The Great Patriotic War… No, it's not just a fact of history, it's part of us, it's us. Every citizen of the post-Soviet space, regardless of age and gender, nationality and religion, understands what "that very war" is, and we have no right to forget it.
One of the central and most terrible events of the Second World War should be considered the blockade of Leningrad, now the great and flourishing St. Petersburg. 900 (or rather, 871) days and exactly the same number of nights - such is the duration of the blockade of Leningrad, which can be briefly described in one phrase: the great grief of the people. The day the blockade of Leningrad was lifted today is officially considered the day of military glory.
Terrifying statistics: more than 700 thousand people died in those terrible years, 650 thousand of them died of starvation. And only with a small 3% became victims of bombing and shelling. But the worst thing is that the children were dying, the children were left completely alone and were forced (if their strength and age allowed) to somehow bury adults …
The bloody siege began on September 8, 1941. The history of this tragedy, however, dates back much earlier, from the fateful summer of 1941, when German troops began shelling andthe bombing of the city, and also cut the iron tracks - the thread that connected Leningrad with the whole country. According to the Barbarossa plan, Leningrad, all its inhabitants, as well as the soldiers defending it, must be completely destroyed. The plan failed, the Reichstag troops failed to break through the defense. Then it was decided to starve the recalcitrant city to starvation. The only salvation was Lake Ladoga, on the ice crust of which on November 22, 1941 the famous "Road of Life" was created. Along it, under the endless cannonade of fascist guns, cars with food were moving there, and with evacuated residents - back. The lake has saved the lives of nearly 1.5 million people. But how far away was the day of lifting the blockade of the city of Leningrad…
The enemy ring became possible to break through on January 18, 1943. Operation "Iskra" ended with the restoration of the supply of the city. But only a year later, on January 27, 1944, it came, probably the most memorable day for today's Petersburgers - the day the blockade of Leningrad was lifted. The operation called "January Thunder" pushed the enemy back many kilometers from the border of the city.
The history of the siege of Leningrad would not be complete without a description of the feat and resilience of the common people, ordinary Leningraders. No wonder the great Kazakh poet Dzhambul Dzhabaev wrote in excitement: “Leningraders, my children! Leningraders, my pride! Indeed, pride, pride of the whole country…
During the siege, militaryproducts in factories. Everyone worked - men, women, old people, teenagers, children - in a state of semi-fainting from hunger. The constant bombing of the Kirov plant did not become a hindrance either. If in September-October an air raid, during which everyone left their jobs and hid in shelters, was announced with any number of enemy aircraft, then it was soon decided not to leave work with a raid of 1-2 aviators. The motherland needed weapons, everyone understood this very well …
Until the very moment when the day of lifting the blockade of Leningrad came, its cultural elite did not stand aside either. Theaters, libraries, museums made it possible for the people of Leningrad to feel at least a little that they live. New plays were staged on the stage, the radio was broadcasting, through which the residents not only learned the latest news, but also received support from writers, poets, announcers. It is unlikely that the city would have survived without all this…
This date, the day the blockade of Leningrad was lifted, we will never forget. This is simply impossible to forget!
