"January Thunder" , Krasnoselsko-Ropsha operation , or Operation " Neva-2 " (January 14-30, 1944) - an offensive operation of the troops of the Leningrad Front as part of the strategic Leningrad-Novgorod operation against the 18th German army, which was besieging Leningrad.

As a result of the operation, the troops of the Leningrad Front destroyed the Peterhof-Strelna enemy grouping, threw the enemy back at a distance of 60 - 100 km from the city, liberated Krasnoe Selo, Ropsha, Krasnogvardeisk, Pushkin, Slutsk and, in cooperation with the troops of the Volkhov Front, completely liberated Leningrad from the enemy blockade ...

After the victory at the Kursk Bulge, the Headquarters developed an ambitious plan for the 1944 campaign. It envisaged an offensive along the entire front zone: from the Black to the Barents Seas. This plan was later called 10 Stalinist strikes. And the first of them was applied near Leningrad. The Germans were expecting an offensive where many times attacks were drowning in blood: in the area of ​​Mga, Pulkovo, Kolpino. Meanwhile, Govorov and Meretskov offered the Stavka the Neva-2 operation, according to which the main blow was delivered from the Oranienbaum patch. The headquarters on October 12, 1943, approved this plan, setting an approximate date for the offensive at the beginning of January 1944.

From November 5, 1943, 211 tanks, 700 cannons and 50 thousand soldiers and officers were secretly transported across the Gulf of Finland through Kronstadt from Leningrad to the Oranienbaum bridgehead. The 2nd Shock and 42nd Armies were to break through the German defenses on the eastern flank of the Oranienbaum bridgehead and southwest of Pulkovo, unite in Ropsha, encircle and destroy the German troops in the area of ​​Krasnoe Selo, Ropsha and Strelna.

The main blow of the Neva-2 operation was planned to be carried out by the forces of the 2nd Shock Army. Then, from the Pulkovo Heights, the 42nd Army was to deliver a counter strike. At the same time, the Volkhov Front went over to the offensive in the direction of Novgorod. The operation took a long time to prepare, it was possible to create a powerful strike group. Our troops outnumbered the Germans in manpower by 3 times, by the number of artillery pieces by 4 times, and by the number of tanks and self-propelled guns by 6 times.

The general concept of the offensive operation of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts was to deliver simultaneous strikes on the flanks of the 18th German army in the Peterhof-Strelna area (Krasnosel'sko-Ropsha operation) and in the Novgorod area (Novgorod-Luga operation). Then it was planned, advancing on the Kingisepp and Luga directions, to surround the main forces of the 18th Army and develop an offensive on Narva, Pskov and Idritsa. The main goal of the upcoming offensive was the complete liberation of Leningrad from the blockade. In addition, it was planned to liberate the Leningrad region from the German occupation and create the prerequisites for a further successful offensive into the Baltic States.

According to the final plan of the operation, the troops of the Leningrad Front went over to the offensive with the forces of the 2nd Shock Army from the Oranienbaum bridgehead and with the forces of the 42nd Army from the region south-west of Leningrad. Having united in the Krasnoe Selo - Ropsha region, the troops of the 2nd shock and 42nd armies were to destroy the Peterhof-Strelnenskaya grouping of the enemy, and then continue the offensive in the southwestern direction to Kingisepp and in the southern direction to Krasnogvardeysk, and then to Luga.

A few days after the start of the operation, the 67th Army was supposed to join the offensive. The troops of the army were tasked with liberating Moscow State University, Ulyanovka, Tosno and, in cooperation with the troops of the Volkhov Front, completely restore control over the Kirov and October railways. In the future, units of the 67th Army were to develop an offensive against Pushkin and Krasnogvardeisk. Simultaneously with the troops of the Leningrad Front, the troops of the Volkhov Front went on the offensive, which, after the defeat of the Novgorod enemy grouping, were to rapidly develop the offensive on Luga. Having united in the Luga area, the troops of the Leningrad and Volkho fronts were to surround the main forces of the 18th German army.

By the end of January 1944, the troops of the Leningrad Front, in cooperation with the troops of the Volkhov Front, inflicted a heavy defeat on the 18th German Army, advanced 70-100 kilometers, liberated a number of settlements (including Krasnoe Selo, Ropsha, Krasnogvardeysk, Pushkin, Slutsk ) and created the prerequisites for a further offensive. Although the Leningrad-Novgorod operation continued, the main task of the entire strategic offensive was completed - Leningrad was completely liberated from the blockade.

January 21 L.A. Govorov and A.A. Zhdanov, not doubting the success of the further offensive, turned to I.V. Stalin with a request, in connection with the complete liberation of Leningrad from the blockade and from enemy artillery shelling, to be allowed to issue and publish on this occasion an order to the front troops and, in honor of the victory won, fireworks in Leningrad on January 27 with twenty-four artillery salvos from 324 guns.

Despite the fact that Soviet troops only fully restored control over the October railway by January 29, on January 27 an order from the Military Council of the Leningrad Front was read on the radio, which spoke of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the blockade. In the evening, almost the entire population of the city took to the streets and gleefully watched the artillery fireworks, which was fired in honor of this historic event.

Leningrad was completely liberated from the enemy blockade. On January 27, 1944, from the cannon fire of hundreds of guns in the city, glass flew out of the surviving windows, and some people fell in horror on the snow. Others rushed to them and shouted: Get up, do not be afraid, this is a salute! This is victory! For the first time in the history of the Great Patriotic War, Stalin allowed a victory salute outside of Moscow. By 1944, the Red Army, at the cost of huge losses, had acquired a cohesion and combat experience that were not inferior to the Wehrmacht. The soldiers of the German Army Group North retreated to Pskov as quickly as our troops retreated in 1941. But the rapid advance of our troops was stopped. Along the Great River, the Wehrmacht troops prepared a powerful Panther line of defense. It took almost two years to build it. But the rapid advance of our troops was stopped. Along the Great River, the Wehrmacht troops prepared a powerful Panther line of defense. It took almost two years to build it. The Germans called this line the gateway to the Baltic States, which must be closed tightly.

The main blow of operation Neva-2

According to the plans of the command, the Soviet troops failed to seize Narva and Pskov by February 15th. The offensive began with an unprecedented artillery barrage. The 2nd Shock Army attacked in the direction of Ropsha. The next day, the 42nd Army attacked from Pulkovo Heights, in the center of which the 30th Guards Corps of General Simonyak was advancing. After the operation Iskra Simonyak received the nickname Breakthrough General. On the very first day, his corps crashed into the German defenses for 5 kilometers. The commander of the 18th Army, Lindemann realized that his troops were under the threat of encirclement and now begged Kühler to allow him to withdraw as soon as possible. Kühler, after waiting a day, gave the order to retreat. On the night of January 18, Simonyak's corps stormed the strongest defense center, Voronya Gora. Already at dawn, a red flag was raised over the mountain. On the morning of January 20, units of the 2nd Shock Army and the 42nd Army met in the Ropsha region. The Peterhof-Strelna grouping of the Germans was destroyed.

If this outstanding commander of the Red Army had no other glorious military deeds, except for the heroic defense of Leningrad, then grateful descendants would have kept his name forever

Marshal of the Soviet Union I.Kh.Bagramyan

Breakthrough and complete lifting of the blockade

Since 1941, the troops of the Leningrad Front fought under conditions of a complete blockade of the city and had no experience of breaking through heavily fortified defensive zones. They should have been taught this in a very short time. In the fall of 1942, the units began to actively prepare for the operation to break the blockade, which received the code name "Iskra".

L.A.'s working day Govorov at this time rarely ended before 4 o'clock in the morning. Working in his office in Smolny, he thoroughly calculated the forthcoming operation step by step. And already in the morning, the commander could be seen at the headquarters exercises with division commanders, at the training of infantrymen, sappers, tankers, at firing.

To the wife's question, what will happen if the operation fails. Govorov replied with all directness: "Then at least head into the hole ...". He understood what responsibility lay with him and that he had no right to make a mistake.

Commander L.A. Govorov and member of the military council
Leningrad Front A.A. Zhdanov. Smolny. Winter 1942-1943

In conditions of an acute shortage of manpower and resources, L.A. Govorov took a conscious risk - alternately withdrawing subunits and units from the front line to the second echelon in order to conduct offensive training. G Ovorov trained his troops as Suvorov once trained his army before the assault on the Turkish fortress of Izmail. Soviet soldiers dubbed the enemy bank of the Neva "Nevsky Izmail". Indeed, 6 meters high, it was doused with water by the Germans, which made it impregnable for the infantry. Above, there are wire fences, several defensive lines and well-armed, well-fed elite Wehrmacht units. In addition, preliminary, our soldiers had to overcome under continuous fire as much as 800 m on the ice of the river, which was a serious obstacle for people weakened by hunger and sick with dystrophy. And the tanks in this case turned out to be simply useless.

It was possible to count only on artillery, aviation and the morale of our infantry.

And now the long-awaited day has come. On January 12, 1943, a flurry of Soviet artillery fire fell on the defensive positions of the Nazi troops and for almost two hours grind the enemy's front lines of defense. After that, Soviet aviation began to “iron out” the enemy's positions. The enemy was taken by surprise.

To save energy, the soldiers were ordered "Hurray!" not to shout, but to raise morale Govorov summoned a military band to the battlefield. And now, to the sounds of the "Internationale", the infantry rushed into the attack. Thanks to grueling training, the soldiers overcame 800 meters on the ice with minimal losses. To then overcome the ice wall drenched with water, hooks, "cats" and assault ladders prepared in advance were used. And the enemy wavered. The Nazis could not expect such a powerful, well-prepared attack by our troops, who broke into their defenses from the inside.

The Leningrad warriors drove the Nazis away from the walls of their native city. And at the same time, the troops of the Volkhov Front, under the command of General of the Army Meretskov, rushed towards them, which were supposed to crush the enemy outside the blockade ring.

On January 15, 1943, in the midst of Operation Iskra, Leonid Aleksandrovich was awarded the rank of Colonel-General - by the way, his first combined-arms rank.

And on January 18, 1943, the troops of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts, defeating the enemy, united. The 16-month blockade of the long-suffering Leningrad was broken. Colonel-General L.A. Govorov was awarded a commander Order of Suvorov 1st degree.

But even after successful operations, Govorov always carefully analyzed their results and losses incurred. After breaking the blockade of Leningrad, in his order of 15.02.43, he noted: “Anyone who allows unjustified losses and thereby deprives his part of his combat capability, without completing the assigned task, commits a crime. not provided with fire ... "

L.A. Govorov presents the Guards Banner to the commander
63rd Guards Rifle Division to Major General Semonyak
for the difference in breaking the blockade of Leningrad. 1943 g.

Throughout the winter and summer of 1943, the troops of the Leningrad Front, together with the Volkhov Front, chained down the opposing Army Group "North" in battles. They did not allow the German command to close the blockade back and transfer the divisions thus freed up near Kursk, where the greatest battle was unfolding, which predetermined a fundamental change in the course of the entire war. There was also the merit of the Leningrad soldiers.

In besieged Leningrad, L.A. Govorov also managed to write articles in which he analyzed the course of hostilities. The following works belong to his pen: "The battles for Leningrad", "In the defense of the city of Lenin", "One and a half years of battles for Leningrad", "The Great Battle of Leningrad", etc.

By September 1943 L.A. Govorov presents to the Headquarters a plan for a new operation, now for the complete lifting of the blockade of Leningrad. After its approval, the troops began preparations for the upcoming offensive. And again L.A. Govorov and the front command carefully calculate the future operation, paying attention to the smallest details.

On November 17, 1943, in the midst of preparations for the operation to completely lift the blockade of Leningrad, L.A. Govorov was awarded the military rank of "General of the Army".

The operation, called the Leningrad-Novgorod Strategic Operation, began on January 14, 1944 after a powerful artillery barrage.

The formations of the 2nd Shock Army, operating from the Oranienbaum bridgehead, and the 42nd Army, advancing from the Pulkovo Heights, struck in converging directions. In the course of intense battles, Soviet formations successfully broke through a strong, deeply echeloned enemy defense and defeated his Peterhof-Strelna grouping. By January 27, Hitler's troops were driven back 65-100 km from the city. Thus, the blockade of Leningrad was completely lifted!

For the first time in world history, a city completely blocked by the enemy liberated itself!

On January 27, 1944, the capital ceded the right to Leningrad to fire a salute in commemoration of the final lifting of the blockade, and the order to the victorious troops was signed, contrary to the established order, not by Stalin, but on his behalf - by Govorov. None of the commanders of the Great Patriotic War received such a privilege!

Developing the offensive, the troops of the Leningrad Front under the command of General of the Army L.A. Govorov, advanced 100-120 km and reached the Narva River, capturing a bridgehead on its western bank. By March 1, 1944, the troops of the Leningrad Front advanced westward to 220-280 km. The fascist army group "North" was severely defeated. Was destroyed 3 and defeated 23 enemy divisions, almost completely liberated the Leningrad region and part of the Kalinin region, created the preconditions for the subsequent liberation of Estonia. Germany's credibility in the eyes of Finland and other Scandinavian countries was seriously undermined.

For the success in the operation to completely lift the blockade of Leningrad L.A. Govorov was awarded the second Order of Suvorov I degree.

From the first days of the Great Patriotic War, Leningrad found itself between two fires. From the south-west, across the Baltic, the German army group "North" (commanded by Field Marshal V. Leeb) rushed to the city. From the north and north-west, the Finnish army (commander Marshal K. Mannerheim) aimed at the city together with the German troops.

On September 8, 1941, Leningrad was in a blockade that lasted 900 days and nights. Hunger became the most difficult test for its inhabitants. From November 20, 1941, the lowest norms for the distribution of bread by cards were established: to workers and engineers and technicians - 250 g, employees, dependents and children - 125 g. 500 g, all other military units - 300. Mass death of the population began. Physical overstrain, cold, lack of electricity and heating, water, sewage and other basic living conditions further reduced people's ability to resist starvation. In December, 53 thousand people died, in January 1942 - more than 100 thousand, in February - more than 100 thousand, in March - more than 95 thousand people. The surviving pages of the diary of little Tanya Savicheva do not leave anyone indifferent:

“My grandmother died on January 25. ... “Uncle Alyosha on May 10 ... Mom on May 13 at 7.30 am ... Everyone died. There is only Tanya left. "

In total, up to 1 million people died in Leningrad during the blockade. Grief came to every family. Before the eyes of mothers and fathers, their sons and daughters died, children were left without parents. Hundreds of thousands of besieged people were saved by the "Road of Life" - a route laid across the ice of Lake Ladoga, along which food and ammunition was delivered to the city from November 21, and civilians, mainly women and children, were evacuated on the way back. Along the "Road of Life" - until March 1943 - 1615 thousand tons of various cargoes were delivered to the city on ice (and in summer on various ships). At the same time, 1,376 thousand Leningraders and many thousands of wounded soldiers were evacuated from the city on the Neva. During the period of the blockade, 1,750,000 people were evacuated from the city - the only case in history of the evacuation of such a huge number of residents from the besieged city. A pipeline was laid to transport oil products along the bottom of Lake Ladoga.

For all the mistakes, miscalculations, voluntaristic decisions, the Soviet command took maximum measures to supply Leningrad and break through its blockade as soon as possible. Four attempts were made to break the enemy ring. The first - in September 1941, on the third day after Hitler's troops cut off land communications with the city; the second - in October 1941, despite the critical situation that developed on the outskirts of Moscow; the third - in January 1942, during a general counteroffensive, which only partially achieved its goals; the fourth - in August-September 1942. And only in January 1943, when the main forces of the Wehrmacht were pulled together to Stalingrad, the blockade was partially broken (Operation Iskra). On a narrow strip of the southern shore of Lake Ladoga, 8-11 km wide, it was possible to restore land communication with the country. Over the next 17 days, a railway and a road were laid along this corridor. January 1943 was a turning point in the Battle of Leningrad.

The unprecedented self-sacrifice of ordinary Leningraders helped them not only to defend their beloved city. It showed the whole world where the limits of the possibilities of Nazi Germany and her allies are.

ORDER OF THE COMMANDER OF THE LENINGRAD FRONT OF THE 67th ARMY ON OPERATION ISKRA, January 11, 1943

For the seventeenth month, the fascist hordes have been standing at the gates of Leningrad, besieging our hometown ... Neither bombing, nor artillery shelling, nor hunger, nor cold, nor all those victims, torments and hardships to which the Nazi barbarians subjected and endure Leningrad, did not break the determination of the defenders Leningrad, the faithful sons of our Soviet motherland, who decided to defend Leningrad from enemies to the last breath. In a heroic struggle that has no examples in history, the troops of the Leningrad Front, together with the working people of Leningrad, responding blow for blow, defended Lenin's beloved city from the Nazi invaders and locked its gates with a strong castle, turning it into an impregnable defense fortress.

Strengthening the defenses of Leningrad, its defenders firmly believed that the desired hour of the liberation of Leningrad would come, that there would be a holiday on our street as well. Knowing this, day after day they accumulated their strength in order to go on a decisive offensive at a favorable moment, to join their forces to the country's forces going to the rescue of Leningrad, to break through the ring of the enemy blockade and to fulfill the historic task of uniting Leningrad with the whole country.

Comrades! This auspicious moment has now come.

In the battles for the city of Lenin, the troops of the Leningrad Front strengthened, hardened and prepared themselves for offensive battles. Our gallant Red Army is dealing the enemy one crushing blow after another in the south and on the central front. The enemy's forces are undermined. The enemy rushes about in confusion, forced to disperse his forces between many fronts.

The long-awaited hour of the liberation of Leningrad has come, the hour of bloody reckoning with the German monsters, the hour of our merciless revenge on the enemy for all his atrocities.

You, gallant fighters, commanders and political workers of the 67th Army, have the great honor of liberating Leningrad from the enemy blockade. Rise up, warriors, to the battle for the liberation of Leningrad, to the merciless extermination of the hated barbarians of the invaders, to bloody retribution with the enemy for the sacrifices, torment and suffering of Leningraders, for our tortured brothers and sisters, wives and mothers, for the desecrated land, for the ruined and plundered cities and villages, for our friends and comrades who died in battles.

Comrades!

The combat mission assigned to you is not simple and easy. Victory never comes by itself; it must be won. The enemy is insidious and cruel, he will cling and resist with all his might. He knows that our victory at Leningrad will greatly bring closer the final defeat of Nazi Germany. The more decisive and bold the pressure should be, the stronger and more fierce our attacks should be!

Comrades! The troops of the Volkhov Front are advancing towards the troops of the Leningrad Front to solve a single combat mission. They, like the troops of our front, are armed with powerful equipment, they, like our troops, are inspired by the will to victory and the determination to liberate Leningrad from the blockade. Let us grip the enemy in a mighty grip on both sides, crush him by the joint efforts of both fronts. Honor and glory to that unit and subunit of the Leningrad Front, which will be the first to join the troops of the Volkhov Front!

I ORDER:

The troops of the 67th Army go on a decisive offensive, defeat the opposing enemy grouping and join the forces of the Volkhov Front, marching towards us in battles, and thereby break the siege of the city of Leningrad.

The Military Council of the Leningrad Front is firmly convinced that the troops of the 67th Army will fulfill their duty to the Motherland with honor and skill.

Dare in battle, align only with the front ones, show initiative, cunning, dexterity!

Death to the German scoundrels!

Glory to the brave and brave warriors who do not know fear in the fight! (...)

For Leningrad, for the Motherland, for! Forward!

Commander of the Leningrad Front, Lieutenant General of Artillery Govorov

Members of the Front Military Council Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU (b) Zhdanov, Major General Shtykov, Soloviev

Chief of Staff of the Leningrad Front Lieutenant General Gusev

The Great Patriotic War. Military-historical essays. Book 2. Fracture. M., 1998.

Yes, we will not hide: these days
We ate earth, glue, belts;
But after eating the soup from the belts
A stubborn master got up to the machine,
To sharpen the weapons of the parts necessary for the war.

Olga Berggolts "The Leningrad Poem".

Towards the 70th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945

May 9 is a special and sacred date in the history of Russia. 2015 will mark the 70th anniversary of the Great Victory over the Nazi invaders. All these years, the memory of the immortal feat of the people who defended the independence of the Motherland lives in the hearts of Russians. This year marks 71 years since the liberation of Leningrad from the Blockade.

In April 2013, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree "On the preparation and holding of the celebration of the 70th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945."

The decree was signed in order to coordinate the activities of federal executive bodies, executive bodies of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, local government bodies and public associations for the preparation and conduct of the celebration of the 70th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, and taking into account the world-historical significance of the victory over fascism in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.

It is impossible without tears and shudders to remember the events of the Great Patriotic War, which became a victorious, heroic and tragic page in the history of our people.

One of such events was the blockade of Leningrad, which lasted for 900 long days of death, hunger, cold, bombing, despair and courage of the inhabitants of the northern capital.

We devote a series of our articles to the sacred time in the history of Russia ...

Day of Military Glory of Russia - The day of lifting the blockade of the city of Leningrad (1944) is celebrated in accordance with Federal Law No. 32-FZ of 13 March 1995 "On the Days of Military Glory (Victory Days) of Russia".

The beginning of the blockade of Leningrad. Hitler's plans

The offensive of the fascist troops on Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), the capture of which the German command attached great strategic and political importance, began on July 10, 1941.

In August, heavy fighting was already on the outskirts of the city. On August 30, German troops cut the railways connecting Leningrad with the country. On September 8, the Nazis managed to blockade the city from land. According to Hitler's plan, Leningrad was to be wiped off the face of the earth. Having failed in attempts to break through the defenses of the Soviet troops inside the blockade ring, the Germans decided to starve the city out. According to all calculations of the German command, the population of Leningrad should have died of hunger and cold.

On September 8, the day the blockade began, the first massive bombardment of Leningrad took place. About 200 fires broke out, one of them destroyed the Badayevsky food warehouses.

The destruction of the civilian population of Leningrad by blockade was originally planned by the Nazis. Already on July 8, 1941, on the seventeenth day of the war, a very characteristic entry appeared in the diary of the chief of the German General Staff, General Franz Halder:

... The Fuehrer's decision is unshakable to raze Moscow and Leningrad to the ground in order to completely get rid of the population of these cities, which otherwise we will then be forced to feed during the winter. The task of destroying these cities must be carried out by aviation. You should not use tanks for this. It will be “a national disaster, which will deprive the centers not only of Bolshevism, but also of Muscovites (Russians) in general.

Hitler's plans were soon embodied in the official directives of the German command. On August 28, 1941, General Halder signed an order from the High Command of the Wehrmacht Ground Forces to Army Group North on the blockade of Leningrad:

... on the basis of the directives of the high command, I order:

1. Block the city of Leningrad with a ring as close as possible to the city itself, in order to save our forces. Do not put forward demands for surrender.

2. In order for the city, as the last center of the red resistance in the Baltic, to be destroyed as quickly as possible without great casualties on our part, it is forbidden to storm the city by infantry forces. After the defeat of the enemy's air defense and fighter aircraft, his defensive and vital abilities should be broken by destroying water stations, warehouses, power supplies and power plants. Military installations and the enemy's defensive ability must be suppressed by fires and artillery fire. Every attempt by the population to get out through the encirclement should be prevented, if necessary - with the use of weapons ...

As you can see, according to the directives of the German command, the blockade was directed precisely against the civilian population of Leningrad. Neither the city nor its inhabitants were needed by the Nazis. The rage of the Nazis towards Leningrad was appalling.

Poison nest Petersburg, from which poison is still bubbling into the Baltic Sea, must disappear from the face of the earth, - Hitler said in a conversation with the German ambassador in Paris on September 16, 1941. - The city is already blocked; now all that remains is to shell it with artillery and bomb until the water supply, energy centers and everything that is necessary for the life of the population are destroyed.

It was planned with the help of Army Group North to destroy Soviet troops in the Baltic, capture Leningrad, capture the most important land and sea routes and communications for supplying troops and an advantageous starting base for a strike in the rear of the Red Army troops defending Moscow. The German offensive against Leningrad began on July 10, 1941.

The situation after the attack on the city remained very tense. The enemy attacked with large forces along the Moscow-Leningrad highway and at the end of August captured Lyuban, Tosno, went to the Neva and blocked the railway communication with Leningrad. For about two weeks, fierce battles were fought in the Krasnogvardeysk area, where the German attacks were repulsed. However, having broken through the Mga station to Shlisselburg, Hitler's troops cut off the city from the land. The blockade of Leningrad began.

"The road of life" for besieged Leningrad

The city has about 2.5 million inhabitants. Constant bombing by enemy aircraft destroyed people, houses, architectural monuments, food warehouses. During the blockade, there was no area in Leningrad that could not be reached by an enemy shell. Areas and streets were identified where the risk of falling victim to enemy artillery was greatest. There were special warning signs with such, for example, the text: “Citizens! This side of the street is the most dangerous during shelling. ” Several of them have survived in the city today in memory of the blockade.

Communication with the city was maintained only by air and along Lake Ladoga. From the first days of the blockade, the Road of Life began its dangerous and heroic work - the pulse of the besieged Leningrad a... In summer - water, and in winter - an ice path connecting Leningrad with the "mainland" along Lake Ladoga. On September 12, 1941, the first barges with food came to the city along this route, and until late autumn, when storms made navigation impossible, barges traveled along the Road of Life.

At that time, there were almost 3 million civilians in the city and its environs (almost two-thirds of whom were women), including about half a million children, and food and fuel supplies remained for one and a half to two months.

The whole country helped besieged Leningrad in its heroic struggle. With incredible difficulties, food and fuel were delivered from the mainland to the besieged city across the frozen Ladoga Lake. The people very accurately called this road - "The Road of Life". The salvation of the inhabitants of Leningrad, the provision of the front with everything necessary depended on her. On November 22, 1941, the first trucks carrying flour went out on the still fragile ice.

In Leningrad, a rationing system of food supply was introduced: from November 20, 1941, workers received 250 grams of bread a day, and everyone else - 125 grams. But even in such conditions, the city worked. Protective anti-tank fortifications were built, tanks and weapons were being repaired at enterprises. From the end of autumn, famine began in the city, from which about 500 thousand people died in December 1941 alone.

Military road No. 101, as this route was called, made it possible to increase the bread ration and evacuate a large number of people. The Germans were constantly striving to break this thread connecting the blockade city with the country, but thanks to the courage and strength of the spirit of the Leningraders, the Road of Life lived on its own and gave life to the great city.

The significance of the Ladoga Route is enormous; it saved thousands of lives. Now on the shores of Lake Ladoga there is a museum "The Road of Life".

Life of besieged Leningrad

At the same time, the Leningraders tried with all their might to survive and not let their hometown die. Moreover, Leningrad helped the army by producing military products - the factories continued to work even in such conditions. Theaters and museums were rebuilding their activities. It was necessary to prove to the enemy, and, most importantly, to ourselves: the blockade of Leningrad will not kill the city, it continues to live!

One of the vivid examples of striking dedication and love for the Motherland, life, hometown is the story of the creation of one piece of music. During the blockade, D. Shostakovich's most famous symphony was written, which was later called "Leningrad". Rather, the composer began writing it in Leningrad, and finished it already in evacuation. When the score was ready, it was taken to the besieged city. By that time, a symphony orchestra had already resumed its activities in Leningrad. On the day of the concert, so that enemy raids could not disrupt it, our artillery did not allow a single fascist aircraft to approach the city! All the days of the siege, the Leningrad radio was working, which was for all Leningrad residents not only a life-giving source of information, but also simply a symbol of continuing life.

The blockade became a cruel test for all city services and departments that ensured the life of the huge city. Leningrad gave a unique experience of organizing life in conditions of hunger. Attention is drawn to the following fact: during the blockade, unlike many other cases of mass famine, there were no major epidemics, despite the fact that the hygiene in the city was, of course, much lower than the normal level due to the almost complete lack of running water. sewerage and heating. Of course, the harsh winter of 1941-1942 helped to prevent epidemics. At the same time, the researchers point to effective preventive measures taken by the authorities and the medical service.

The most severe famine during the blockade, as a result of which the inhabitants developed dystrophy. At the end of March 1942, an epidemic of cholera, typhoid fever, and typhus broke out, but due to the professionalism and high qualifications of doctors, the outbreak was minimized.

Children's contribution to the liberation of Leningrad from the blockade. Ensemble A.E. Obrant

There is no greater grief at all times than a suffering child. Blockade children are a special topic. Having matured early, not childishly serious and wise, they with all their strength, on a par with adults, brought victory closer. Children are heroes, each fate of which is a bitter echo of those terrible days.

Children's dance ensemble A.E. Obranta is a special piercing note of the besieged city. In the first winter of the siege of Leningrad, many children were evacuated, but despite this, for various reasons, many more children remained in the city. The Palace of Pioneers, located in the famous Anichkov Palace, passed to martial law with the beginning of the war. I must say that 3 years before the start of the war, the Song and Dance Ensemble was created on the basis of the Palace of Pioneers. At the end of the first blockade winter, the remaining teachers tried to find their pupils in the besieged city, and choreographer A.E. Obrant created a dance group from the children who remained in the city. It is terrible even to imagine and compare the terrible days of siege and pre-war dances! Nevertheless, the ensemble was born. At first, the guys had to recover from exhaustion, only then they were able to start rehearsals. However, in March 1942 the first performance of the band took place. The fighters, who had seen a lot, could not hold back their tears, looking at these courageous children. Remember, how long did the blockade of Leningrad last? So during this considerable time, the ensemble gave about 3000 concerts. Wherever the guys had to perform: often the concerts had to end in a bomb shelter, since several times during the evening the performances were interrupted by air raids, it happened that young dancers performed several kilometers from the front line, and in order not to attract the enemy with unnecessary noise, they danced without music, and the floors were covered with hay.

Strong in spirit, they supported and inspired our soldiers, the contribution of this collective to the liberation of the city can hardly be overestimated. Later, the guys were awarded medals "For the Defense of Leningrad".

Victims of the blockade of Leningrad

We will probably never have to know about the exact number of victims. According to historians, at the Nuremberg Tribunal there were 641,000 dead civilians. According to recent estimates, this number is at least 800 thousand, according to other sources in Leningrad during the blockade, up to a million people died.

Russian historians and eyewitnesses to the tragedy say that post-war statistics ranked only the indigenous inhabitants of Leningrad as dead. In fact, before the siege of the city, there were a lot of refugees in it. They didn't know what was really going on.

If you listen to the information of the Information Bureau of that time, they said that the Germans were advancing, and we were fighting back, then that we were suddenly going over to a successful counteroffensive. It was simply impossible to understand something. It was the refugees who were not registered, and therefore did not even have the right to bread cards, who became the first victims of the blockade of Leningrad. They starved to death, froze to death in the streets, their bodies were filled with anonymous graves at Piskarevskoye and other cemeteries in the city. The blockade and war are difficult and painful topics for both Russia and Germany.

The plans of the Nazi leadership did not leave the right to life to the inhabitants of Leningrad, just as they did not leave the right to life to the Jews.

The Nazis deliberately doomed hundreds of thousands of people to starvation both in the besieged Leningrad and in the Leningrad region they occupied. So the blockade and the Holocaust, no matter how many victims it may be, are really phenomena of the same order, undoubted crimes against humanity. This, by the way, has already been legally recorded: in 2008, the German government and the Commission on the Presentation of Jewish Material Claims against Germany (Claims Conference) came to an agreement according to which Jews who survived the blockade of Leningrad were equated with victims of the Holocaust and were entitled to one-time compensation. ...

Because of the actions of the Nazis, the city was actually turned into a gigantic ghetto dying out from starvation, the difference of which from the ghetto in the Nazi-occupied territories was that auxiliary police units did not break into it to carry out mass murders and the German security service did not carry out mass executions here. However, this does not change the criminal essence of the blockade of Leningrad.

Liberation of besieged Leningrad

As a result of the victories of the Soviet Armed Forces in the battles of Stalingrad and Kursk, near Smolensk, on the Left Bank Ukraine, in the Donbass and on the Dnieper at the end of 1943 - beginning of 1944, favorable conditions developed for conducting a major offensive operation near Leningrad and Novgorod.

By the beginning of 1944, the enemy had created a defense in depth with reinforced concrete and timber-earth structures, covered with minefields and barbed wire. The Soviet command organized an offensive by forces of the troops of the 2nd shock, 42nd and 67th armies of Leningrad, 59th, 8th and 54th armies of Volkhovsky, 1st shock and 22nd armies of the 2nd Baltic fronts and Red Banner Baltic Fleet. Long-range aviation, partisan detachments and brigades were also involved.

The purpose of the operation was to defeat the flank groupings of the 18th Army, and then, by actions in the Kingisepp and Luga directions, complete the defeat of its main forces and reach the line of the Luga River. In the future, acting on the Narva, Pskov and Idritsa directions, defeat the 16th Army, complete the liberation of the Leningrad Region and create conditions for the liberation of the Baltic.

On January 14, Soviet troops launched an offensive from the Primorsky bridgehead to Ropsha, and on January 15 from Leningrad to Krasnoe Selo. After stubborn battles on January 20, Soviet troops united in the Ropsha region and eliminated the encircled Peterhof-Strelna enemy grouping. At the same time, on January 14, Soviet troops launched an offensive in the Novgorod area, and on January 16, in the Lyuban direction, Novgorod was liberated on January 20.

In commemoration of the final lifting of the blockade, on January 27, 1944, a festive salute was given in Leningrad.

On January 27, 1944, Leningrad saluted with 24 volleys of 324 guns in honor of the complete elimination of the enemy blockade - the defeat of the Germans near Leningrad.

... And again the world hears with delight
Salute Russian roll.
Oh, it breathes deeply
liberated Leningrad!

... We remember autumn, forty-first,
The transparent air of those nights
When, like a whip, often, measuredly
The executioners' bombs whistled.

But we, humbling fear and crying,
They asserted, to the wild explosions in the ears:
- You lost the war, executioner,
Barely entered our land! ...

(O. Berggolts, 1944)

The armies of the Leningrad, Volkhov and 2nd Baltic fronts threw back German troops from the city, liberated almost the entire Leningrad region.

The blockade, in the iron ring of which Leningrad was suffocating for long 900 days and nights, came to an end. That day became one of the happiest in the life of hundreds of thousands of Leningraders; one of the happiest - and, at the same time, one of the most mournful - because everyone who survived this holiday during the blockade lost either relatives or friends. More than 600 thousand people died a terrible death of starvation in the city surrounded by German troops, several hundred thousand - in the region occupied by the Nazis.

Exactly one year later, on January 27, 1945, units of the 28th Rifle Corps of the 60th Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front liberated the Auschwitz concentration camp, a sinister Nazi death factory that killed a huge number of people. Soviet soldiers managed to save a few - seven and a half thousand emaciated, similar to living skeletons of people. All the rest - those who could walk - the Nazis managed to hijack. Many of the liberated prisoners of Auschwitz could not even smile; their strength was only enough to stand.

The coincidence of the day of lifting the blockade of Leningrad with the day of the liberation of Auschwitz is more than a mere coincidence. The blockade and the Holocaust, which Auschwitz has become a symbol of, are phenomena of the same order.

After the war, the words of the poetess Olga Bergholts were carved on the granite stele of the Piskarevsky memorial cemetery, where 470,000 Leningraders who died during the Leningrad blockade and in battles during the defense of the city rest:

Here are the Leningraders.
Here the townspeople are men, women, children.
Next to them are Red Army soldiers.

With all my life
They protected you, Leningrad,
Cradle of the revolution.

We cannot list their noble names here,
There are so many of them under the eternal protection of granite.
But know, who hears these stones:
Nobody is forgotten and nothing is forgotten.

The historical significance of the Leningrad battle

The Battle of Leningrad was of great political and strategic importance. In the battle for Leningrad, Soviet troops pulled back up to 15-20% of the enemy forces on the Eastern Front and the entire Finnish army, defeated up to 50 German divisions. Warriors and residents of the city showed examples of heroism and selfless devotion to the Motherland. Many units and formations that participated in the Leningrad battle were transformed into guards or became order-bearing ones. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers were awarded government awards, hundreds received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, five of them twice: A. Ye. Mazurenko, P. A. Pokryshev, V. I. Rakov, N. G. Stepanyan and N. V. Chelnokov.

The daily concern of the Central Committee of the Party, the Soviet government and the support of the entire country were inexhaustible sources of strength for the Leningraders to overcome the trials and hardships of the 900-day blockade.

On December 22, 1942, the Soviet government instituted a medal "For the Defense of Leningrad". On January 26, 1945, the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Soviet awarded Lenin the Order of Lenin, and on May 8, 1965, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War of 1941–45, awarded Leningrad the honorary title of Hero City.

On January 27, 2014, St. Petersburg celebrated the 70th anniversary of the lifting of the blockade of Leningrad. On both sides of Nevsky Prospekt, thousands of people lit candles in memory of those killed in this terrible time.

Leningrad blockade- a tragic and great page in Russian history that claimed more than 2 million lives. As long as the memory of these terrible days lives in the hearts of people, finds a response in talented works of art, is passed from hand to hand to descendants - this will not happen again! The blockade of Leningrad was briefly but succinctly described by Vera Inber, her lines are a hymn to the great city and at the same time a requiem for the departed.

Glory to you, great city,
Merged together the front and rear.
In unprecedented difficulties who
I survived. Fought. Won.

And I would like to end with the poems of the great Soviet poetess Olga Berggolts, who survived the blockade with her beloved city.

Enemies were breaking into our free city,
the stones of the city gates were crumbling.
But I went out to the International Avenue
armed working people.

He walked with an immortal
exclamation
in the chest:
- Let's die, but Red Peter
we will not hand over!

The Red Guards, remembering the past,
formed new detachments,
I collected bottles every house
and built a barricade of his own.

And for this - on long nights
the enemy tortured us with iron and fire.
- You will surrender, chicken out, - bombs to us

you will sink into the ground, you will fall on your face ...
Trembling, they will ask for captivity, as mercy,
not only people - the stones of Leningrad.

But we stood on high rooftops
with his head thrown to the sky,
did not leave our fragile towers,
squeezing the shovel with a numb hand.

... The day will come, and, rejoicing, in a hurry,
still sad without removing the ruins,
we will decorate our city this way,
like people never decorated.

And then on the slimmest building
facing the sunrise itself
we will put a marble statue
a simple air defense worker.

Let it stand, always embraced by the dawn,
as he stood, holding an unequal battle:
with his head thrown to the sky,
with the only weapon - a shovel.

Berggolts Olga (1941).

The victory of the Leningraders over the Blockade is indeed a miracle that showed the whole world the strength of the spirit of the Russian people.

If there are blockades in your family, be sure to congratulate them today. It is likely that after congratulations, you will hear an amazing story of a person who knew the hardships of that time ...

Every year on January 27, our country celebrates the Day of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the Nazi blockade (1944). This is the Day of Russian Military Glory, which was established in accordance with the Federal Law "On the Days of Military Glory (Victory Days) of Russia" dated March 13, 1995. On January 27, 1944, the heroic defense of the city on the Neva ended, which lasted for 872 days. German troops did not manage to enter the city, break the resistance and the spirit of its defenders.

The battle for Leningrad became one of the most important battles of the Second World War and the longest during the Great Patriotic War. She became a symbol of courage and dedication of the city's defenders. Neither terrible hunger, nor cold, nor constant artillery shelling and bombing could break the will of the defenders and residents of the besieged city. Despite the terrible hardships and trials that befell these people, the Leningraders survived and saved their city from the invaders. The unparalleled feat of the residents and defenders of the city has forever remained in the Russian symbol of courage, fortitude, greatness of spirit and love for our Motherland.

The stubborn defense of the defenders of Leningrad fettered the large forces of the German army, as well as practically all the forces of the Finnish army. This undoubtedly contributed to the victories of the Red Army in other sectors of the Soviet-German front. At the same time, even being in the blockade, the enterprises of Leningrad did not stop the production of military products, which were used not only in the defense of the city itself, but also exported to the "mainland", where it was also used against the invaders.

From the first days of the Great Patriotic War, Leningrad was one of the strategic directions according to the plans of the Hitlerite command. Leningrad was on the list of the most important objects of the Soviet Union that needed to be captured. The attack on the city was led by a separate army group "North". The tasks of the army group were the capture of the Baltic, ports and Soviet bases in the Baltic and Leningrad.

Already on July 10, 1941, German troops launched an offensive against Leningrad, the capture of which the Nazis attached great strategic and political importance. On July 12, the advance units of the Germans reached the Luga defensive line, where their advance was delayed by Soviet troops for several weeks. The heavy KV-1 and KV-2, which arrived at the front directly from the Kirov plant, actively entered the battle here. Hitler's troops failed to take the city on the move. Hitler was dissatisfied with the evolving situation, he personally made a trip to Army Group "North" in order to prepare a plan to capture the city by September 1941.

The Germans were able to resume the offensive on Leningrad only after the regrouping of troops on August 8, 1941 from the bridgehead captured at Bolshoy Sabsk. A few days later, the Luga defensive line was broken through. On August 15, German troops entered Novgorod, on August 20, they captured Chudovo. At the end of August, battles were already on the near approaches to the city. On August 30, the Germans captured the village and the Mga station, thereby cutting off the railway communication between Leningrad and the country. On September 8, Hitler's troops captured the city of Shlisselburg (Petrokrepost), taking control of the source of the Neva and completely blocking Leningrad from land. From that day on, the blockade of the city began, which lasted 872 days. On September 8, 1941, all rail, road and river communications were severed. Communication with the besieged city could only be maintained by air and the waters of Lake Ladoga.

On September 4, the city came under artillery fire for the first time, German batteries fired from the side of the occupied city of Tosno. On September 8, on the first day of the beginning of the blockade, the first massive German bombing raid was carried out on the city. About 200 fires broke out in the city, one of which destroyed the large Badayevsky food warehouses, which only worsened the situation of the defenders and the population of Leningrad. In September-October 1941, the German made several raids on the city a day. The purpose of the bombing was not only to interfere with the work of the city's enterprises, but also to sow panic among the population.

The conviction of the Soviet leadership and people that the enemy would not be able to capture Leningrad constrained the pace of the evacuation. More than 2.5 million civilians, including about 400 thousand children, turned out to be in the city blocked by German and Finnish troops. There were no food supplies to feed such a large number of people in the city. Therefore, almost immediately after the encirclement of the city, it was necessary to seriously save food, reducing food consumption rates and actively developing the use of various food surrogates. At various times, blockade bread consisted of 20-50% cellulose. Since the beginning of the introduction of the rationing system in the city, the norms for the distribution of food to the population of the city have been reduced many times. Already in October 1941, the inhabitants of Leningrad felt an obvious shortage of food, and in December a real famine began in the city.

The Germans were well aware of the plight of the defenders of the city, that women, children and the elderly were dying of hunger in Leningrad. But this was precisely their plan for the blockade. Unable to enter the city with battles, breaking the resistance of its defenders, they decided to starve the city and destroy it with intense artillery shelling and bombing. The Germans made their main bet on exhaustion, which was supposed to break the spirit of the Leningraders.

In November-December 1941, a worker in Leningrad could receive only 250 grams of bread a day, and employees, children and the elderly - only 125 grams of bread, the famous "one hundred and twenty-five grams of blockade with fire and blood in half" (line from the "Leningrad Poem" Olga Berggolts). When on December 25, the first increase in bread rations was made - by 100 grams to workers and by 75 grams to other categories of residents, emaciated, emaciated people experienced at least some kind of joy in this hell. This insignificant change in the norms for the distribution of bread breathed into Leningraders, albeit very weak, hope for the best.

It was the autumn and winter of 1941-1942 that were the most terrible time in the history of the siege of Leningrad. The early winter brought a lot of problems and turned out to be very cold. The heating system did not work in the city, there was no hot water to keep warm, the residents burned books, furniture, dismantled wooden buildings for firewood. Almost all city transport stopped. Thousands of people died of dystrophy and cold. In January 1942, 107,477 people died in the city, including 5,636 children under the age of one. Despite the terrible trials that fell to their lot, and in addition to hunger, Leningraders suffered from very severe frosts that winter (the average monthly temperature in January 1942 was 10 degrees below the average long-term values), they continued to work. Administrative institutions, clinics, kindergartens, printing houses, public libraries, theaters worked in the city, Leningrad scientists continued their work. The famous Kirovsky plant also worked, although the front line passed from it at a distance of only four kilometers. He did not stop his work for a single day during the blockade. 13-14 year olds also worked in the city, who stood at the machines to replace their fathers who had gone to the front.

In autumn, due to storms, shipping was seriously complicated on Ladoga, but tugboats with barges still made their way into the city bypassing the ice fields until December 1941. It was possible to deliver some volumes of food to the city by air. Hard ice on Lake Ladoga was not established for a long time. Only on November 22, cars began to move along a specially built ice road. This highway, which is important for the whole city, was named “The Road of Life”. In January 1942, the movement of cars along this road was constant, while the Germans fired and bombed the road, but they could not stop the movement. At the same time, in winter, the evacuation of the population from the city began along the "Road of Life". The first to leave Leningrad were women, children, the sick and the elderly. In total, about one million people were evacuated from the city.

As the American political philosopher Michael Walzer later noted: "More civilians died in besieged Leningrad than in the hells of Hamburg, Dresden, Tokyo, Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined." During the years of the blockade, according to various estimates, from 600 thousand to 1.5 million civilians died. The number of 632 thousand people appeared at the Nuremberg trials. Only 3% of them died from artillery shelling and bombing, 97% became victims of hunger. Most of the inhabitants of Leningrad who died during the blockade were buried at the Piskarevskoye Memorial Cemetery. The cemetery area is 26 hectares. In a long row of graves lie the victims of the blockade, in this cemetery alone, about 500 thousand Leningraders were buried.

The Soviet troops managed to break the blockade of Leningrad only in January 1943. This happened on January 18, when the troops of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts met south of Lake Ladoga, breaking through a corridor 8-11 kilometers wide. In just 18 days, a 36-kilometer railway was built along the lake shore. Trains again went along it to the besieged city. From February to December 1943, 3104 trains passed this road into the city. The corridor pierced by land improved the position of the defenders and residents of the besieged city, but there was still a year left before the complete lifting of the blockade.

By the beginning of 1944, German troops had created a defense in depth around the city with numerous timber-earth and reinforced concrete defenses, covered with barbed wire and minefields. In order to completely free the city on the Neva from the blockade, the Soviet command concentrated a large grouping of troops, organizing an offensive by the forces of the Leningrad, Volkhov, Baltic fronts, supported by the Red Banner Baltic Fleet, whose naval artillery and sailors seriously helped the defenders of the city throughout the blockade.

On January 14, 1944, the troops of the Leningrad, Volkhov and 2nd Baltic fronts launched the Leningrad-Novgorod strategic offensive operation, the main goal of which was to defeat the Army Group North, liberate the territory of the Leningrad region and completely lift the blockade from the city. Units of the 2nd Shock Army were the first to strike the enemy on the morning of January 14. On January 15, the 42nd Army went over to the offensive from the Pulkovo region. Overcoming the stubborn resistance of the Nazis - the 3rd SS Panzer Corps and the 50th Army Corps, the Red Army drove the enemy out of the occupied defensive lines and by January 20, near Ropsha, surrounded and destroyed the remnants of the Peterhof-Strelnenskaya group of Germans. They managed to capture about a thousand enemy soldiers and officers, more than 250 artillery pieces were captured.

By January 20, the troops of the Volkhov Front liberated Novgorod from the enemy and began to drive out German units from the Mgi area. The 2nd Baltic Front managed to capture the Nasva station and seized a section of the Novosokolniki-Dno road, which was the basis of the communications line of the 16th Wehrmacht army.

On January 21, the troops of the Leningrad Front launched an offensive, the main target of the strike was Krasnogvardeisk. On January 24-26, Soviet troops liberated Pushkin from the Nazis, recaptured the October railway. The liberation of Krasnogvardeysk on the morning of January 26, 1944 led to the collapse of the continuous line of defense of the Nazi troops. By the end of January, the troops of the Leningrad Front, in close cooperation with the troops of the Volkhov Front, inflicted a heavy defeat on the 18th Army of the Wehrmacht, advancing 70-100 kilometers forward. A number of important settlements were liberated, including Krasnoe Selo, Ropsha, Pushkin, Krasnogvardeysk, Slutsk. Good preconditions were created for further offensive operations. But the main thing was that the blockade of Leningrad was completely lifted.

As early as January 21, 1944, A.A. Zhdanov and L.A. Govorov, who no longer doubted the success of the further Soviet offensive, turned personally to Stalin with a request in connection with the complete liberation of the city from the blockade and from enemy shelling to be allowed to issue and publish an order troops of the front, as well as in honor of the victory won, fireworks in Leningrad on January 27 with 24 artillery volleys from 324 guns. On the evening of January 27, almost the entire population of the city took to the streets and watched with glee the artillery fireworks, which heralded a very important historical event in the history of our entire country.

The Motherland appreciated the feat of the defenders of Leningrad. More than 350 thousand soldiers and officers of the Leningrad Front were nominated for various orders and medals. 226 defenders of the city became Heroes of the Soviet Union. The medal "For the Defense of Leningrad" was awarded to about 1.5 million people. For steadfastness, courage and unprecedented heroism during the siege, the city was awarded the Order of Lenin on January 20, 1945, and on May 8, 1965, received the honorary title of "Hero City of Leningrad".

Based on materials from open sources