russia: novorosiisk

Novorosiisk is a Soviet designated Hero City, of which there are 13 across Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia. The designation comes from WW2, or the Great Patriotic War as it is known in Russia. Because of its location on the Black Sea, there is a large port, and there are plenty of shipping containers to be seen.

Novorosiisk is mentioned way back in antiquity, as a sight of grain trade in the Greek Empire. It was also part of the Byzantine Empire a little later on. The history of the area includes names that might have come from English origins, Susaco (Sussex,) and Londia (London.)

In the 15^th century Genoese merchants showed up, with one family maintaining a trading outpost. Fast forward to the 18^th century, when the Ottomans controlled the bay with a fortress. It was during this time that some European maps called the area Susaco (Sussex.) This fort was part of a line of forts that stretched all the way down to what is currently known as Sochi.

In the 19^th century Russia 'won' the coastline during the Russo-Turkish war. At that point two Russian admirals built a base for the Black Sea Fleet, which has basically been here in one form or another ever since.

During the rest of the 19^th century Novorosiisk grew. And grew and grew and grew. The city was granted official city status in 1866, and was the capital of the surrounding area.

For a short while at the beginning of the 20^th century Novorosiisk was the capital of the Novorosiisk Republic. This republic didn't last long, at least not officially, just a week and a half. The lead up to the existence of the republic was far longer than the republic itself.

The breakaway happened as a result of the Russian Revolution in 1905, a time in history that still has an outsize influence on what is now Russia. There were a number of other short lived republics around Russia during the same time.

During the Russian Civil War (1917-1920, which overlapped with what the rest of the world calls WW1,) the White Army used Novorosiisk as a principal center. The Russian Civil War is much more memorialized in Russia than WW1, by a long shot.

During WW2 Novorosiisk earned its Hero City status because it was involved in a fair amount of fighting. The city was occupied by German and Romanian armies in 1942, before being liberated by the Red Army in 1943. 

There was a small section of the city/port that was still under Russian control during this time, and this small section did such a good job in its defense of the port that it was prevented from being used by the Axis powers as a supply point.This wouldn't be the first time an army has been defeated by lack of supplies.

In the early 21^st century the federal government spent a whole heap of money to built a new base for some of the Black Sea Fleet in/near Novorosiisk. Wikipedia tells me that the plan was to move a whole bunch of warships and the HQ from Sevastopol to Novorosiisk in 2020. I have no idea if that happened, but the summer of 2020 was the first COVID summer, so I'm guessing the big move didn't happen.

In addition to being a military and shipping port, this is also a port for oil, coming/going from/to the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Mediterranean, and South American.

As the city is on the sea, there are a couple beaches. That being said, Novorosiisk isn't really considered a resort town. I watched people on the beach for a little while, I wished I had brought a bikini with me, because I love beaches and summer.

I arrived in Novorosiisk after a nearly four hour ride on an elektrichka. As it was August, I nearly melted onto the floor of the train, as there was no air con and it was bloody hot. Arriving at noon didn't make it any easier, as the train station in Novorosiisk is not in the city center, unlike so many other Russian cities I've been able to visit.

The best part of arriving in the city is the view from the train station. You can see the surrounding mountains, it's just pretty. Not stunning, but definitely pretty.

I ended up hopping on a bus, but the traffic was crazy, so the bus didn't go any faster than I could've gone if I had walked. The bus was crowded, so by the time I arrived at my accomodation I was soaked in sweat. Gross. I ended up laying on my bunk for far longer than I wanted to because of the heat and being dehydrated.

Not surprisingly, my first stop was a Lenin statue. My arrival at the statue was at a time of day when the statue (full size, on a big pedestal,) was backlit. I need to pay better attention to which way these statues face and the times I visit. Not far away was a building with a 75^th year of victory (dating from the Great Patriotic War,) memorial.

By this time it was early evening, (I really did hang out inside the hostel for far too long,) so I strolled down to the same place everyone else was strolling: the waterfront pedestrian area that has been well developed. There was a huge city sign, which was good for a photo.

Behind the sign was a ship museum, but I didn't have it in me to visit, and made note of it to come back the next day. The sunset was lovely, and it felt good to finally be in a semi comfortable temperature. There was a rocky area good for scrambling around (but not in the jandals I was wearing,) and a cobblestone zone for walking.

I found another city sign near the entrance of the city park, it was an arch over the street. I wanted to be in a photo with this sign too, but figured there was no way I'd be able to set up the photo without having a car run over me and/or my tripod and camera.

My dinner ended up being bits and bobs from a supermarket. I was too tired and feeling too cheap to find a cafe. I've had way too many dinners this way, but since I'm not a foodie in any way, I don't feel like I'm missing out in any way.

The next morning I was up a whole lot earlier than when I actually got moving. When I got outside it was already hot and I started sweating almost immediately. I stayed in the shade at every chance all day, unfortunately there weren't nearly enough chances.

My first goal of the morning was to see a series of monuments near one area of the beach. One of them was absolutely ginormous, much bigger than I'm used to seeing. (And trust me, Russia has plenty of huge monuments and memorials.) 

This memorial monument was big enough that you could go inside, as long as you could pay 100 ruble entry fee. It was sortof shaped like a very very very big 3D triangle. Sortof. The interiors were filled with photos and information about specific people who served in the war.

The beach was lovely, the view made me wish I had brought my bikini, though I'm pretty sure the sand was mostly imported. The water was clear, and I saw a bunch of concrete towers in the water. They weren't tall, kids were climbing on them and jumping into the water. The area isn't big, it was kindof a classic beach view, if that makes any sense at all. Across the bay you could see low hills in the background.

From there I walked all the way to a space called Cape Sudzhuk. I don't know how long the walk was, but I remember being pretty miserable in the heat and sun. 

The cape was pretty small, and clearly handbuilt. The water level changes pretty drastically depending on the tide. Though the area was rocky, I still walked into the water a little way, just because I could.

Nearby was a statue of a character from a well known Russian comedy film. And by well known, I mean Russians know the film, foreigners generally don't. There is actually a pretty strong Russian film scene, even if the rest of the world is mostly unaware. (Including me, since I don't watch many movies.)

After leaving the water, I walked past an open air military museum without entering. Those sorts of places usually interest me, but there was no shade, and I could only see metal and concrete. It would not have been a pleasant visit.

Then two more monuments, one about Earth, and one of a plane. This city was full of monuments and memorials, I knew I wouldn't be able to see all of them. And I'm pretty sure no one would want to hear about all of the monuments even if I did see all of them.

Behind the plane memorial was a pedestrian walkway, lined with big red stars. There were also big letters spelling out (in English) the word pobeda, which means victory in Russian.

When I passed the local history museum, I knew immediately that I would visit, because it was indoors. It turned out to be a pretty small museum, only 3 or 4 rooms. There was a nice variety in the displays. I didn't retain any of the information very long after my visit, but I do remember that I enjoyed the visit. I was the only person in there at the time, which was nice.

On the way back to the hostel I walked past a number of buildings with huge murals on the sides. As Novorosiisk is a hero city, all the murals were about the Great Patriotic War in one way or another.

Dinner that night turned out to be from another supermarket. During this visit I had no idea if Novorosiisk has any good food.

The next morning I was up early enough to catch a taxi back to the train station. Yes, I could've walked, but I didn't feel like being soaked in sweat then sitting on an unconditioned train for 3-4 hours.

I'll be back.