January 27 - Day of the Siege of Leningrad: history and traditions, events in 2025

On January 27, Russia celebrates the Day of Military Glory - 81 years of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the Nazi blockade, which lasted 872 days, becoming the longest in world history. In 2025, the memorable date falls on Monday. "Izvestia" tells how the liberation of the city took place and what events are timed to this event in 2025.

Day of the lifting of the siege of Leningrad - historical background

The official day of the beginning of the blockade is September 8, 1941. Then German troops captured Shlisselburg, which at that time was called Petrokrepost. As a result, the city was completely cut off from the land part of the country. Communication was carried out only by air and the only transportation highway on the ice of Lake Ladoga, nicknamed by the inhabitants "the road of life".

The encirclement of the city was accompanied by a massive air attack. The raid began in the evening of September 8, at 18:55 Moscow time. During the day more than 6 thousand bombs were dropped on the city. In total, more than 107 incendiary and high-explosive bombs, as well as about 150 thousand heavy artillery shells were fired during the blockade. According to various data, from 632,253 to 1.093 million people died during the siege of Leningrad, which is almost a third of the population at the beginning of 1941.

During the war, Adolf Hitler repeatedly demanded that the city be razed to the ground and its population completely destroyed. The main targets of the Nazis were infrastructure and food stores. Soon famine began in the city. Food was issued on cards in limited quantities. The situation was aggravated by the cold winter. People lived in cold unheated rooms, burning books and things to keep warm.

However, despite the inhuman conditions and constant bombing, life in the city continued. Museums, theaters, philharmonies worked and created masterpieces that are still popular all over the world. For example, Dmitri Shostakovich dedicated his famous "Seventh Symphony", later called "Leningrad Symphony", to the besieged city.

The troops managed to break the blockade only by January 1943, seizing the initiative in the north-western direction. During the offensive operation called "Iskra" a corridor 8-11 km wide was created, which allowed to restore land communications between Leningrad and the country. But it was possible to completely dislodge the enemy only a year later - as a result of the operation "January Thunder".

During the offensive, which began on January 14, 1944, the German forces were threatened with encirclement and began to retreat. The enemy was thrown back almost 100 km from the city borders. And on January 27, 1944 the order of the Military Council of the Leningrad Front on the complete liberation of Leningrad from the blockade was read on the radio. In the evening the first festive salute was heard in the sky above the city.

Since then, the day of January 27 is celebrated as the Day of the lifting of the blockade of Leningrad. In modern Russia, the holiday was officially established in accordance with the Federal Law of March 13, 1995 "On Days of Military Glory and Commemorative Dates of Russia". Since 2014, it has been called the Day of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the Nazi blockade.

Traditions of celebrating the Day of the lifting of the siege of Leningrad on January 27

Festive events on the anniversary of the lifting of the siege of Leningrad are held throughout the country. They are accompanied by commemorative actions, concerts, movie screenings, thematic exhibitions and laying flowers at the memorials of soldiers.

In St. Petersburg, flowers are carried to the mass graves of the city's residents at the Piskarevskoye Cemetery and the "Broken Ring" memorial on the western shore of Lake Ladoga. Also in the Northern Capital there is a museum of the defense and siege of Leningrad, which stores hundreds of things of the blockade survivors and tells about the events of those years. Every year it is visited by thousands of Russians and tourists from around the world.

Traditionally, the holiday honors the residents of the Siege of Leningrad, as well as citizens from other regions of the Russian Federation, awarded with the sign "Resident of the Siege of Leningrad" and the medal "For the Defense of Leningrad".

Schools hold class hours dedicated to the heroic defense of the city and meetings with veterans. And, of course, no holiday is without a solemn artillery salute in the Peter and Paul Fortress on the banks of the Neva River.

Events for the Day of the Siege of Leningrad - 2025

As a rule, the celebrations last several days. Thus, in St. Petersburg, on the eve of the celebration, a large festive concert "I Say Thank You to Leningrad" was held, which launched the Year of the Defender of the Fatherland, announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin in connection with the 80th anniversary of the Victory.

The event took place in the Oktyabrsky Grand Concert Hall. And on January 27, the concert "Leningrad Victory" will be held here. The audience will be congratulated on the holiday by the Song and Dance Ensemble of the Leningrad Military District and People's Artists of Russia Ilya Reznik, Larisa Dolina, Vasily Gerello.

On the same day the Cinema Hall of the Chapel will host a screening of Sergei Loznitsa's documentary film "Blockade", based on the archival materials of the St. Petersburg Documentary Film Studio. Also in the city from January 17 to 27, thematic light projections dedicated to the blockade theme will be launched.

In Moscow on January 27 in front of the entrance to the Victory Museum on Poklonnaya Hill at exactly 18:00 to the famous symphony by Shostakovich will light thousands of Bengal lights as part of the action "Spark of Hope". You can join the action online. To do this, you need to post a post with the hashtag #Spark of Hope in social networks.

A big program is also planned in the Patriot Park in Kubinka near Moscow. There will be a free excursion "The Siege of Leningrad. Memory of Generations" and an exhibition "Bread of Blockade Leningrad".

In addition, the blockade of Leningrad will be discussed with schoolchildren on January 27 as part of a lesson from the cycle "Conversations about the important", which are held every Monday in all Russian schools and colleges.

Earlier "Izvestia" wrote that Russia called to promote the victory over Nazism in 1945 as a global value.