Day of the 75th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad. General situation in the Leningrad direction

Commemorative events dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the siege during the Great Patriotic War will be held in the northern capital on January 27, 2020, including parade and fireworks, reports the press service of the city governor’s administration.

AS IT WAS IN 2019:

The parade will start at 10 a.m.. 2 thousand military personnel and employees of the Russian Guard will take part in it. Some will be dressed in wartime uniforms. 80 military vehicles will drive along Palace Square, and 12 planes and helicopters will fly over the city.

The lighting of torches on the Rostral columns will take place, and 12:00 from the gun of the Naryshkin bastion A commemorative shot will be fired at the Peter and Paul Fortress dedicated to the anniversary of the complete liberation from the siege. In the evening, the multimedia performance “Fireworks over Leningrad” will be shown on Palace Square., in which there will be scenes of the defense of a besieged city, poems by Olga Berggolts and music by Dmitry Shostakovich will be heard. At 21:00, 30 salvos of fireworks will be fired from the beach of the Peter and Paul Fortress.

The approved celebration plan includes more than 120 events. It is planned that on January 26, solemn mourning ceremonies of laying wreaths and flowers will traditionally take place at city memorials and military burial sites.

“The program on January 27 includes a parade on Palace Square, a festive concert at the Oktyabrsky Concert Hall, multimedia performances on the façade of the General Staff Arch and a fireworks display at the walls of the Peter and Paul Fortress. A midday shot from the Naryshkin Bastion will be dedicated to the anniversary of the Leningrad Victory. In honor of the holiday, torches on the Rostral columns will be lit,” the message says.

From January 25 to 27 on Malaya Sadovaya Street, Manezhnaya Square and Italianskaya Street The “Street of Life” project will be launched, which will give residents and guests of St. Petersburg the opportunity to get in touch with the “realities of the siege”

Grand opening project A "Street life" will take place on January 25, 2019 at 12.00 on the main stage installed on Manezhnaya Square. All three days there will be concerts with the participation of leading artists of St. Petersburg, meetings with real witnesses of those tragic events. Manezhnaya Square and Italianskaya Street will become an open-air Museum, through which excursions will be held.

On January 27, troops of the St. Petersburg territorial garrison will march along Palace Square. In addition, 80 units of military equipment and 12 aircraft and helicopters will be involved.

“Panorama of the Siege” and “Candle in the Window” on Dvortsovaya

The center of the event will be Palace Square, where the main action will unfold. The façade of the General Staff building will become a giant panoramic screen for the multimedia project “Panorama of the Blockade”. The chronicle of the enemy offensive, the defense of Leningrad, pictures of the besieged city and the chronicle of the fireworks on January 27, 1944 will immerse the viewer in the atmosphere of the war era. The project combines traditions and recognizable symbols with innovative ideas and modern technologies.

Upon completion of the multimedia project, an international memorial event “Candle in the Window” will take place at 20:00. For the first time, every inhabitant of the Earth will be able to use a specially created mobile application, light their commemorative candle anywhere on the planet and become a participant in an unforgettable event on Palace Square.

The organizer of the event is the Committee for Culture of St. Petersburg.

On January 27, 2019, from 17:00 to 20:00, a memorial event “Blockade Light” will be held in the Peter and Paul Fortress, dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the enemy blockade. Participants in the action will launch 900 white and 900 black balloons into the sky, symbolizing the 900 days and nights of the Siege of Leningrad, and will honor the feat of the heroes of the city on the Neva with a minute of silence.

According to tradition, a free concert dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the lifting of the siege of Leningrad will be held in St. Isaac's Cathedral. The main songs of the war years, soulful folk songs, works by Solovyov-Sedov and Vysotsky on the evening of January 27 will fill the space of one of the most impressive cathedrals of the city on the Neva.

In the program: A. Alexandrov, V. Solovyov-Sedoy, A. Pakhmutova, V. Vysotsky, Russian folk songs, Concert Choir of St. Petersburg. Artistic director and chief conductor, Honored Artist of Russia Vladimir Begletsov.

Songs of the war years, songs dedicated to war, songs about peace, about the Motherland and about love will be performed in delicate and bright arrangements created specifically for this unique group.

For many years in a row, the Concert Choir of St. Petersburg under the direction of Vladimir Begletsov on this Day pays tribute to everyone who died and survived one of the most terrible and heroic periods in the history of our country, in the years that became a symbol of the unparalleled feat of the people who defended the freedom of their Motherland .

• Entry: free
• Address: Isaac's Square, 4

According to tradition, the festive event for the Day of Complete Liberation from the Nazi Siege will end with fireworks: at 21:00 an artillery salute will thunder at the walls of the Peter and Paul Fortress, and the sky above the city will be painted with thousands of bright sparks.

Each of the salvos of this memorial event has a dedication. For example, the first salvo is always dedicated to the anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade.

• Entry: free
• Address: Neva embankment

In honor of a grandiose historical event - the 75th anniversary of the complete lifting of the siege of Leningrad - all of St. Petersburg, the entire Leningrad region and the whole country are preparing to celebrate Leningrad Victory Day.

75 years later, we will recreate in detail the events of January 27, 1944: a solemn ceremony will take place using a unique battery of anti-aircraft guns - those with which our artillerymen burned German tanks, tore through defense lines and cleared the way for our advancing infantry!

In the very heart of the city, a military-historical camp will be built, amazing in its scope and content, in which reenactors will be able to carefully convey the spirit of the unconquered Leningraders.

ON THIS DAY YOU WILL SEE:
▪12 salvos, each salvo is dedicated to a specific unit of the Leningrad Front, which made a great contribution to lifting the blockade
▪20 exhibition areas
▪educational master classes and lectures
▪Military band and front brigades

Program:

14:00-15:00 Conducting a literary and musical composition (reading poetry and singing wartime songs)
15:00-15:15 Solemn greeting of the event participants, speeches of honored guests
15:15-15:45 Conducting an episode of military-historical reconstruction “Attention! Air"
15:45-16:30 Field kitchen work
16:30-17:00 Closing of the event

OTHER EVENTS

January 26, 2019 at 13:00 in the Park of the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg The event “Memory of the Feat” will be held, dedicated to the lifting of the siege of Leningrad. In memory of each day of the siege, participants will light 900 candles and honor the defenders of Leningrad and the heroes of the Great Patriotic War with a minute of silence.

On this day, songs and poems from the war years will be performed from the stage, performed by the laureates of the Olga Berggolts artistic speech competition “We live in this city” and the choirs of the Primorsky Cultural Center. The guest of honor of the concert program will be the legendary actor of the Alexandrinsky Theater, People's Artist of Russia Nikolai Sergeevich Marton.

Throughout the event, a field kitchen will be open for spectators, which will be located near the stage. Everyone will be able to take part in the “Siege Bread” campaign, receiving a siege ration of bread and a copy of the siege card as a symbol of the courage and fortitude of the residents of Leningrad. Event organizer: St. Petersburg State Budgetary Institution “Primorsky Cultural Center”

Date and time: January 26, 2019 at 13:00 Address: Park of the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg (74 Primorsky Ave.)

Other events

January 19- on the 3rd kilometer of the Gatchina Highway there will be a military-historical reconstruction dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the blockade and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad.

January 25 at 11:00- memory campaign “Front-line tram”. Citizens will lay flowers at the memorial plaque in honor of the feat of the tram workers of besieged Leningrad. Place: Museum of Urban Electric Transport on Sredny Avenue of Vasilyevsky Island, 77.

January 25 at 12:30- laying flowers at the monument to Marshal Govorov, installed on Stachek Square.

January 26- laying flowers at the sign reminiscent of the years of the siege, placed on the wall of house No. 14 on Nevsky Prospekt at 09:30.

Also, solemn funeral ceremonies will take place:

• at the Piskarevskoye cemetery (starts at 11:00),
• at the Serafimovskoye cemetery (starts at 11:00),
• on Victory Square (starts at 11:00),
• at the Triumphal Arch of Victory in Krasnoye Selo (starts at 11:00),
• at the Smolensk Memorial Cemetery (starts at 11:00),
• at the Nevsky military cemetery "Cranes" (starts at 11:00),
• at the Bogoslovskoe Cemetery (beginning at 12:15).

January 27- lighting of the torches of the Rostral columns, morning and evening. Also, a midday shot from the Naryshkin cannon of the Peter and Paul Fortress bastion will be dedicated to the memorable date.

January 27 at 19:00- a multimedia performance will begin on Palace Square. The main screen will be the General Headquarters, in front of which temporary stands for spectators will be installed. After this, the sky above the city will be decorated with the lights of an artillery salute - volleys will be fired from the walls of the Peter and Paul Fortress, starting at 21:00.

Also in St. Petersburg, on January 23, the Carnival Hall will organize a Leningrad Victory Day concert for veterans of the Great Patriotic War and residents of besieged Leningrad. The event starts at 15:00.

And at the House of Writers at 17:00 a literary evening dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade will begin. On January 25, the Aurora cinema will host a pre-premiere screening of the film “Save Leningrad” at 19:30.

Exhibitions and excursions leading up to the date:

- The 25th of January an exposition of the “Street of Life” project will open on Manezhnaya Square, Italianskaya and Malaya Sadovaya streets;

– January 26 and 27 The Museum of Urban Electric Transport organizes excursions dedicated to the work of the tram in besieged Leningrad;

– January 27 The exhibition “In the Name of Life” will open at the Museum and Exhibition Center on Basseynaya Street. On the same day, the underground floors of Smolny will open.

Among the sporting events, on January 20 at noon, track and field athletes will run from Pulkovo to Pushkin. And on January 27, St. Petersburg schoolchildren will go on a ski trip dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege and the 75th anniversary of the complete lifting of the siege of Leningrad.

FESTIVAL “IN THE BREAKTHROUGH BAND” 2019

The VIII Annual Military History Festival “IN THE BREAKTHROUGH BAND” is preparing to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the LIFTING of the siege of Leningrad in January 1944.

12.00 - 17.00 Exhibitions, interactive areas
13.00 - 15.00 - Reconstruction of the operation to lift the siege of Leningrad

The following will take part in the battle:
— more than 600 participants
– 10 tanks and armored vehicles
– 12 artillery pieces
– 15 trucks, cars and motorcycles

For festival guests:
— exhibitions of equipment, weapons and soldiers’ everyday life
— front-line concert
- car parking
— outdoor hot food points and souvenirs
— mobile toilet cabins

On January 27, at 13:00, on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade, the blockade traction substation “Central (No. 11)” (Fontanka river embankment, no. 3a, lit. A.) will open its doors and show a unique exhibition “Through the Veil of Time”, prepared by the Great St. Petersburg State Circus.

The legacy of constructivism - the Blockadnaya substation - is the earliest traction substation preserved in St. Petersburg. The building is a participant in the heroic defense of Leningrad. Without it, the work of the tram was impossible - a transport that supplied food, ammunition, fuel, served as a firing point, whose most important functions were providing assistance to the wounded and cleaning the city.

The traction substation can tell not only about the defenders of the city during these years, but about those who worked at the substation and ensured the operation of four of the five tram routes in besieged Leningrad. The exhibition presents unique archival military photographs of those days, combat leaflets and household items, graphic images of the war years, as well as the very history of the blockade trams.

The second part of the exhibition is dedicated to those who brought a piece of joy to the difficult time at the front - circus performers, because one of the tram routes ran past the House of the Red Army, in which they prepared and demonstrated their life-affirming acts.

From the first days of the war, a significant part of circus performers, directors, uniform workers and employees joined the ranks of the Red Army. In the front-line brigades, the performers for a long time replaced the arena with forest clearings, trucks with folded sides and front-line dugouts, while they always performed in circus costumes.

In the interiors and objects preserved almost unchanged, in the rooms and workshops of the substation, one day the history of the besieged city will speak to visitors through the veil of time with the words of true memories.

January 27 at 13:00 The official opening of the exhibition “Through the Veil of Time” will take place in the premises of the Blockade Traction Substation “Central (No. 11)”. The exhibition will be open to the public until 5:30 p.m.

Performance by circus artist Chernega P. on the square of “fallen fighters” - Stalingrad - 09/5/1943

Big gala concert of Russian pop masters at the Big Concert Hall, January 23-25, 2019

The Great Oktyabrsky Concert Hall will once again open its doors to residents of the besieged city and all participants in the Great Patriotic War to celebrate together the Bright Victory Day of Leningrad and sing together their favorite and dear songs.

In memory of the heroic feat of our fellow countrymen, the leading soloists of St. Petersburg theaters and stage will perform not only songs of the war years, but also masterpieces of world classical music, and modern technologies will transport the viewer to the long-awaited Victory Salute of 1944.

The festive program will be attended by soloists of the Mariinsky and Mikhailovsky theaters, participants in the musical television projects “Voice”, “Main Stage”, “X-Factor” and “New Star Voice”. Singer Methodie Bujor will perform as a special guest of the program.

Concert for the Day of Lifting the Siege of Leningrad, January 25-27

The Musical Comedy Theater presents traditional concerts, paying tribute to the heroic defenders of Leningrad who defended the city during the terrible siege.

For the team of the Leningrad Musical Comedy Theater, the blockade became not only a severe test, but also an unprecedented milestone in their creative biography. The Leningrad Musical Comedy, the only one of all the city theaters, was left by special order in the besieged city in order to maintain the spirit of Leningraders with its light, cheerful art.

Despite hunger, cold and deprivation, the team gave performances and concerts every day, interrupting work only during bombing, released premieres and went to the front line with concert programs.

The memory of this siege feat is carefully preserved in the theater to this day, marking memorial war dates with public concerts. At different times over the past ten years, the concert program included fragments of the theater’s operetta war repertoire, front-line songs, and works by Leningrad songwriters.

Every year, in the hall of the theater on Italianskaya, 13, veterans and front-line soldiers gather on memorable days, of which, alas, there are fewer and fewer every year, home front workers and children of war, as well as their children and grandchildren, who know about the horrors of wartime first-hand.

• Entry: free
• Address: Italianskaya st., 13

In honor of the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Krasnoye Selo, on January 19, a military-historical reconstruction “For Leningrad! Red Village!"

January 19 12:00-17:00
Location: near the village of Villozi, Gatchina district, Leningrad region, at the foot of Voronya Mountain

Story:
On January 14, 1944, Operation January Thunder began. The operation to completely lift the siege of Leningrad. Already on January 19, the two advancing armies, having broken through the German defense line, met behind Krasnoye Selo, destroyed the fascist siege weapons and drove the enemy further from the city. On January 27, it became finally clear that the enemy had been driven back from Leningrad forever, the blockade had been lifted, victory would be ours!

From 12:00 in the military field camp FOR YOU AND YOUR CHILDREN - A LIVING HISTORY about the Great Victory near Leningrad:
— exhibitions of tanks, guns and weapons of the Red Army and the Wehrmacht
— field kitchen with soldier’s porridge
— interactive master classes from military history clubs
- performance of war songs
AND A GRAND BATTLE with tank duels, hand-to-hand combat, artillery salvoes and hundreds of soldiers on the battlefield!

Friends, dress warmly and come with your children to the MILITARY HISTORICAL HOLIDAY!

Free admission!

Construction of the pavilion for the new museum began in September 2015 near the building of the diorama “Breaking the Siege of Leningrad” built in 1985. All work was carried out at the expense of the regional budget. ALREADY OPENED LAST YEAR)

A three-dimensional historical and artistic panorama “Breakthrough” was displayed in the exhibition pavilion, accompanied by video installations. The exposition of the panorama museum consists of two halls. In the first, multimedia, the visitor gets acquainted with a video chronicle of five attempts to break the blockade by Soviet troops and an animated film about the tragic days of the blockade.

In the second hall, on an area of ​​500 square meters, there is a picture of the dramatic events of the second day of the operation to break the siege of Leningrad “Iskra”, which tells about the offensive of the 67th Army of the Leningrad Front on the Nevsky patch near the village of Arbuzovo.

The creators of the exhibition, ANO Nevsky Batalist, headed by Dmitry Poshtarenko, paid special attention to the images of the fighters. The recreated battle scene features more than 30 figures of participants in the events. Equipment, ammunition, weapons, personal belongings and other materials discovered by search teams during the “Memory Watch” in the Leningrad Region are widely used in the design of the panorama.

Citywide events
1.1. Carrying out the event “Leningrad Victory Ribbon”, dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade	January 9-27, 2019
1.2. Public service announcement dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the Nazi blockade during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945	January 15-27, 2019
1.3. Participation of activists of public organizations of veterans and siege survivors of St. Petersburg in the solemn event “On the Frontier of Immortality”, dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 (Museum-reserve “Breakthrough the Siege of Leningrad”, Kirovsky district, Leningrad region)	January 18, 2019 12.00
1.4. Centralized festive decoration of St. Petersburg for the Day of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade	January 23-27, 2019
1.5. Press conference dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 (Media Center of the Government of St. Petersburg, Nevsky Prospect, 66)	January 24, 2019 12.00
Solemn funeral ceremonies of laying wreaths and flowers:
— on Nevsky Prospekt, 14;	January 26, 2019 09.30
— at the Piskarevskoye Memorial Cemetery;	January 26, 2019 11.00
— at the Seraphimovsky cemetery;	January 26, 2019 11.00
— on Victory Square;	January 26, 2019 11.00
— at the Triumphal Arch of Victory (Krasnoe Selo, Military Glory Square);	January 26, 2019 11.00
— at the Smolensk Memorial Cemetery;	January 26, 2019 11.00
— at the Nevsky military cemetery “Cranes”;	January 26, 2019 11.00
— at the Novo-Volkovskoye cemetery;	January 26, 2019 12.00
- at the Bogoslovskoe cemetery;	January 26, 2019 12.15
— to the monument to Marshal L.A. Govorov (Stachek Square);	January 25, 2019 12.30
- at other memorials and burial places of defenders and residents of besieged Leningrad	January 26-27, 2019
1.7. Lighting of torches on the Rostral columns	January 27, 2019 10.00 — 13.00 19.00 — 22.00
1.8. Parade of troops of the St. Petersburg territorial garrison on Palace Square	January 27, 2019 10.00
1.9. A memorable shot from the Naryshkin cannon of the Peter and Paul Fortress bastion, dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945	January 27, 2019 12.00
1.10. Festive concert dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the Nazi blockade during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945	January 27, 2019 15.00
1.11. Theatrical concert program “Dedicated to your feat, Leningrad”, dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 (Ice Palace, Pyatiletok Ave., 1)	January 27, 2019 18.00
1.12. Multimedia project Salute over Leningrad", dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 (Palace Square)	January 27, 2019 19.00
1.13. Festive artillery salute at the walls of the Peter and Paul Fortress	January 27, 2019 21.00

Section 2. Events held by industry committees of St. Petersburg
2.1. City vocal competition “Let’s sing a song for the glory of the Fatherland” in the “Patriotic song” category, dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade	December 4, 2018 12.00
2.2. Placing congratulatory posters in subway cars and on escalator balustrades, broadcasting a video dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade at metro stations	January 15-27, 2019
2.3. Concert dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (St. Petersburg State Budgetary Healthcare Institution “Hospital for War Veterans”, Assembly Hall of the “Center for Treatment and Rehabilitation of Residents of Besieged Leningrad”, Starorusskaya St., 3)	January 16, 2019 15.00
2.4. Literary evening dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945	January 16, 2019 17.00
2.5. Film screening of short films of children's and youth film and video creativity "Echoes of the Blockade", dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade	January 16, 2019
2.6. The 48th athletics race "Pulkovo-Pushkin", dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (start - intersection of Kievskoye and Krasnoselskoye highways, finish - Pushkin, Leningradskaya st., 83)	January 20, 2019 12.00
2.7. City review-competition of museum projects “Defenders of Leningrad” for students of state professional educational institutions, dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (GBNOU “Palace of Student Youth of St. Petersburg”, Sinopskaya embankment, 64)	January 21, 2019 16.00
2.8. The work of the children's collective station (radio communication) “Memory Watch”, dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist siege (St. Petersburg City Center for Children's Technical Creativity, 6th Sovetskaya St., 3)	January 21 -27, 2019
2.9. Rallies and festive concerts dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade — Assembly hall of the “Center for Treatment and Rehabilitation of Residents of Besieged Leningrad” (Starorusskaya st., 3) — area in front of the main entrance of the St. Petersburg State Budgetary Healthcare Institution “Hospital for War Veterans” (Narodnaya st., 21, building 2)	15.00 10.00
2.10. Concert program “Leningrad Victory Day” for veterans of the Great Patriotic War and residents of besieged Leningrad, dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (Concert Hall "Carnival" GBNOU "St. Petersburg City Palace of Youth Creativity", Nevsky Prospekt, 39)	January 24, 2019 15.00
2.11. Literary evening dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (St. Petersburg State Institution “House of the Writer”, Zvenigorodskaya St., 22)	January 24, 2019 17.00
2.12. City memorial event “Front-line tram” with laying flowers at the memorial plaque in honor of the feat of the trammen of besieged Leningrad and a ride on a wartime tram	January 25, 2019 11.00
2.13. Summing up the results of the city project “From Iskra to January Thunder”, dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (Concert Hall “Carnival” GBNOU “St. Petersburg City Palace of Youth Creativity”, Nevsky Prospect, 39)	January 25, 2019 16.00
2.14. The “Candle of Memory” event dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist siege (GBNOU “St. Petersburg City Palace of Youth Creativity”, square in front of the Anichkov Palace, Nevsky Prospect, 39)	January 25, 2019 18.00
2.15. Pre-premiere screening of the film “Save Leningrad”, dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the Nazi siege (St. Petersburg State Autonomous Institution "Aurora Cinema", Nevsky Prospekt, 60)	January 25, 2019 19.30
2.16. The “Street of Life” project dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (Manezhnaya Square, Italianskaya St., Malaya Sadovaya St., as agreed)	January 25-27, 2019
2.17. Festive concert of veterans’ choirs and academic vocal choral groups “After all, we are Leningraders, we know what war means,” dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (St. Petersburg State Budgetary Institution “State Academic Chapel of St. Petersburg”, Moika River Embankment, 20)	January 26, 2019 14.00
2.18. Concert program with the participation of groups from additional education institutions in St. Petersburg, dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (GBNOU "Academy of Talents", Embankment of the Malaya Nevka River, 1, lit. A)	January 26, 2019 17.00
2.19. Pre-premiere screening of the film “Corridor of Immortality”, dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (St. Petersburg State Budgetary Institution "Petersburg-cinema"	January 26, 2019 17.00
2.20. Excursion program “Front-line tram”, dedicated to the work of the tram during the war and the feat of Leningrad tram drivers (Museum of Urban Electric Transport, V.O. Sredny Ave., 77)	January 26-27, 2019
2.21. Honor guard of members of the Union of Young Petersburgers movement and members of school museum assets, dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist siege (Monument to the heroic defenders of Leningrad, Pobeda Square)	January 27, 2019 12.00
2.22. The 50th traditional athletics winter marathon “Road of Life”, dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (monument “Broken Ring” Vsevolozhsk district, Leningrad region)	January 27, 2019 12.00
2.23. Premiere screening of the film “The Cry of Silence”, dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the Nazi siege (St. Petersburg State Budgetary Institution "Petersburg-cinema" Cinema center "Rodina", st. Karavannaya, 12)	January 27, 2019 15.00
2.24. Opening of the exhibition “In the Name of Life”, dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade	January 27, 2019 16.00
2.25. Carrying out youth patriotic events dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (according to a separate plan)	January 27, 2019
2.26.Opening of the exhibition “Object “Pavilion” - underground floors of Smolny during the Great Patriotic War”, dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (St. Petersburg State Budgetary Institution “Historical and Memorial Museum “Smolny”, Smolny Ave., 1)	January 27, 2019
2.27. Star ski trip of St. Petersburg schoolchildren, dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (village Lembolovo, Vsevolozhsk district, Leningrad region)	January 27, 2019
2.28. Premiere screening of the documentary film “Songs of Victory”, dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (St. Petersburg State Autonomous Institution "Aurora Cinema", Nevsky Prospekt, 60)	January 28, 2019 16.00
2.29. Concert program dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (GBNOU “Palace of Student Youth of St. Petersburg”, Malaya Konyushennaya St., 1-3, lit. B)	January 28, 2019 18.00
2.30. Publication of the World Poetry Anthology “Bell of Memory”	January 2019
2.32. Commemorative cancellation ceremony of a postage stamp dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the Nazi siege (St. Petersburg State Budgetary Institution "Museum and Exhibition Center", Baseinaya str., 32, building 1)	January 2019
2.37. The exhibition “The tram was like they needed bread”, dedicated to the work of electric transport during the war, as part of the celebration of the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (Museum of Urban Electric Transport, V.O. Sredny Ave., 77)	January – April 2019
Section 3. Activities carried out by the administrations of the districts of St. Petersburg together with local governments of St. Petersburg
3.1. A series of interactive programs “Road of Life”, dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (St. Petersburg State Budgetary Institution “Youth House of the Vasileostrovsky District of St. Petersburg”, Bolshoi Ave. V.O., 65)	January 14 – January 28, 2019 11.00 — 18.00
3.2. Festive concert “Memory of the Heart”, dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (Palace of Culture named after A.M. Gorky, Stachek Square, 4)	January 18, 2019 16.00
3.3. Solemn and mourning flower-laying ceremonies dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade: — at the “Brotherly Military Burial” Memorial, Krasnoye Selo, Verkhny Park; — at the Rubezh Memorial, Veteranov Ave., 121;	12.00 12.00
3.4. Festive concerts dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade: — assembly hall of GBOU secondary school No. 270, Lenin Ave., 88, Krasnoe Selo; — assembly hall of the administration of the Krasnoselsky district of St. Petersburg, st. Partizana Germana, 3	15.30 13.30
3.5. Regional winter orienteering competition "Star Route - 2019", dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad (Park of Internationalist Warriors, Slavy Ave.)	January 18, 2019
3.6. Festive concert dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (Oktyabrsky Concert Hall, Ligovsky Ave., 6)	January 18, 2019
3.7. Military-historical reconstruction dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (Krasnoye Selo, 3rd kilometer of the Gatchina highway, between the town of Krasnoye Selo and the village of Villozi)	January 19, 2019 11.00
3.8. Festive concert “Our city survived and won”, dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (Oktyabrsky Concert Hall, Ligovsky Ave., 6)	January 19, 2019 19.00
3.9. A solemn funeral ceremony dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (Palevsky Garden)	January 21, 2019 13.00
3.10. A performance by the Premiere theater studio dedicated to the children of the siege, as part of the celebration of the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the Nazi siege, prepared by the Obraz musical drama theater and the Premiere theater studio (Mirror hall of the cultural and cultural center "Krasnogvardeisky", Shaumyan Ave., 22)	January 22, 2019 15.00
3.11. Video conference of the cities “Echo of the Siege” St. Petersburg, Feodosia, Sevastopol, Orsha (Republic of Belarus), dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade	January 23, 2019 14.00
3.12. Memorial event “Blockade Bread”, dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (St. Petersburg State Budgetary Institution “Center of Culture and Leisure “Kirovets”, Stachek Ave., 158)	January 24, 2019 14.00
3.13. Gala evening and gala concert dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (Oktyabrsky Concert Hall, Ligovsky Ave., 6)	January 24, 2019 15.00
3.14. Festive concert “Let Leningrad be the measure of honor”, ​​dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (Theater of the Baltic Fleet, Kronstadt, Sovetskaya St., 43)	January 24, 2019 17.00
3.15. Festive concert of pupils of the Palace of Children's Creativity, dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (Palace of Children's Creativity, Kamennoostrovsky Ave., 36/73)	January 24, 2019 17.00
3.16. Rallies and flower-laying ceremonies at memorial sites and military graves dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade, in the villages of Metallostroy, Pontonny, Petro-Slavyanka, Saperny, Ust-Izhora, Korchmino, in the city of Kolpino (according to a separate plan)	January 24-25, 2019
3.17. Musical and poetic evenings, literary and poetic compositions, intellectual games dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (St. Petersburg State Budgetary Institution “Centralized Library System of the Kirov District”, according to a separate plan)	January 24-28, 2019
3.18. Solemn funeral flower-laying ceremony dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist siege (Pavilion of Memory, Moscow Victory Park)	January 25, 2019 11.00
3.19. Memorial event at the blockade symbol “Sundial”, dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (corner of Bolshoy pr. V.O. and 9th line V.O.)	January 25, 2019 11.00
3.20. Performance-concert dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (St. Petersburg State Autonomous Institution "St. Petersburg State Theater of Musical Comedy", Italianskaya str., 13)	January 25, 2019 11.00
3.21. Solemn rallies dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade — at the mass grave “Sorrowful” (Pavlovsk, Detskoselskaya st.); - at the memorial to the Militias (Pushkin, Petersburg highway)	12.00 12.00
3.22. Ceremonial laying of flowers at the monument to the “Courage of Leningraders who defended our city” and a festive event dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (Sq. Muzhestva, Siege Square, St. Petersburg State Budgetary Institution “Club “Vyborg Side”, Smolyachkova St., 13)	January 25, 2019 13.00
3.23. A ceremonial meeting and festive concert dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (Big hall of St. Petersburg State Budgetary Institution “Kurortny Cinema”, Sestroretsk, Svoboda Square, 1)	January 25, 2019 15.00
3.24. Festive evening "Leningrad Salute", dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (St. Petersburg State Autonomous Institution "Music Hall Theatre", Alexandrovsky Park, 4)	January 25, 2019 15.00
3.25. Festive concert dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (St. Petersburg State Budgetary Institution “Youth House “Tsarskoselsky”, Pushkin, Magazeynaya st., 42)	January 25, 2019 16.00
3.26. Festive concert dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (GBU DO TsDYUTT "Okhta", Metallistov Ave., 18, building 2)	January 25, 2019 17.00
3.27. Festive concert dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (St. Petersburg State Budgetary Institution CC "Cascade", Peterhof, Tsaritsynskaya str., 2)	January 25, 2019 17.00
3.28. Festive concert “Fireworks over Leningrad”, dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (Oktyabrsky Concert Hall, Ligovsky Ave., 6)	January 25, 2019 18.00
3.29. Thematic event dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (St. Petersburg State Budgetary Institution "Academic Theater of Comedy named after N.P. Akimov", Nevsky Prospect, 56)	January 25, 2019
3.30. Festive concerts dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade in the villages of Metallostroy, Pontonny, Petro-Slavyanka, Saperny (according to a separate plan)	January 25, 2019
3.31. Exhibition “Siege Bread”, dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (PMC “Jupiter”, Komendantsky pr., 51, building 1)	January 25-30, 2019
3.32. Memorial event with laying of flowers dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade, as part of the project “Living Bonfire of Glory” (Sosnovka Park)	January 26, 2019 10.00
3.33. Concert of the IV city festival of readers “I’m talking to you while shells whistle”, dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (St. Petersburg State Budgetary Institution “Club “Vyborg Side”, Smolyachkova St., 13)	January 26, 2019 15.00
3.34. Solemn funeral ceremony of laying wreaths and flowers at the Malaya Piskarevka Memorial Krasnaya Sloboda	January 27, 2019 11.00
3.35. A solemn funeral meeting at the City Cemetery dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (Kronstadt, Kronstadt highway)	January 27, 2019 12.00
3.36. Festive concert dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (St. Petersburg State Budgetary Institution “PKiO “Dubki”, Dubkovskoe Shosse, 42)	January 27, 2019 12.00
3.37. Festive concert dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (St. Petersburg State Budgetary Institution “Cultural Center “Troitsky”, Obukhovskaya Oborony Ave., 223)	January 27, 2019 15.00
3.38. Festive concert dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (St. Petersburg State Institution "CDC "Izhorsky", Kolpino, Sovetsky Boulevard, 29)	January 28, 2019 16.00
3.39. Festive concert dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (Oktyabrsky Concert Hall, Ligovsky Ave., 6)	January 28, 2019 16.00
3.40. Festive concert “Leningrad Symphony” dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (SPb GBKDU “Lomonosov City House of Culture”, Lomonosov, Dvortsovy Prospekt, 12/8)	January 29, 2019 16.00
3.41. Volleyball tournament for students, dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (College “PetroStroyService”, Sizova Ave., 17)	January 29, 2019
3.42. The solemn event “Meeting of Generations “Candle in Record”, dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (St. Petersburg State Budgetary Institution “Youth House “Record”, Lermontovsky Prospekt, 14)	January 30, 2019 15.00
Section 4. Events carried out by public organizations
4.1. Final of the Open literary and artistic competition of the project “THE ABC OF THE BLOCKADE”, dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (Historical Park “Russia – My History”, Baseinaya str., 32, building 1)	January 17, 2019 16.00
4.2. Organization of performances and concerts dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (according to a separate plan)	January 18-30, 2019
4.3. “Grateful Leningrad” action dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (House of Officers, Liteiny Ave., 20)	January 22, 2019 17.00
4.4. The solemn event “Memory Ribbon” dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad and the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist siege (Library “Museum of Books of the Siege City”, Yuri Gagarin Ave., 17)	January 25, 2019 15.00
4.5. Teleconference with veteran organizations of the cities of Perm, Kazan, Chelyabinsk, Yekaterinburg on the topic: “The feat of Leningrad is memorable and dear to us” (CDC “Krasnogvardeisky”, Shaumyan Ave., 22)	January 28, 2019

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On January 27 at 20:00 a reconstruction of the Leningrad fireworks display of 1944 will be held on the Champ de Mars, and then at 21:00 the first salvos will be fired at the walls of the Peter and Paul Fortress. According to tradition, the festive event for the Day of Complete Liberation from the Nazi Siege will end with fireworks: at 21:00 an artillery salute will thunder at the walls of the Peter and Paul Fortress, and the sky above the city will be painted with thousands of bright sparks.

A salute in honor of the 74th anniversary of the complete liberation of the hero city of Leningrad from the fascist blockade will be given by artillerymen of the Western Military District (WMD) on January 27 from four points in St. Petersburg, Colonel Igor Muginov, head of the press service of the Western Military District, told RIA Novosti on Wednesday.

According to him, more than 500 military personnel of the district, twelve 85-mm D-44 guns of the St. Petersburg Mikhailovsky Military Artillery Academy and 20 salute installations of the Moscow Guards Division of the Western Military District will be involved in the artillery salute.

Anniversary of the lifting of the siege of Leningrad in 2018: The siege of Leningrad, which began on September 8, 1941, lasted almost 900 days

After breaking the blockade on January 18, 1943, the siege of the city continued for another year. In January–February, Soviet troops carried out the Leningrad-Novgorod operation, as a result of which the enemy was thrown back more than 200 km from the city. On January 27, 1944, the blockade of Leningrad was completely lifted.

St. Petersburg State University will host a solemn celebration of the 74th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad by Soviet troops from the siege of its fascist German troops.

Program

13:00 Opening of an exhibition dedicated to the activities of the St. Petersburg State University search team “Ingria”

13:00–14:00 Registration of participants and distribution of gifts

14:00 Laying flowers at the Memorial

14:00 Gala concert

Anniversary of the lifting of the siege of Leningrad in 2018: 75 years ago, Soviet troops liberated Leningrad

The only route ─ the “Road of Life” along which food was delivered to the city was laid along the ice of Lake Ladoga. The blockade was broken on January 18, 1943, but Leningraders had to wait another whole year before it was completely lifted ─ January 27, 1944. During the years of the blockade, according to various sources, from 400 thousand to 1.5 million people died. At the Nuremberg trials, the number of 632 thousand people appeared. Only 3% of them died from bombing and shelling, the rest died of starvation.

The siege of Leningrad began on September 8, 1941. The city was surrounded by German, Finnish and Spanish troops, supported by volunteers from Europe, Italy and North Africa. Leningrad was not ready for a long siege - the city did not have sufficient supplies of food and fuel.

Lake Ladoga remained the only route of communication with Leningrad, but the capacity of this transport route, the famous “Road of Life,” was not enough to satisfy the needs of the city.

Due to frosty winters, water pipes froze and houses were left without water. There was a catastrophic shortage of fuel. There was no time to bury people - and the corpses lay right on the street.

At the very beginning of the blockade, the Badayevsky warehouses, where the city’s food supplies were stored, burned down. Residents of Leningrad, cut off from the rest of the world by German troops, could only count on a modest ration, consisting of practically nothing but bread, which was issued by ration cards. During the 872 days of the siege, more than a million people died, mostly from starvation.

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Today is 75 years since the breaking of the blockade of Leningrad and the establishment of land communications with the besieged city.
My congratulations to the people of Leningrad, the descendants of the soldiers of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts and the siege survivors on this date!
Happy memory to the Soviet soldiers who died in Leningrad and near Leningrad, as well as to the residents of the city who did not survive the blockade. And there are almost no people left who survived it - even those who were just born in those days are already 75...

Below are scans of the “breakthrough” issue of “Red Star” (19.1.1943), the main military newspaper of the USSR.
You can read and see how this event was broadcast to contemporaries.

2. Emergency message from the Sovinformburo from the front page of KZ (read out on the radio on the evening of January 18).

3. And the entire first page of the KZ on which it was printed. On the same day, the marshal rank was awarded to G.K. Zhukov.

4. Evening report from the Sovinformburo reflecting the event in the context of all front-line events.

5. First correspondence from the front.

Happy holiday, Leningraders!

Thursday, January 18, marks 75 years since the siege of Leningrad was broken. To mark the anniversary of this significant event, the “Breakthrough” panorama museum appeared in the city on the Neva. Among the first are Russian President Vladimir Putin, along with veterans and search engines. In purely military terms, breaking the blockade may be inferior to the Battle of Moscow, the Battles of Stalingrad and Kursk. However, this does not in any way detract from its colossal significance and greatness. In fact, it was not so much a military operation as a humanitarian operation, which made it possible to save hundreds of thousands of Leningraders who would hardly have been able to survive the second winter of the siege. It was an invaluable psychological and moral victory. The lifting of the blockade was perhaps a turning point, after which the majority of Soviet citizens no longer doubted the inevitable victory over the terrible enemy.

The concept of “blockade” has long become a household word. It has lost its military meaning, turning into a symbol of grief, horror and unimaginable suffering that befell the residents of the city on the Neva. At the same time becoming a monument to their courage and perseverance. The blockade lasted 872 days, it claimed the lives of more than a million Soviet people, with most of the deaths among the civilian population. There would have been even more casualties if on January 18, 1943, Soviet troops had not managed to break through the enemy’s defenses and break the encirclement.

Prologue. Luga border

In Hitler's Barbarossa plan, Leningrad figured as one of the main targets for a surprise first strike, and the capture of Moscow was only expected after the city on the Neva was taken. After this, it was planned to deploy the troops of Army Group North to the south and surround the capital. The North group was led by Wilhelm von Leeb, a hereditary career military man and veteran of the First World War. At first, everything went well for the aggressor and the Germans advanced at a speed of about thirty kilometers per day, but in the Luga area they were stopped. This is one of the not very well-known, but very important episodes of the Great Patriotic War, the prologue of the battle for Leningrad. A small feat, the first in a long list of achievements of the heroes of Leningrad and very characteristic of that time.

This line of defense began to be created back in June, literally in the first days of the war. The very fact of making such a decision was extremely courageous, because it allowed the enemy to penetrate deep into the country, when even even mentioning such a thing was dangerous to life - one could immediately end up in court for alarmist sentiments. However, the commander of the Leningrad district, General Markian Mikhailovich Popov, and his deputy, General Konstantin Pavlovich Pyadyshev, were not afraid, and already on June 23, the latter headed the work to create a defensive line Kingisepp - Luga - Lake Ilmen. It was built by Leningraders - ordinary residents, mostly women and teenagers. Men were conscripted into the army or worked in military factories.

In the most difficult conditions, the Leningraders managed to create a superbly fortified echelon line 175 km long, with a depth of 10–15 km, which included 94 km of anti-tank ditches, 160 km of scarps, 570 pillboxes and bunkers. On July 4, the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief agreed with the decision of the district leadership and approved it (actually retroactively), and a week later the district troops that had occupied the line already entered into battle with the advancing enemy. The Germans initially managed to penetrate the defensive line and create several bridgeheads, but the approaching reserve operational groups quickly stabilized the situation. The defense was led by General Pyadyshev, an officer of the imperial army who fought with the Germans back in the First World War, and he acted very successfully.

And then the inexplicable happened: in mid-July Pyadyshev was arrested on charges of anti-Soviet agitation. Allegedly, in the late 1930s, in letters to his wife, he spoke unflatteringly about repressions in the army. Despite the requests of several generals, Pyadyshev was convicted and sent to a camp, where he died a few years later. Naturally, he was subsequently acquitted and rehabilitated. But even without its creator, the well-functioning defense of the Luga line delayed the enemy’s advance for more than a month and made it possible to prepare defensive lines on the immediate approaches to Leningrad.

“Somewhere in the middle of August we still had to leave the Luga fortifications. There are about one hundred and a half hundred left of our regiment, maybe less. The fortifications were excellent. I don’t know when they managed to make them. The trenches are lined with boards in full profile. With machine gun nests. Dugouts with three or four rolls. These fortifications saved us many lives. Then it turned out that the one who built them, General Pyadyshev, was court-martialed and shot. By order of Stalin. Then several senior commanders were shot. All for nothing. To intimidate, or what?” - wrote Daniil Granin in the book “My Lieutenant”.

At the end of August, Vyacheslav Molotov, who left for Leningrad, received the following telegram from Stalin: “Don’t you think that someone is deliberately opening the way for the Germans in this important area? What kind of person is Popov? What exactly is Voroshilov doing and what is his assistance to Leningrad? I am writing about this because I am very alarmed by the inaction of the Leningrad command, which is incomprehensible to me.”

A few days later, Markian Popov was removed from command of the troops in the Leningrad region, and Marshal Voroshilov took his place. Stalin did not forgive the generals for their initiative.

Since the end of August, the defenders of the Luzhsky line, who did not have time to retreat to reserve positions (there was no order to retreat), fought surrounded, and not everyone managed to get through to Leningrad. Although some units, scattered and left without ammunition, resisted until September 15. But the lost units succeeded in the main thing - the Germans were unable to take Leningrad on the move and were forced to urgently change strategic plans. Plan Barbarossa began to come apart at the seams.

The city was defended by up to half a million soldiers of the Leningrad Front, who took prepared positions, and the entire Baltic Fleet with powerful naval guns. Not to mention the three million residents who were ready to come to the aid of the troops, and more than three hundred enterprises that produced up to 12% of the total industrial output of the USSR. And the tighter the Nazis tightened the ring around Leningrad, the fiercer the resistance became. The Wehrmacht command understood that an attempt to take the city, which had been turned into a fortress, would inevitably lead to huge losses, if it succeeded at all.

From the directive of the Chief of Staff of the German Navy No. 1601 dated September 22, 1941 “The Future of the City of St. Petersburg”: “2. The Fuhrer decided to wipe the city of Leningrad off the face of the earth. After the defeat of Soviet Russia, the continued existence of this largest populated area is of no interest... 4. It is planned to surround the city with a tight ring and, by shelling from artillery of all calibers and continuous bombing from the air, raze it to the ground. If, as a result of the situation created in the city, requests for surrender are made, they will be rejected, since the problems associated with the stay of the population in the city and its food supply cannot and should not be solved by us. In this war being waged for the right to exist, we are not interested in preserving even part of the population.” .

And here is another order of the Fuhrer, No. S.123 dated October 7, 1941: “... not a single German soldier should enter these cities (Moscow and Leningrad). Whoever leaves the city against our lines must be driven back by fire.

Small unguarded passages that make it possible for the population to leave individually for evacuation to the interior of Russia should only be welcomed. The population must be forced to flee the city through artillery fire and aerial bombardment. The larger the population of cities fleeing deep into Russia, the greater the chaos the enemy will experience and the easier it will be for us to manage and use the occupied areas. All senior officers must be aware of this desire of the Fuhrer."

By the way, these documents make completely meaningless the recent discussion as to whether it was worth defending Leningrad at all or whether it was necessary to surrender it to the enemy to save the civilian population. Obviously, the Germans did not intend to take the city or help its inhabitants to any extent.

After the capture of Shlisselburg and the actual establishment of the blockade, von Leeb's troops switched to positional defense. The German command decided not to storm Leningrad, but, together with Finnish troops, to encircle it and wait for all the inhabitants of the besieged city to die of starvation. A significant part of the fascist troops, primarily the 4th Panzer Group of Erich Hepner, was transferred to Moscow in the second half of September.

The chief of staff of the Wehrmacht ground forces, General Franz Halder, wrote these days in his famous “War Diary”: “Given the need for troops on the Leningrad sector of the front, where the enemy has concentrated large human and material forces and means, the situation here will be tense until until our ally, hunger, makes itself felt.”

Cynical, but extremely clear.

The terrible word "blockade"

September 8: the fall of Shlisselburg and the beginning of the blockade. On the same day, there was a fire at the largest food warehouses in the city, Badaevsky. Whether it was a successful hit by a fascist shell, or whether it was set on fire, is not known for sure. There were many enemy collaborators in the city; the Germans actively used saboteurs. This is how Alexander Moiseevich Gorodnitsky, a native Leningrader, a remarkable scientist and poet, who saw everything with his own eyes, describes those terrible days:

The first weeks of the blockade,
Battles for Gatchina and Mga,
Badaevsky warehouses are burning
On the low Neva bank.

Flour burns, over the area
The smoke rises high
With a beautiful green flame
Granulated sugar is burning.

Boiling, the oil flares up,
The fountain is throwing up.
For three days it did not go out over the city
This fireworks display is sad.

And we vaguely guessed
Breathing hot air
What's in that fire every minute
Someone's soul is burning.

And they understood doomedly,
Inhaling the sweet aroma,
What's behind this black smoke?
And our souls will fly away.

And shells fell into the city,
The sun was setting over the bay,
And the burnt house collapsed nearby,
The boulevard opposite is blocked.

I need to forget this
Yes, just imagine, I can’t -
Badaevsky warehouses are burning
On the scorched shore.

The first winter was the worst. The city was not ready for the blockade, although how could one possibly prepare for such horror. It was impossible to prepare such a supply of food to feed three million people for several months, especially since the country was forced to provide for the entire front, and not just Leningrad. We can talk about some specific mistakes of the leadership, but quite objectively the situation was catastrophic. The city always lived on imported food; there were few warehouses. Even if it had been possible to prepare a little more in August, it would only have delayed the onset of famine for a short time, but it would still have come to the city.

bread grain and flour - for 35 days;

cereals and pasta - for 30 days;

meat and meat products - for 33 days;

fats - for 45 days.

The cards were introduced back in July. But it was obvious that even with the strictest savings, supplies could not be enough before the beginning of winter. But it had to be stretched out over many months. According to the recollections of many blockade survivors, by the end of autumn, animals had disappeared from the city - cats, dogs, pigeons, even mice and rats. At first, many did not notice what had happened and only over time realized that this was the terrible approach of famine.

The terrible everyday life of Leningrad has been described more than once, and it is no longer possible to add anything new to them. The pages of Tanya Savicheva's diary, which cannot be read without tears, the excited poems of Olga Berggolts, the feat of the employees of the Institute of Plant Growing, 29 of whom died of hunger, but did not touch the unique seed fund.

People died right on the streets, death gradually became an everyday occurrence. The first to die were refugees from the occupied suburbs - they were resettled in schools and cultural centers, but they were not entitled to cards. Here is the first encounter with death, described by blockade survivor Academician Dmitry Sergeevich Likhachev in his book “Memoirs”: “I remember - for some reason I was in a paid clinic on Bolshoy Prospekt on the Petrograd side. At the reception desk, several people who had been picked up on the street were lying on the floor. Hot water bottles were placed on their hands and feet. Meanwhile, they simply needed to be fed, but there was nothing to feed them. I asked: what will happen to them next? They answered me: “They will die.” - “But can’t we take them to the hospital?” - “There’s nothing to eat, and there’s nothing to feed them there anyway. They need to be fed a lot, as they are severely malnourished.” The orderlies dragged the corpses of the dead into the basement. I remember one was still very young. His face was black: the faces of the starving people became very dark. The nurse explained to me that it was necessary to drag the corpses down while they were still warm. When the corpse gets cold, lice crawl out. The city was infested with lice: the starving people had no time for “hygiene.”

But that was only the beginning. By the end of autumn, hunger and cold became the true masters of Leningrad. No laws or punishments could stop the distraught people.

“I once saw a terrible picture. At the corner of Bolshoi and Vvedenskaya there was a special school, military, for young people. The students there were starving, just like everywhere else. And they died. Finally, they decided to disband the school. And those who could - left. Some were led under the arms of their mothers and sisters, staggered, got tangled in the greatcoats that hung on them as if on hangers, fell, and were dragged. There was already snow, which, of course, no one had cleared, and it was terribly cold. And downstairs, under the special school, there was a “Gastronomy”. They gave out bread. The boys, especially those who suffered from hunger (teenagers need more food), rushed to the bread and immediately began to eat it. They didn’t try to run away: they just wanted to eat more before they took it away. They raised their collars in advance, expecting beatings, lay down on the bread and ate, ate, ate. And on the stairs of the houses other thieves were waiting and took food, cards, and passports from the weakened. It was especially difficult for the elderly. Those whose cards were taken away could not restore them. It was enough for those so weak not to eat for a day or two that they could not walk, and when their legs stopped working, the end came. Usually families did not die immediately. While there was at least one in the family who could go and buy bread, the rest who were lying down were still alive. But it was enough for this last one to stop walking or fall somewhere on the street, on the stairs (it was especially difficult for those who lived on high floors), and the end of the whole family would come,” wrote academician Likhachev in his “Memoirs.”

The blockade embittered people and forced them to fight for survival. It is not customary to talk about many episodes, although these are also pages of the terrible history of the siege. And this is not people’s fault, only trouble...

“The soft parts were cut off from the corpses lying on the streets. Cannibalism has begun! First, the corpses were stripped, then cut to the bones; there was almost no meat on them; the circumcised and naked corpses were terrible. Cannibalism cannot be condemned indiscriminately. For the most part it was not conscious. The one who circumcised the corpse rarely ate the meat himself. He either sold this meat, deceiving the buyer, or fed it to his loved ones in order to save their lives. After all, the most important thing in eating is protein. There was nowhere to get these proteins. When a child dies and you know that only meat can save him, you cut him off from the corpse...” wrote Likhachev.

By the end of winter, the situation became completely dire, with approximately one hundred thousand people dying in January, February and March. The road of life on the ice of Ladoga could not provide for the city. People lived with the hope of holding out until spring and warmth.

“The corpses of those who died from exhaustion almost did not deteriorate: they were so dry that they could lie for a long time. The families of the dead did not bury their own: they received cards for them. There was no fear of the corpses, there was no mourning for relatives - there were no tears either. The doors in the apartments were not locked: ice accumulated on the roads, as well as along the entire staircase (after all, water was carried in buckets, the water splashed, exhausted people often spilled it, and the water immediately froze). The cold was spreading through the apartments. This is how the folklorist Kaletsky died. He lived somewhere near Kirovsky Prospekt. When they came to him, the door to his apartment was half open. It was clear that the last residents tried to chip away the ice to close it, but were unable to do so. In cold rooms, under blankets, fur coats, and carpets, corpses lay: dry, not decomposed. When did these people die? - recalled Academician Likhachev.

The city was dying, but painfully clung to life. Enterprises were working, tanks went straight from the Kirov and Putilov factories to the front line, people even managed to hold concerts. In March 1942, at the most critical moment, the premiere of Dmitry Shostakovich’s 7th “Leningrad” Symphony, which he began writing in the besieged city and completed in evacuation, took place at the Kuibyshev Opera and Ballet Theater. Football matches took place in May. It is clear that these were “demonstration” events and the participants were specially prepared (simply, fattened) for them, but this does not reduce their psychological importance. People did not survive by bread alone.

Operation Spark

Back in the fall, everyone was waiting for “Kulik, who must save the city.” They talked about this in the bread lines. We were talking about Marshal Grigory Kulik, who was tasked in the fall of 1941, at the head of the specially created 54th Army, to break the blockade ring. But due to uncoordinated actions and general unpreparedness for the offensive, the Sinyavinsk operation failed. Then there was the equally unsuccessful 2nd Sinyavinskaya, and already in 1942 - the Lyuban operation, which ended with the encirclement and almost complete destruction of Vlasov’s 2nd Shock Army.

The Germans seriously strengthened their lines, they managed to bring up reserves, and also had complete air supremacy. Our troops did not have enough penetrating power; they did not have time to gather their forces into a fist before they were already thrown into the offensive. It is clear that the haste was caused by the desire to alleviate the situation of the dying city, but it only led to unjustified heavy losses.

The more significant and significant the January success of 1943 became. At this time, the main actions flared up near Stalingrad, but Headquarters managed to concentrate enough forces for a breakthrough, and most importantly, clearly plan the operation, starting it simultaneously from inside the ring and outside. For this purpose, Marshal Georgy Zhukov was appointed as a special representative of the Headquarters for coordinating the actions of the two fronts. In fact, he led the operation together with the front commanders, Generals Kirill Meretskov and Leonid Govorov.

On January 12, after two hours of preparation, the 2nd Shock Army of General Vladimir Romanovsky (from the Volkhov Front) and the 67th Army of General Mikhail Dukhanov (Leningrad Front) moved towards each other. On the first day, the distance between them was reduced by only two kilometers, on the second by several more kilometers. The Germans, who had a deeply layered defense, desperately resisted and counterattacked the advancing troops on the flank. But it was impossible to stop the impulse of our fighters. On January 18, the troops of the two fronts met, and Shlisselburg was taken on the same day. A corridor about ten kilometers wide, cut along the shore of Ladoga, restored the land connection between Leningrad and the country. In the shortest possible time, a railway track and a highway were laid along the shore, along which the necessary supplies, primarily food, were sent to the city. These paths went down in history as the Roads of Victory, as if in contrast with the blockade of the ice Road of Life.

The lifting of the blockade saved Leningrad. Even though the city was still surrounded by the enemy for a whole year, it was no longer dying, but was breathing deeply. The city survived, and that was the most important thing. In conditions when the enemy made the destruction of the entire population of Leningrad his main goal, simple survival became the main task and personal contribution of each resident in the fight for his city. The blockade boy Alexander Gorodnitsky wrote about this:

The wind is angry and the sky is lower
On the border of two eras.
All the valor is that he survived,
That I didn’t die of hunger.

That I didn’t lie down with others next to me
In stacks of frozen bodies,
What a shell fragment
It whistled past my ear.

My military experience is pathetic
In that gloomy winter -
I didn't put out the lighters,
I wasn't on duty.

I often remember
Black and white cinema,
Where am I looking, eight years old?
In a darkened window.

The howl of a shell is closer, closer,
It's a long way from the shelters.
All the valor lies in the fact that he survived.
It wasn't easy to survive.