A great day: January 27, 1944 the siege of Leningrad ended

The year 2025 marks an important date in the country's history - 80 years of victory in the Great Patriotic War. One of the most tragic events of the period of fascist aggression was the siege of Leningrad, which brought down on the inhabitants of this city many sad and severe trials. January 27, the whole country celebrates the day when it was possible to completely liberate the northern capital from the enemy blockade. The history of this day, as well as events timed to it - in the material "Izvestia".

The siege of Leningrad: what the Leningraders had to endure

The military blockade of Leningrad by German troops occurred almost at the very beginning of the Great Patriotic War, September 8, 1941, and lasted for a long 872 days. This time was truly terrible not only for the people who were in the city, but also for the entire Soviet Union. German troops managed to occupy Shlisselburg (Oreshek Fortress) and thus completely cut off the communication of Leningrad with the rest of the country by land.

The blockade of the northern capital was of great importance for the German troops, because Leningrad was one of the main industrial centers, a stronghold of shipbuilding. The largest factories of the USSR were located there, including the Kirov plant, where it was planned to produce 800 KV ("Kliment Voroshilov") tanks. In the fall of 1941, most of the equipment and about 15 thousand "Kirovs" with their families were transferred to the Urals.

The city was not ready for a siege: it was not possible to carry out a large-scale evacuation even of children and the elderly, and supplies of fuel, food and forage for animals were extremely scarce. The inhabitants of Leningrad found themselves in the most terrible conditions, after 2.5 months of blockade, by November, the ration of food was reduced for the fifth time, workers received 250 g of bread, the rest (including children) - 125 g. By December it was possible to increase the ration a little, because the "Road of Life" along the Ladoga Lake started working. Food, medicines and fuel were delivered along it, and the wounded were transported.

But the winter of 1941-1942 came earlier and worsened the situation of the city. The heating system did not work, there was no hot water. All this led to huge human losses: in January 1942, almost 107,500 people died, more than 5,500 of them were children under a year old. Deaths came as a result of enemy shelling, disease and starvation, which took the most lives. According to the revised data of the St. Petersburg Prosecutor's Office in 2022, more than 1.1 million people died during the years of the blockade, of the 4,000 cars of the Road of Life, more than a thousand went under the ice.

The breakthrough of the siege of Leningrad and the complete liberation of the city

The Soviet army repeatedly attempted to liberate Leningrad from the blockade of Hitler's troops, but there was no success until January 1943, when on the 18th of the carefully planned operation "Spark" the Soviet troops were able to break the blockade ring. In the shortest possible time a railroad and a temporary bridge were laid, thus the "Victory Road" appeared.

Despite the breakthrough of the enemy ring, the city remained under German occupation for another year. With the beginning of regular food supplies, the norms of distribution were increased. Workers began to receive 600-700 g of bread, employees - 500 g, and children and dependents - 400 g. In addition, the morale of the residents of the besieged city was raised, they had hope for victory.

The complete lifting of the siege of Leningrad took place on January 27, 1944, 81 years ago. The operation itself, called "January Thunder", began on the 14th. The liberation of the northern capital was one of the greatest achievements of the Great Patriotic War.

How to remember the breakthrough of the siege of Leningrad in St. Petersburg in 2025

In the northern capital every year various events are held to honor the memory of those who died during the siege of the city and its liberation, to remember those who managed to achieve it and to thank the still alive veterans: there are about 49 thousand of them in the city. Commemorative events are held on January 18, 27 and other winter days.

One of the main venues is the State Memorial Museum of Defense and Siege of Leningrad, where this year the premiere of the performance-concert "They lived in Leningrad" took place. On January 29, the museum will host a cultural and educational event "Along the Roads of the Front Brigades", and until February 3 it will host an exhibition entitled "We honor your feat, Leningrad!".

On different streets of the city from January 17 to 27, it was possible to observe light projections in the blockade theme. On January 18, the illumination of the Palace and Troitsky bridges in the colors of the Leningrad Victory Ribbon has already taken place, but those wishing to see it again today, January 27, at 17:00.

In addition, other museums have prepared various exhibitions about the blockade. Among them are the State Museum of History of St. Petersburg, the Central Museum of Communications named after A.S. Popov, the Museum and Exhibition Center "Russia - My History" and others. The Leningrad Zoo also presented its program.

Many songs have been written about the Siege of Leningrad, the most famous of which are "Song about Ladoga" in 1942, "Volkhovskaya zastolnaya" in 1943 and "Boys of Leningrad" in 1970. In 2020, St. Petersburg artist Igor Rasteryaev presented his composition "Leningradskaya", which was a continuation of the cycle of heroic and poignant songs about the feats of war.