upper and lower terraces. During the war years, the anti-aircraft battery of the 1083rd anti-aircraft regiment fired on enemy tanks from this place, preventing them from reaching the Volga.
Panorama Museum Battle of Stalingrad- the largest exposition in Russia dedicated to the Battle of Stalingrad. The size of the canvas is 16x120 meters. The idea of creating a panorama was born during the war. Major General Anisimov wrote to Stalin about the creation of such a complex. Vadim Maslyaev, the chief architect of the city, became the author of the project. The construction of the panorama, which has a complicated hyperboloid shape, was carried out from February 1968 to July 1982. The museum has more than 3,500 exhibits: collections of firearms and edged weapons, portraits of Soviet military leaders and commanders, military equipment and various photographs. Next to the building is an old military equipment.
Pavlov's House- During the Battle of Stalingrad, Pavlov's house became the site of fierce fighting. In mid-September 1942, the command decided to make a stronghold in this house. The building had a good strategic location, from which it was convenient to observe and fire at the territory of the city occupied by enemies 1 km to the west and more than 2 km to the north and south. Sergeant Pavlov, together with a group of soldiers, entrenched himself in the house, and on the third day reinforcements came to them, delivering weapons, ammunition and machine guns. The defense of the house was improved by mining the approaches to the building, and the enemy assault groups could not capture the building for a long time. A trench was dug between Pavlov's house and the Mill, located opposite: from the basement of the house, the garrison kept in touch with the command located in the Mill. For 58 days, 25 people, among whom were defenders of 11 nationalities, repelled the fierce attacks of the Nazis, holding the enemy's resistance to the last. Marshal Chuikov once noted that the German army, when taking Pavlov's house in Stalingrad, suffered several times more losses than when taking Paris. All participants in the defense of Pavlov's house, including Pavlov himself, who did not take part in the defense of the house due to injury, were awarded government awards.
Ruined windmill- the building was built in 1903 by the German Gerhardt. After 1917, the building became known as the Grudinin Mill, in honor of the secretary of the Communist Party. Until the beginning of the war, a steam mill functioned here. On September 14, 1942, the building was badly damaged due to two high-explosive bombs. The roof collapsed and several people were killed. The old mill is located close to the Volga, and during the Battle of Stalingrad the building became an important strategic object. When the German troops came close to the river, the mill was transformed into a defensive point of the 42nd Guards Rifle Regiment of the 13th Guards Rifle Division. After the war, it was decided to leave the ruins of the old mill as a war memorial.
The Heroes Alley- Initially, according to the project of architects Alabyan, Levitan and Goldman, it was supposed to unite the Square of the Fallen Fighters and the central embankment of Volgograd with a street, on which the Square of Glory and the Museum of Victory were to be located. And both squares in the center were supposed to be connected together by a huge arch of Victory. But the idea of the authors of the project was not put into practice - instead, a wide alley appeared in Volgograd, stretching between long buildings. Between them - a green park and a walking area.
Tower of the Tsaritsyno Fire Brigade- the building, located in the center of Volgograd, was built in the late 19th century. Before the revolution, Tsaritsyn had several fire stations, two have survived to this day (the second is in the Voroshilovsky district). The fire tower was built using the famous Tsaritsyno tychkovy masonry, in which bricks are laid end-to-end. During the Battle of Stalingrad, the building was badly damaged. In 1950, the fire station was restored without a tower, and in 1995, after a fire, the building was restored to its original form.
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Volgograd is a city in the southeast of the European part of Russia, the administrative center of the Volgograd region. Hero City, site of the battle for Stalingrad. On July 12, 2009, the city celebrates the 420th anniversary of its founding.
In 1961, the hero city was renamed Volgograd from Stalingrad.
In 2005, Volgograd was granted the status of an urban district by the Law of the Volgograd Region. City Day is celebrated annually on the second Sunday of September.
Modern Volgograd covers an area of 56.5 thousand hectares. This territory is divided into 8 administrative districts: Traktorozavodsky, Krasnooktyabrsky, Central, Dzerzhinsky, Voroshilovsky, Sovetsky, Kirovsky and Krasnoarmeisky and several workers' settlements. According to the All-Russian census of 2002, the population of the city is just over 1 million people.
The city is a large industrial center. More than 160 large and medium-sized industrial enterprises operate here, serving such industries as electric power, fuel industry, ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, chemical and petrochemical industries, mechanical engineering and metalworking, the military-industrial complex, timber industry, light and food industries.
The Volga-Don shipping canal passes through the city, making Volgograd a port of five seas.
The city has a developed infrastructure, which includes about 500 educational institutions, 102 medical institutions and 40 cultural organizations, etc.
The city has 11 stadiums, 250 halls, 260 premises adapted for physical culture and sports, 15 swimming pools, 114 sports grounds, football fields, football and athletics arena.
The material was prepared on the basis of information from open sources
The settlement on the territory of modern Volgograd was founded presumably in 1555. It was first mentioned in historical materials as Tsaritsyn in 1589.
The city got its name from the river Tsaritsa, which flows into the Volga. The name is probably based on the Tatar words “sari-su” (yellow river) or “sari-chin” (yellow island), since the Russian settlement with a wooden fortress originally arose on about. Tsaritsyn and served to defend the Volga route at the junction of the Volga and the Don from the steppe nomads and bands of robbers who roamed the Volga. At the beginning of the XVII century. Tsaritsyn burned down; rebuilt in 1615 on the right bank of the Volga by the governor M. Solovtsov. Trade and embassy ships of Persia, Bukhara, India and other countries became under the protection of the fortress. In 1606, under False Dmitry I, the Volga Cossacks took possession of the city, proclaiming here one of their comrades as Tsarevich Peter, the son of Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich. From here, the Cossacks intended to go to Moscow, but the death of False Dmitry changed their decision.
In 1667-1672. The Tsaritsyno garrison took the side of Stepan Razin. In 1691, a customs office was established in Tsaritsyn, and there was a lively trade in salt and fish. In 1707, the Don Cossacks, led by Vasily Bulavin and Ignatius Nekrasov, took the city, but were soon expelled by government troops arriving from Astrakhan. In 1722 and 1723 Peter I visited the city and presented it to his wife Catherine I. In 1727 Tsaritsyn was destroyed by fire again. In 1731, Tsaritsyn was rebuilt and fortified. The city became the center of the military line from the Volga to the Don. In 1774, the city was besieged twice by E. I. Pugachev, but without success.
In 1708, Tsaritsyn was assigned to the Kazan province, from 1719 to Astrakhan, from 1773 to the Saratov governorship. Since 1780 - the county town of the Saratov governorship (then the province). At the beginning of the XIX century. small industry began to appear in the city (3 brick, 2 candle factories, mustard and beer factories). 5 postal roads ran through Tsaritsyn: Moscow, Astrakhan, Saratov, Cherkasy and Tsarevskaya. In 1862, the Volga-Don railway (Tsaritsyn - Kalach-on-Don) came into operation, in 1879 - on the Gryazi and further to Moscow, in 1897 - to the North Caucasus (through Tikhoretsk), in 1900 - m - to Donbass. In Tsaritsyn there were agencies of many shipping companies. In 1880, the oil refining complex of the Nobel company was put into operation, the largest oil storage facilities in Russia were built. Shipbuilding (large-capacity kerosene-loading barges) and the woodworking industry are developing. At the beginning of the XX century. there were already more than 230 factories and plants operating in the city (15 sawmills, 2 flour mills, 4 iron and mechanical foundries, 5 mustard and salt mills, etc.), banks, banking offices. The city was telephoned.
In 1913, a tram appeared in Tsaritsyno, and the first electric lights were installed in the central part. Also, 10 Orthodox churches and 1 Lutheran, Orthodox convent, male and female gymnasiums, vocational and city schools, 2 public libraries, 5 printing houses, 2 hospitals, 2 outpatient clinics, a zemstvo hospital for animals, a society of doctors, a bacteriological laboratory, a meteorological station were opened , 3 summer fairs were held annually. Trade was of a transit nature: from the Volga, goods went by rail to Central Russia, the Don and Ciscaucasia.
During the Civil War (1918-1920) fierce battles took place in Tsaritsyn.
Since 1920, Tsaritsyn has been the center of the Tsaritsyn province. In 1925 the city was renamed Stalingrad. In 1928 - the center of the district as part of the Nizhnevolzhsky region, in 1932 - the center of the Nizhnevolzhsky region. In 1934, after the division of the Lower Volga region into Saratov and Stalingrad, Stalingrad became the center of the latter. Since 1936, the Stalingrad region has been transformed into the Stalingrad region. During the years of the first five-year plans, old ones were reconstructed and more than 50 new plants were built, incl. the country's first tractor (1930), StalGRES, shipyard. In 1940, there were 126 enterprises in Stalingrad.
During the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945), on the outskirts of the city and in the city itself from July 17, 1942 to February 2, 1943, one of the most important battles of the Second World War (1939-1945) took place - Stalingrad, became its turning point. Initially, the offensive in the Stalingrad direction was carried out by the 6th German Army, and from July 31, 1942, by the 4th Panzer Army. In a defensive operation, Soviet troops bled the main enemy grouping near Stalingrad and created the conditions for a counteroffensive. Having concentrated additional forces, the Soviet command carried out an offensive operation, as a result of which the Nazi 6th and 4th tank armies, the Romanian 3rd and 4th armies, and the Italian 8th army were surrounded and defeated.
The Battle of Stalingrad lasted 200 days. The fascist bloc lost in it killed, wounded, captured and missing about 1.5 million people (!) - a quarter of all its forces operating on the Soviet-German front.
For outstanding services to the Motherland, on May 1, 1945, Stalingrad was awarded the honorary title of Hero City, and on May 8, 1965, he was awarded the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal.
Our glorious city was completely destroyed during the Second World War. But immediately after the war, he rose from the ashes like the legendary Phoenix bird. In 1961, the hero city was renamed Volgograd from Stalingrad.
Modern Volgograd is one of the most beautiful cities in Russia. According to the general plan of 1945, it retained the historically established linear planning system, and the coastal part was freed from industrial buildings, warehouses, etc., which cut off residential areas from the river. In the north-east, the city is closed by the Volzhskaya hydroelectric power station (in the city of Volzhsky), in the south-west - by the Volga-Don shipping canal, which made Volgograd a port of five seas.
Our wonderful city stretches for 90 km along the banks of the Volga and covers an area of 56.5 thousand hectares. This territory is divided into 8 administrative districts: Traktorozavodsky, Krasnooktyabrsky, Central, Dzerzhinsky, Voroshilovsky, Sovetsky, Kirovsky and Krasnoarmeisky and several workers' settlements. According to the All-Russian census of 2002, the population of the city is 1012.8 thousand people. Of these, 463.3 thousand men and 549.5 thousand women.
Volgograd has a significant industrial and cultural potential, twenty higher educational institutions, a planetarium with unique equipment, and dozens of libraries.
Volgograd, due to its favorable transport and geographical position and high industrial potential, performs important strategic functions in the socio-economic development of the South of Russia. The presence in Volgograd of a powerful scientific base and higher educational institutions of various specializations creates the conditions for a large-scale restructuring of industrial production and transformation of the urban economic complex on an advanced innovative basis.
Heraldry
Flag
The flag of the city - the hero of Volgograd is a rectangular panel of red color with a double-sided image in the center of the coat of arms of the city - the hero of Volgograd. The ratio of the width and length of the flag of the city - the hero of Volgograd should be 2:3. Red is the original color of the national flags of Russia, personifying courage, sovereignty, blood shed for the fatherland, strength, energy. The image of the coat of arms of the city - the hero of Volgograd on the flag symbolizes that the flag belongs to the city. The ratio of the areas of the coat of arms and the flag should be 1:7.
Coat of arms
According to the official version, Tsaritsyn was founded in 1589, but the city did not have its own coat of arms until the middle of the 19th century.
And the history of the coat of arms began like this. By order of Peter I, the Heraldmeister's Office or Heraldry was created in St. Petersburg. Her duties included the preparation and approval of coats of arms. On April 12, 1722, in accordance with the personal decree of Peter Alekseevich, Count Francis Santi, an Italian by birth, was appointed assistant to the king of arms and compiler of coats of arms. Since 1724, the King of Arms office begins to draw up city emblems in those cities that do not have them. From now on, the city coat of arms should be placed on the seals of city institutions and on the banners of regiments stationed in these cities. The creation of coats of arms was declared a matter of national importance. But the matter turned out to be laborious, it was necessary to collect information about the cities. For this purpose, questionnaires were sent to the cities, which contained questions about the time of the founding of the city, natural conditions, flora and fauna, etc. At the end of the questionnaire, there was a request to send a drawing and description of the city coat of arms, if one already existed. The information obtained through this survey is now stored in the Russian State Archives in St. Petersburg, but the information from Tsaritsyn is not there. The coat of arms of Tsaritsyn appears for the first time in the collection of coats of arms compiled by Santi, but its author is not known.
Initially, from 1729-1730. the emblem of the Tsaritsyn Dragoon Regiment was used as a coat of arms in Tsaritsyn. Tsaritsyn retained the status of a fortress, and the dragoon regiment was constantly in it for feeding. Two crossed silver sturgeons were placed on the emblem on a red field. But the emblem was not an officially approved coat of arms.
The coat of arms of Tsaritsyn itself was created in the middle of the 19th century. The first draft of the coat of arms was rejected. It looked like this: a French shield, divided into two equal parts by a horizontal line, in the upper part there is the coat of arms of the provincial Saratov (three sterlets on a blue field), and in the lower part, on a red field, a gold imperial crown. On top of the shield was crowned with the city crown. The imperial crown symbolized the name of the city in the project. But according to the rules of heraldry, it was not permissible for the city crown to be placed higher than the imperial one, and the project was rejected.
Tsaritsyn received his officially approved coat of arms only in 1854. On October 29, it was approved by Emperor Nicholas I, and on December 16, the coat of arms of the city was considered and finally approved in the Senate. Here is its description: a French shield, divided into two equal parts by a horizontal line, in the upper part there is the coat of arms of the provincial Saratov (three sterlets on a blue field), and in the lower part on a red field, two crossed silver sterlets. The coat of arms was crowned with a city crown, which corresponded to the status of a county town.
Subsequently, a retreat was made in the image of the coat of arms. Attributes appeared that corresponded to the status of a provincial city - a golden imperial crown and a wreath of oak leaves entwined with St. Andrew's ribbon. Perhaps this retreat is due to the fact that in the late XIX - early XX century Tsaritsyn became the largest commercial and industrial center in the south-east of Russia.
After 1917, the city coat of arms was not used. The issue of creating a new coat of arms arose again after Volgograd was awarded the title of Hero City in 1965. On January 10, 1966, the resolution of the executive committee of the Volgograd City Council of Workers' Deputies "On the coat of arms of the hero city of Volgograd" was adopted. An open call for projects was announced. But no one took first place. It was very difficult to reflect the heroic deeds of Krasny Tsaritsyn and Stalingrad, as well as the creative work of the townspeople after the war, in the terms of the competition. Yes, and knowledge of the laws of heraldry was clearly not enough. Only after additional work by a group of artists from the Art Fund - Evgeny Borisovich Obukhov, German Nikolaevich Lee, Alexei Grigorievich Brovko and Gennady Alexandrovich Khanov - the draft coat of arms was approved on March 4, 1968.
The description of the coat of arms is as follows: the general form of the coat of arms of the city - the hero of Volgograd is traditionally heraldic. It is based on a shield of golden color, divided into two halves by a ribbon of the medal "For the Defense of Stalingrad". The upper half of the emblem is a symbolic image of an impregnable fortress on the Volga. It is presented in the form of battlements of the fortress wall, painted in red. Red symbolizes courage, sovereignty, blood shed for the fatherland, strength, energy. Complements this medal "Gold Star", which was awarded to the city, depicted in golden color on a common red background. In the lower half of the emblem there is a golden gear symbolizing the developed industry and the industry of the city, and a golden sheaf of wheat - a symbol of the abundance of the Volgograd land. The blue color throughout the field in this part of the coat of arms symbolizes the Volga. The width to height ratio should be 8:9. In this form, the coat of arms exists to this day.
Volgograd- a city in the southeast of the European part of Russia, the administrative center of the Volgograd region, a hero city. It is located on the right bank of the Volga River in its lower reaches. The city stretches for 70 km along the Volga River.
It was founded in 1589 as a guard fortress at the confluence of the Tsaritsa River (from the Turkic "sary-su" yellow water) into the Volga. Until 1925 it was called Tsaritsyn, and from 1925 to 1961 - Stalingrad.
In 1607, there was an uprising against the tsarist troops in the fortress, which was suppressed six months later.
In 1608, the first stone church appeared in the city - John the Baptist. At the beginning of the 17th century, the garrison of the fortress was 350-400 people.
In 1670, the fortress was taken by the troops of Stepan Razin, who left it a month later.
In 1708, also for about a month, the fortress was in the hands of the rebellious Cossacks Kondraty Bulavin. In 1717 it was plundered by the Crimean and Kuban Tatars. Later, in 1774, the city was unsuccessfully stormed by Yemelyan Pugachev.
The city was part of the first Kazan, then Astrakhan province. According to the 1720 census, 408 people lived in the city. In the 18th century, the city had the status of a county.
Since 1773 the city became a voivodship, since 1780 - a county one.
In 1807, less than 3,000 people lived in Tsaritsyn. After the appearance of the first railway in 1862, population growth increased markedly, and by 1900 the population of the city was about 84 thousand people.
The first theater opened in the city in 1872, and a cinema in 1907.
The first institute (Stalingrad Tractor) was opened in the city in 1930, a year later a pedagogical institute was opened.
During the Civil War, fierce battles took place for Tsaritsyn, which received the name "Defense of Tsaritsyn" in Soviet historiography. Since 1920, Tsaritsyn has been the center of the Tsaritsyn province. In 1925 the city was renamed Stalingrad. Until 1928, Stalingrad was the center of the district within the Nizhnevolzhsky region, in 1932 - the center of the Nizhnevolzhsky region. In 1934, after the division of the Lower Volga region into Saratov and Stalingrad, Stalingrad became the center of the latter. In 1936, the Stalingrad region was transformed into the Stalingrad region.
The most serious shock in the history of the city was the Great Patriotic War and the Battle of Stalingrad. The Headquarters of the Supreme High Command sent the 62nd, 63rd and 64th armies to the Stalingrad direction. On July 12, the Stalingrad Front was created, which was faced with the task, defending itself in a strip 520 kilometers wide, to stop the further advance of the enemy. On July 17, 1942, one of the greatest battles of the Great Patriotic and World War II began - the Battle of Stalingrad, which lasted 200 days and nights. The Nazis sought to capture Stalingrad as soon as possible.
On August 23, the city was subjected to a terrible bombardment, which destroyed or seriously damaged most of the city's buildings. The Nazi troops broke through to the Volga north of Stalingrad. Workers, city police, units of the NKVD troops, sailors of the Volga military flotilla, cadets of military schools stood up to defend the city.
On August 25, a state of siege was introduced in Stalingrad. Up to 50 thousand workers of Stalingrad joined the ranks of the people's militia. 150 thousand workers of the Stalingrad factories, under the conditions of continuous bombardment from the air and under the most severe artillery fire, gave the front tanks, cannons, mortars, Katyushas, as well as shells. On the outskirts of Stalingrad and in the city itself, four defensive bypasses were built. In total, by the beginning of the defense, up to 2,750 kilometers of trenches and communications, 1,860 kilometers of anti-tank ditches were built.
By September 12, 1942, despite the heroic resistance of the Soviet troops, the enemy came close to the city. The whole country came to the aid of Stalingrad. During the defensive battles, the Nazi troops lost about 700,000 killed and wounded, more than 2,000 guns and mortars, more than a thousand tanks, assault guns and other equipment.
By November 19, 1942, favorable conditions had developed for the transition of the Soviet troops to the counteroffensive.
It took the Soviet troops 75 days and nights to encircle and defeat the Nazi troops near Stalingrad. The population of the Stalingrad region provided great assistance to the troops in preparing the counteroffensive. The Volga military flotilla played an important role in the battle for Stalingrad. In September-November alone, the flotilla transported 65 thousand soldiers, up to 2.5 thousand tons of various cargoes, to the right bank of the Volga.
In January 1943, the Nazi troops stationed in the city were defeated. On January 31, the commander of the 6th German Army, Field Marshal F. Paulus, who was with his headquarters in the basement of the central department store, surrendered. On February 2, the last Nazi units capitulated. During the Battle of Stalingrad, the fascist bloc lost about 1.5 million soldiers and officers killed, wounded, captured and missing.
For military distinctions, 44 formations and units were given the honorary names of Stalingrad, Kantemirovskoye, Tatsinskoye. 55 formations and units were awarded orders, 183 - became guards, 112 of the most distinguished soldiers were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. The medal "For the Defense of Stalingrad", established on December 22, 1942, was awarded to over 700 thousand participants in the battle.
