Green Belt of Glory and monuments in memory of the blockade. Attack on the “city of Lenin”

For several years Leningrad was surrounded by siege fascist invaders. People were left in the city without food, heat, electricity or running water. The days of the blockade are the most difficult test that the residents of our city withstood with courage and dignity..

The blockade lasted 872 days

On September 8, 1941, Leningrad was besieged. It was broken through on January 18, 1943. By the beginning of the blockade, Leningrad did not have sufficient supplies of food and fuel. The only way of communication with the city was Lake Ladoga. It was through Ladoga that the Road of Life ran - the highway along which food supplies were delivered to besieged Leningrad. It was difficult to transport the amount of food needed for the entire population of the city across the lake. During the first winter of the siege, hunger began in Gol, and problems with heating and transport appeared. In the winter of 1941, hundreds of thousands of Leningraders died. On January 27, 1944, 872 days after the start of the siege, Leningrad was completely liberated from the Nazis.

On January 27, St. Petersburg will congratulate Leningrad on the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the city from the fascist blockade. Photo: www.russianlook.com

630 thousand Leningraders died

During the blockade, over 630 thousand Leningraders died from hunger and deprivation. This figure was announced at Nuremberg trials. According to other statistics, the figure could reach 1.5 million people. Only 3% of deaths occurred due to fascist shelling and bombing, the remaining 97% died from starvation. Dead bodies lying on the streets of the city were perceived by passers-by as an everyday occurrence. Most of those who died during the siege are buried at the Piskarevskoye Memorial Cemetery.

During the years of the siege in Leningrad, hundreds of thousands of people died. Photo from 1942. Archive photo

Minimum ration - 125 grams of bread

The main problem of besieged Leningrad was hunger. Employees, dependents and children received only 125 grams of bread per day between November 20 and December 25. Workers were entitled to 250 grams of bread, and personnel of fire brigades, paramilitary guards and vocational schools - 300 grams. During the blockade, bread was prepared from a mixture of rye and oat flour, cake and unfiltered malt. The bread turned out to be almost black in color and bitter in taste.

The children of besieged Leningrad were dying of hunger. Photo from 1942. Archive photo

1.5 million evacuees

During three waves of the evacuation of Leningrad, a total of 1.5 million people were removed from the city - almost half of the city's total population. The evacuation began a week after the start of the war. Explanatory work was carried out among the population: many did not want to leave their homes. By October 1942, the evacuation was completed. In the first wave, about 400 thousand children were taken to the Leningrad region. 175 thousand were soon returned back to Leningrad. Starting from the second wave, evacuation was carried out along the Road of Life across Lake Ladoga.

Almost half of the population was evacuated from Leningrad. Photo from 1941. Archive photo

1500 loudspeakers

To alert Leningraders about enemy attacks on the city streets, 1,500 loudspeakers were installed. In addition, messages were broadcast through the city radio network. The alarm signal was the sound of a metronome: its fast rhythm meant the beginning of an air attack, and its slow rhythm meant a release. Radio broadcasting in besieged Leningrad was around the clock. The city had an ordinance prohibiting turning off radios in homes. Radio announcers talked about the situation in the city. When the radio broadcasts stopped, the sound of the metronome continued to be broadcast on the air. Its knock was called the living heartbeat of Leningrad.

More than 1.5 thousand loudspeakers appeared on the city streets. Photo from 1941. Archive photo

- 32.1 °C

The first winter in besieged Leningrad was harsh. The thermometer dropped to -32.1 °C. average temperature month it was - 18.7 °C. The city did not even record the usual winter thaws. In April 1942, the snow cover in the city reached 52 cm. The negative air temperature remained in Leningrad for more than six months, lasting until May inclusive. Heating was not supplied to the houses, sewerage and water supply were turned off. Work in factories and factories stopped. The main source of heat in houses was the potbelly stove. Everything that burned was burned in it, including books and furniture.

Winter in besieged Leningrad was very harsh. Archive photo

6 months siege

Even after the blockade was lifted, German and Finnish troops besieged Leningrad for six months. Vyborg and Svirsko-Petrozavodsk offensive operations Soviet troops, with the support of the Baltic Fleet, allowed the liberation of Vyborg and Petrozavodsk, finally pushing the enemy back from Leningrad. As a result of the operations, Soviet troops advanced 110-250 km in a western and southwestern direction, and the Leningrad region was liberated from enemy occupation.

The siege continued for another six months after the blockade was broken, but German troops did not penetrate into the city center. Photo: www.russianlook.com

150 thousand shells

During the siege, Leningrad was constantly subjected to artillery shelling, which was especially numerous in September and October 1941. Aviation carried out several raids a day - at the beginning and at the end of the working day. In total, during the siege, 150 thousand shells were fired at Leningrad and more than 107 thousand incendiary and high-explosive bombs were dropped. The shells destroyed 3 thousand buildings and damaged more than 7 thousand. About a thousand enterprises were put out of action. To protect against artillery shelling, Leningraders erected defensive structures. Residents of the city built more than 4 thousand pillboxes and bunkers, equipped 22 thousand firing points in buildings, and erected 35 kilometers of barricades and anti-tank obstacles on the streets.

The trains transporting people were constantly attacked by German aircraft. Photo from 1942. Archive photo

4 cars of cats

Domestic animals were brought to Leningrad from Yaroslavl in January 1943 to fight hordes of rodents that threatened to destroy food supplies. Four carriages of smoky cats arrived in the newly liberated city - it was smoky cats that were considered the best rat catchers. A long line immediately formed for the cats that were brought. The city was saved: the rats disappeared. Already in modern St. Petersburg, as a sign of gratitude to animal deliverers, monuments to the cat Elisha and the cat Vasilisa appeared on the eaves of houses on Malaya Sadovaya Street.

On Malaya Sadovaya there are monuments to cats who saved the city from rats. Photo: AiF / Yana Khvatova

300 declassified documents

The Archival Committee of St. Petersburg is preparing an electronic project “Leningrad under siege.” It involves placement on the portal “Archives of St. Petersburg” virtual exhibition archival documents on the history of Leningrad during the siege. On January 31, 2014, 300 scanned images will be published. high quality historical papers about the blockade. The documents will be combined into ten sections showing different aspects of life in besieged Leningrad. Each section will be accompanied by comments from experts.

Samples of food cards. 1942 TsGAIPD St. Petersburg. F. 4000. Op. 20. D. 53. Original Photo: TsGAIPD St. Petersburg

The most difficult and tragic period in the life of Leningrad during the Great Patriotic War lasted from September 8, 1941 to January 27, 1944. During the Battle of Leningrad 1941-44, Soviet troops steadfastly and heroically held back the enemy on the distant and then on the near approaches to Leningrad. On August 20, 1941, Nazi troops occupied the city of Chudovo, cutting off railway Leningrad - Moscow. By August 21, the enemy reached the Krasnogvardeisky fortified area in the south, on the same day Finnish troops captured the city of Kexgolm (now Priozersk) on the western shore of Lake Ladoga. On August 22, fighting began in the Oranienbaum direction. The Nazi troops did not manage to immediately break into Leningrad, but the front came close to the city in its southwestern part. With the enemy breakthrough on August 30, the last train was cut at the Mga station. d., connecting Leningrad with the country. On September 8, 1941, the enemy captured the city of Shlisselburg, and land communications with Leningrad completely ceased. The blockade of the city began, communication with the country was maintained only by air and across Lake Ladoga. By the end of September, the front on the southwestern and southern approaches to Leningrad had stabilized. It took place at the borders: the Gulf of Finland, Ligovo, the southern slopes of the Pulkovo Heights, the approaches to Kolpino, the bank of the Neva from Ivanovo to Shlisselburg. In the southwest, the front was located 6 km from the Kirov Plant, in the Dachnoye area. The front line of defense of the Soviet troops passed through the territory of modern Krasnoselsky district, Kirovsky district, and Moskovsky district. In the northwest and northeast, the front line stabilized in September 1941 on the line of the old Soviet-Finnish border.

In the blockaded city (with its suburbs), although the evacuation continued, 2 million 887 thousand civilians remained, including about 400 thousand children. Food and fuel supplies were extremely limited (for 1-2 months). On September 4, the enemy, trying to carry out plans for the destruction of Leningrad, began shelling Leningrad, and from September 8 - massive air raids. At the end of August, a commission of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks and the State Defense Committee arrived in the city and examined urgent issues of strengthening its defense, evacuation of enterprises and population, and supplies. On August 30, the GKO transferred to the Military Council of the Leningrad Front all functions related to organizing resistance to the enemy.

At the end of September 1941, the State Defense Committee allowed the Military Council of the Leningrad Front to independently determine the volume and nature of production of the main types of defense products in Leningrad. The City Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks began placing orders for factories, controlled their implementation, and since October directly supervised the work of the entire industry of Leningrad. The hard heroic work of Leningraders and the clear organization of industrial work made it possible to establish the production of defense products in the city. In the second half of 1941 (from the beginning of the war until December 14), Leningrad factories produced 318 aircraft, 713 tanks, 480 armored vehicles, 6 armored trains and 52 armored platforms, over 3 thousand artillery pieces, about 10 thousand mortars, over 3 million shells and mines , 84 ships of different classes were completed and 186 were converted.

Along the “Road of Life” across Lake Ladoga, the population and industrial equipment were evacuated, food, fuel, ammunition, weapons and manpower were delivered to the troops in Leningrad. The disruption of stable communications with the country and the cessation of the regular supply of fuel, raw materials and food had a catastrophic effect on the life of the city. In December 1941, Leningrad received almost 7 times less electricity than in July. Most factories stopped working, the movement of trolleybuses and trams, and the supply of electricity to residential buildings stopped. In January 1942 due to severe frosts The central heating, water supply and sewerage networks were out of order. Residents went to fetch water from the Neva, Fontanka, and other rivers and canals. IN residential buildings temporary stoves were installed. The dismantling of wooden buildings for fuel was organized.

In the fall of 1941, famine began in Leningrad, from which 53 thousand people died in December. During January - February 1942, about 200 thousand Leningraders died from hunger. Party and Soviet bodies took measures to alleviate the living conditions of Leningraders. The most weakened people were sent to hospitals, hospitals were created for patients with dystrophy, boilers were installed in homes, children were placed in orphanages and nurseries. Komsomol organizations created special Komsomol youth household detachments that provided assistance to thousands of sick, exhausted and weakened people from hunger.

In the winter of 1941–42, about 270 factories and factories were mothballed. Of the 68 leading enterprises in the defense, shipbuilding and machine-building industries in January 1942, only 18 were not operating at full capacity. Tanks and weapons were being repaired. In January - March, about 58 thousand shells and mines, over 82 thousand fuses, and over 160 thousand hand grenades were manufactured.

Leningraders selflessly overcame the consequences of the blockade winter. At the end of March - beginning of April 1942, they completed a huge job of sanitary cleaning of the city. In the spring of 1942, navigation began on Lake Ladoga. Water transportation became the main means of overcoming the consequences of the blockade winter and reviving the urban economy. In June, the Ladoga pipeline, laid along the bottom of Lake Ladoga to supply fuel to Leningrad, went into operation, then 2 months later the city received energy from the Volkhov hydroelectric station via an underwater cable.

The resolution of the Military Council of the Leningrad Front (July 5, 1942) “On necessary measures for the city of Leningrad” outlined the path for the development of Leningrad’s industry and municipal economy. Workers from mothballed factories, from light and local industry, public utilities, employees from the administrative apparatus were sent to the military industry, unemployed workers were mobilized social production population. Almost 75% of all workers were women. By the end of 1942 work industrial enterprises noticeably intensified. Since the fall, tanks, artillery pieces, mortars, machine guns, machine guns, shells, mines - about 100 types of defense products - have been produced. In December, residential buildings began to be connected to the electricity grid. The whole country provided assistance in reviving the economic life of Leningrad.

In January 1943, the blockade of Leningrad was broken by Soviet troops, and a railroad was built along the southern shore of Lake Ladoga. through Shlisselburg - “Victory Road”. Restoration of the railway connections with the country, improving the supply of Leningrad with fuel and electricity, and the population with food, made it possible to expand the work of the city industry more widely. In the spring, 15 leading factories received orders from the State Defense Committee, and 12 from the People's Commissariats. In July 1943, 212 enterprises of the Union and Republican subordination were already operating in Leningrad, producing over 400 types of defense products. By the end of 1943, about 620 thousand people remained in Leningrad, 80% of whom worked. Almost all residential and public buildings received electricity and were provided with water supply and sewerage.

As a result of the Krasnoselsko-Ropshinsky operation of 1944 in January - February, the blockade of Leningrad was completely lifted. In honor of the complete lifting of the blockade, fireworks were fired in Leningrad on January 27, 1944.

During the siege, the enemy caused enormous damage to Leningrad. In particular, 840 industrial buildings were put out of action, about 5 million m2 of living space were damaged (including 2.8 million m2 completely destroyed), 500 schools, and 170 medical institutions. As a result of the destruction and evacuation of enterprises in Leningrad, only 25% of the equipment that Leningrad industry had before the war remained. Enormous damage was caused to the most valuable historical and cultural monuments - the Hermitage, the Russian Museum, the Engineers' Castle, and the palace ensembles of the suburbs.

During the blockade in Leningrad, according to official data alone, 641 thousand residents died of hunger (according to historians - at least 800 thousand), about 17 thousand people died from bombing and shelling, and about 34 thousand were wounded.

POET'S VIEW

We know what's on the scales now

And what is happening now.

The hour of courage has struck on our watch,

And courage will not leave us.

It's not scary to lie dead under bullets,

It's not bitter to be homeless,

And we will save you, Russian speech,

Great Russian word.

We will carry you free and clean,

We will give it to our grandchildren and save us from captivity

BLOCKED DIARY

“The Savichevs are dead.” "Everyone died." “There’s only Tanya left.”

LENINGRAD SYMPHONY

On June 22, 1941, his life, like the lives of all people in our country, changed dramatically. The war began, previous plans were crossed out. Everyone began to work for the needs of the front. Shostakovich, along with everyone else, dug trenches and was on duty during air raids. He made arrangements for concert brigades sent to active units. Naturally, there were no pianos on the front lines, and he rearranged accompaniments for small ensembles and did other necessary work, as it seemed to him. But as always with this unique musician-publicist - as it has been since childhood, when music conveyed the momentary impressions of stormy revolutionary years,” a major symphonic plan began to mature, dedicated directly to what was happening. He began writing the Seventh Symphony. The first part was completed in the summer. He managed to show it to his closest friend I. Sollertinsky, who on August 22 was leaving for Novosibirsk with the Philharmonic, artistic director which was for many years. In September, already in blockaded Leningrad, the composer created the second part and showed it to his colleagues. Started working on the third part.

On October 1, by special order of the authorities, he, his wife and two children were flown to Moscow. From there, half a month later, he traveled further east by train. Initially it was planned to go to the Urals, but Shostakovich decided to stop in Kuibyshev (as Samara was called in those years). The Bolshoi Theater was based here, there were many acquaintances who initially took the composer and his family into their home, but very quickly the city leadership allocated him a room, and in early December - two-room apartment. A piano was placed in it, loaned to the local music school. It was possible to continue working.

Unlike the first three parts, which were created literally in one breath, work on the final progressed slowly. It was sad and anxious at heart. Mother and sister remained in besieged Leningrad, which experienced the most terrible, hungry and cold days. The pain for them did not leave for a minute...

The last part didn't work out for a long time. Shostakovich understood that in the symphony, dedicated to events war, everyone expected a solemn victorious apotheosis with a choir, a celebration of the coming victory. But there was no reason for this yet, and he wrote as his heart dictated. It is no coincidence that the opinion later spread that the finale was inferior in importance to the first part, that the forces of evil were embodied much stronger than the humanistic principle opposing them.

On December 27, 1941, the Seventh Symphony was completed. Of course, Shostakovich wanted it to be performed by his favorite orchestra - the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Mravinsky. But he was far away, in Novosibirsk, and the authorities insisted on an urgent premiere: the performance of the symphony, which the composer called Leningrad and dedicated to the feat of his native city, was given political significance. The premiere took place in Kuibyshev on March 5, 1942. The orchestra was playing Bolshoi Theater under the leadership of Samuil Samosud.

After the Kuibyshev premiere, the symphonies were held in Moscow and Novosibirsk (under the baton of Mravinsky), but the most remarkable, truly heroic one took place under the baton of Carl Eliasberg in besieged Leningrad. To perform a monumental symphony with a huge orchestra, musicians were recalled from military units. Before the start of rehearsals, some had to be admitted to the hospital - fed and treated, since all ordinary residents of the city had become dystrophic. On the day the symphony was performed - August 9, 1942 - all the artillery forces of the besieged city were sent to suppress enemy firing points: nothing should have interfered with the significant premiere.

And the white-columned hall of the Philharmonic was full. Pale, exhausted Leningraders filled it to hear music dedicated to them. The speakers carried it throughout the city.

The public around the world perceived the performance of the Seventh as an event of great importance. Soon, requests began to arrive from abroad to send the score. Between largest orchestras In the Western Hemisphere, competition flared up for the right to perform the symphony first. Shostakovich's choice fell on Toscanini. A plane carrying precious microfilms flew across a war-torn world, and on July 19, 1942, the Seventh Symphony was performed in New York. Her victorious march across the globe began.

If you don’t know how many days the siege of Leningrad lasted, then you will never understand the strength and courage of the people who suffered so that others could live in peace. The siege of Leningrad became one of the longest and most brutal sieges of the city that took place in the entire history of our world. It lasted exactly 871 days, and during this time the people who came under the siege experienced the most terrible time in their lives: hunger, death, illness, suffering...

Many years after that moment, historians have repeatedly asked the question: was it possible to avoid this and not sacrifice so many people? On the one hand, a lot of people died, and on the other, several hundred times more would have died if the Leningrad residents had not protected the rest with their bones, having taken upon themselves the duty to restrain Hitler’s army.

The beginning of the siege of Leningrad. People who were left with no choice

When did the siege of Leningrad begin? In August 1941, when the German army broke through to the southern shore of Lake Ladizh, and the Finnish-Korelian army reached the old border between the USSR and Finland. Land communications between Leningrad and the “mainland” were disrupted for more than two months. This would have been enough time to evacuate most of the population, or at least provide a sufficient supply of food to survive the siege. At the beginning of 1941, more than 2 million people lived in the city, and another 200 thousand in the suburbs.

Recently published documents show that the removal of the population to safe areas was carried out very slowly, and Stalin himself was negative about the idea of even partial evacuation big cities. About 43% of the population at that time were children and old people. Also at that time, the city was home to several hundred refugees from other cities and regions that had already suffered during the war. From declassified documents, people learned that before the start of the blockade, about 620 thousand people and 90 thousand refugees were taken out of Leningrad, and shortly before the railway communication was completely interrupted, wagons were no longer delivered to the city for evacuation, although on other days they were taken out more than 23 thousand people.

Resources for survival

The Soviet authorities did not expect that german army will reach the city so quickly and be able to cut off all routes for the export of grain, flour, meat, vegetable oil etc. By the beginning of the war, the city had enough flour for only 52 days, cereals for 89 days, vegetable oil for only 29 days, and meat for 38 days. Since shortly before this, rationed distribution of food using special cards was introduced, in less than a month from the beginning of the war, consumption of basic products decreased several times. In total, the worker received 2.2 kg of meat, 2 kg of cereals, 800 g of fat, 1 kg of fish and 1.5 kg of sugar and other confectionery products per month. Employees received 1.5 kg of various cereals, 1.2 kg of meat, 800 g of fish, 400 g of fat and only 1.2 kg of sugar. This was half the pre-war consumption, and it was incredibly difficult to live with such a reserve for a month. But, nevertheless, it was not possible to save significantly, since commercial stores and canteens continued to operate, where any product could be purchased without a card. About 8-12% of meat, fats and confectionery products were sold through shops and canteens.

Before the blockade, 84,000 tons of flour, less than 7,000 tons of potatoes and 30,5000 tons of vegetables were delivered to Leningrad. This is catastrophically small for 3 million people, and even the autumn delivery actually did not take place. For example, a year before the blockade, 35 times more potatoes and 5 times more vegetables were imported into the city. The norms for the distribution of food to residents were reduced very quickly, people’s personal bins were insanely small, and the constant “sucking in the pit of the stomach” turned into hunger.

Chronicle of the Siege of Leningrad

April 1941 - the beginning of the siege of Leningrad. According to the Ost and Barbarossa plan, Hitler is going to completely capture and then destroy the city of Leningrad;
June 22, 1941 - invasion of Nazi troops into the territory of the Soviet Union;
July 19-23, 1941 - the first attack on Leningrad was carried out by the Army Group “North”. It was stopped 10 km south of the city itself;
September 4-8, 1941 - the Germans shell residential areas of Leningrad with heavy artillery;
September 8, 1941 - the blockade ring closed after the capture of Lake Ladoga;
November 21 – electricity in the city is cut off;
December 6, 1941 - the water supply was turned off, the heat supply to the houses stopped;
June-September 1942 - German troops began shelling the city with new 800-kilogram shells;
September 23, 1942 - electricity is supplied again through the “life cable” from the Volkhov hydroelectric station;
January 18, 1943 - for the first time the blockade ring was broken;
February 1943 - the “Victory Road”, a 33-kilometer railway line, came into operation, which again connected Leningrad with the “mainland”. The first train from the “mainland” arrived in besieged Leningrad;
January 14 - March 1, 1944 - the strategy of the Leningrad-Novgorod offensive operation was undertaken;
January 27, 1944 is the year the siege of Leningrad was lifted.

"Death Time"

The famine during the siege of Leningrad was first called the “Time of Death” in the book of the historian Sergei Yarov, who earned a lot while working on the book “Siege Ethics” gray hair. People, suffering from severe hunger, began to look for any ways to somehow survive. They resorted to various tricks: they ate wood glue, leather, cakes. Starving people caught livestock, sometimes sold it for bread, and learned to catch pigeons and other wild birds. When they wanted to live more than to remain human, they ate cats, mice and dogs. Even the last hopes for the “black market” died very quickly. All attempts to enter the suburbs and eat crops from the fields and gardens were quickly and brutally suppressed, including by fire.

In December, when a skilled worker received from 800 to 1200 rubles, ordinary employees 600-700 rubles, and unskilled workers only 200, one loaf of bread, and not best quality(from the end of November and the beginning of December, bread was baked half from impurities), cost 400 rubles on the market, and butter generally 500 rubles. From November 20, the rations of Leningraders were reduced to a meager amount, which could not provide even the most minimal physiological needs (250 g of bread for workers, 125 g for employees and the unemployed). If you search the Internet for “Siege of Leningrad” to watch online, then seeing the bodies and faces of people, you may be able to understand how difficult it was then not only physically, but also mentally.

Hope for freedom

In December and even after the New Year, people had hope that this nightmare would soon end and they would be able to live in peace. The Soviet government also hoped for the liberation of Leningrad, especially after the counter-offensive near Moscow and the successful operation near Tikhvin, but this did not happen. The city's supply situation worsened every day. By order of the city authorities, on December 11, all remaining fuel from hospital and home boiler houses was transported to the only operating power plant. As a result, in addition to hunger, painful cold was added to the suffering of people. Winter in 1941-1942, as luck would have it, reached -35º.

No matter how many days the blockade of Leningrad lasted, for the same amount of time the leadership of the USSR was looking for a way to liberate the city or at least save its inhabitants. Authorities continued to look for ways to evacuate residents. The Kremlin proposed building a route along Lake Ladoga, but this was a very dubious idea. However, the Ladoga Ice Route sent the first test carts with cargo on November 22, and on December 6 it was planned that daily shipments could be made to “ mainland» about 5,000 people. But unfortunately, on December 8, the evacuation was stopped again. They were able to resume it only after a month and a half - on January 22. It’s scary to even imagine how many people have already died during this time.

Having lost last hope on the government, people began to independently find ways for liberation. “Walking in order” in the most severe frosts of December and January, they wrapped their children in everything warm that was in the house, the wives grabbed their exhausted husbands by the arms and walked along the icy lake until death overtook them. A total of 36,118 people were able to complete this journey, losing everything except their own lives.

During the “Time of Death,” an eerie sign appeared in the city - a “sleigh with swaddling clothes.” This was the name of the sled in which the corpses were wrapped in sheets (December). In January, the corpses were no longer so carefully removed (there was no strength to carry the exhausted bodies), and in February they were simply piled up. As long as the siege of Leningrad lasted, so many people died who could not withstand the siege.

The years of the siege of Leningrad were from September 8, 1941 to January 27, 1944 (the blockade ring was broken on January 18, 1943). If we do the math, we will find out how many years the siege of Leningrad lasted - almost two and a half years. About 1 million people became victims of the blockade. Hunger and exhaustion overtook even those who managed to evacuate and were already hoping that the worst was behind them. The Nazis, the main culprits of this tragedy, periodically shelled residential areas to suppress the will of the people. Even after the end of the siege, German and Finnish troops continued to abuse the residents of Leningrad for six months. The breakthrough of the blockade of Leningrad occurred when the USSR troops were rapidly advancing on the enemy’s throat, which is why Leningrad was finally liberated after 871 days.

The courage and unshakable will of Leningrad residents amazes our consciousness to this day; we need to take an example from their perseverance. Delete this period from national history it is impossible, because it was their sacrifice that gave life to hundreds and thousands of people who never faced the troubles that German soldiers brought. Simply reading materials about this tragedy is not enough to understand the full value of the heroic courage of Leningrad residents. You can watch "Siege of Leningrad" documentary, or fragments of the siege of Leningrad, video.

The siege of Leningrad lasted exactly 871 days. This is the longest and most terrible siege of the city in the entire history of mankind. Almost 900 days of pain and suffering, courage and dedication. Many years after the breaking of the siege of Leningrad, many historians, and even ordinary people, wondered: could this nightmare have been avoided? Avoid - apparently not. For Hitler, Leningrad was a “tidbit” - after all, here is the Baltic Fleet and the road to Murmansk and Arkhangelsk, from where help came from the allies during the war, and if the city had surrendered, it would have been destroyed and wiped off the face of the earth.

On September 8, 1941, in continuation of the offensive of the fascist army, the city of Shlisselburg was captured, thus closing the blockade ring. In the first days, few people believed in the seriousness of the situation, but many residents of the city began to thoroughly prepare for the siege: literally in a few hours all savings were withdrawn from the savings banks, the shops were empty, everything possible was bought up. Not everyone was able to evacuate when systematic shelling began, but it began immediately, in September, the routes for evacuation were already cut off. There is an opinion that it was the fire that occurred on the first day of the siege of Leningrad at the Badaev warehouses - in the storage of the city's strategic reserves - that provoked the terrible famine of the siege days. However, recently declassified documents provide slightly different information: it turns out that there was no “strategic reserve” as such, since in the conditions of the outbreak of war it was impossible to create a large reserve for such huge city, what Leningrad was like (and about 3 million people lived in it at that time) was not possible, so the city fed on imported products, and the existing reserves would only last for a week. Literally from the first days of the blockade, ration cards were introduced, schools were closed, military censorship was introduced: any attachments to letters were prohibited, and messages containing decadent sentiments were confiscated.

Memories of the siege of Leningrad by people who survived it, their letters and diaries reveal to us scary picture. A terrible famine struck the city. Money and jewelry have lost value. The evacuation began in the fall of 1941, but only in January 1942 did it become possible to withdraw a large number of people, mainly women and children, through the Road of Life. There were huge queues at the bakeries where daily rations were distributed. In addition to famine, besieged Leningrad was also attacked by other disasters: very frosty winters, sometimes the thermometer dropped to -40 degrees. The fuel ran out and the water pipes froze - the city was left without electricity, and drinking water. Rats became another problem for the besieged city in the first winter of the siege. They not only destroyed food supplies, but also spread all kinds of infections. People died and there was no time to bury them; the corpses lay right on the streets. Cases of cannibalism and robbery appeared.

At the same time, Leningraders tried with all their might to survive and not let them die hometown. Moreover, Leningrad helped the army by producing military products - the factories continued to operate in such conditions. Theaters and museums resumed their activities. This 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 bright examples amazing dedication and love for the Motherland, life, hometown is the story of the creation of one piece of music. During the blockade, the famous symphony of D. Shostakovich, later called “Leningrad”, was written. Or rather, the composer began writing it in Leningrad, and finished it in evacuation. When the score was ready, it was delivered to the besieged city. By that time, Leningrad had already resumed its activities Symphony Orchestra. On the day of the concert, so that enemy raids could not disrupt it, our artillery did not allow a single fascist plane to approach the city! Throughout the blockade days, the Leningrad radio worked, which was for all Leningraders not only a life-giving spring of information, but also simply a symbol of ongoing life.

From the first days of the siege, the Road of Life began its dangerous and heroic work - the pulse of besieged Leningrad. In summer there is a water route, and in winter there is an ice route connecting Leningrad with the “mainland” along Lake Ladoga. On September 12, 1941, the first barges with food arrived in the city along this route, and until late autumn Until storms made navigation impossible, barges walked along the Road of Life. Each of their flights was a feat - enemy aircraft constantly carried out their bandit raids, weather conditions were often not in the sailors’ hands either - the barges continued their flights even in late autumn, until the ice appeared, when navigation was in principle impossible. On November 20, the first horse-drawn sleigh train descended onto the ice of Lake Ladoga. A little later, trucks started driving along the ice Road of Life. The ice was very thin, despite the fact that the truck was carrying only 2-3 bags of food, the ice broke, and there were frequent cases when trucks sank. At the risk of their lives, the drivers continued their deadly flights until spring. Military Highway No. 101, as this route was called, made it possible to increase bread rations and evacuate a large number of people. The Germans constantly sought to break this thread connecting the besieged city with the country, but thanks to the courage and fortitude of Leningraders, the Road of Life lived on its own and gave life to the great city.

The significance of the Ladoga highway is enormous; it has saved thousands of lives. Now on the shore of Lake Ladoga there is the Road of Life Museum.

At all times, there is no greater grief than a suffering child. Siege children are a special topic. Having matured early, not childishly serious and wise, they did their best, along with adults, to bring 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. During the first winter of the siege of Leningrad, many children were evacuated, but despite this various reasons there were still many children left in the city. The Palace of Pioneers, located in the famous Anichkov Palace, went under martial law with the beginning of the war. It must be said that 3 years before the start of the war, a 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 students in the besieged city, and from the children remaining in the city, choreographer A.E. Obrant created dance group. It’s scary to even imagine and compare the terrible days of the siege and pre-war dances! But nevertheless, the ensemble was born. First, the guys had to be restored from exhaustion, only then they were able to start rehearsals. However, already in March 1942 the first performance of the group took place. The soldiers, who had seen a lot, could not hold back their tears looking at these courageous children. Do you remember how long the siege of Leningrad lasted? So, during this considerable time, the ensemble gave about 3,000 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 raid alarms; 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-willed, they supported and inspired our soldiers; the contribution of this team to the liberation of the city can hardly be overestimated. Later, the guys were awarded medals “For the Defense of Leningrad.”

In 1943, a turning point occurred in the war, and at the end of the year, Soviet troops were preparing to liberate the city. On January 14, 1944, during the general offensive of the Soviet troops, the final operation to lift the siege of Leningrad began. The task was to deliver a crushing blow to the enemy south of Lake Ladoga and restore the land routes connecting the city with the country. By January 27, 1944, the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts, with the help of Kronstadt artillery, broke through the blockade of Leningrad. The Nazis began to retreat. Soon the cities of Pushkin, Gatchina and Chudovo were liberated. The blockade was completely lifted.

The siege of Leningrad is a tragic and great page Russian history, which killed more than 2 million human lives. While 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 Inberg, her lines are a hymn to the great city and at the same time a requiem for the departed.

My grandmother's two sisters lived in Leningrad when the Nazis surrounded the city. One died during the bombing: digging trenches on the outskirts of the city was necessary, but dangerous. The second one miraculously survived this terrible time. I was very little when we went to see her in Leningrad, but I remember the old, little grandmother and her kind and very sad eyes. Therefore, I studied with particular interest everything that I came across about the blockade of the city on the Neva.

Along the Road of Life

Leningrad is probably one of the first settlements, on which I stumbled German plan rapid war. After all, Hitler planned to celebrate the New Year 1942 in Moscow. Leningrad was planned to be completely destroyed, razed from the face of the earth. And on September 8, 1941, the German army cut off all land roads to the city. The only thread connecting the city with the mainland was Lake Ladoga, which was under fire from enemy artillery. Along the Road of Life, as the path that ran along the lake was called, they were delivered to the city:

Food;
ammunition for the army;
medicines.

At this time, about three million people lived in Leningrad. There were few food supplies in the city. Grocery cards were introduced in the summer, almost immediately after the start of the war. But from the first days of the blockade, the norms of issued products began to decrease sharply. Famine quickly set in. The fierce winter of 1941–1942 became especially difficult.

How long did the blockade last?

When I read the details of what was happening in the city at that time, I shudder. At the same time, it is amazing how people in such a situation found the strength to believe in victory, in liberation, to work, to write pictures and music. During almost all 900 days of the siege, theaters did not stop operating in the city, radio broadcasts did not stop, and tanks, guns and ammunition for the front were made at the factories.

Only in January 1944 was it possible to liberate the city. The siege of Leningrad lasted for almost 900 days, more precisely 871 days, but the city did not surrender...

Whenever I am in St. Petersburg, I definitely visit Piskarevskoe cemetery, a memorial where residents and defenders of the besieged city are buried.