Siege of Leningrad presentation for a lesson on the topic. Day of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (1944) Day of the lifting of the blockade of Leningrad

In accordance with the Federal Law of March 13, 1995 "On the days military glory(victorious days) of Russia "and was previously called the Day of lifting the blockade of the city of Leningrad (1944). In November 2013, the name of the day of military glory was changed to" The day of the complete liberation of the city of Leningrad by Soviet troops Nazi German troops (1944)".

At the numerous requests of the inhabitants of the city, primarily the blockade, the name of the day of military glory was again corrected, it became known as "The day of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (1944)". The new name of this day most accurately reflects not only the role of Soviet troops in the liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade, but also the merit of the inhabitants besieged Leningrad in the defense of the city.

The heroic defense of Leningrad became a symbol of courage Soviet people. At the cost of incredible hardships, heroism and self-sacrifice, the soldiers and residents of Leningrad defended the city. Hundreds of thousands of those who fought were honored government awards, 486 received the title of Hero Soviet Union, of which eight people twice.

On December 22, 1942, the medal "For the Defense of Leningrad" was established, which was awarded to about 1.5 million people.

On January 26, 1945, the city of Leningrad itself was awarded the Order of Lenin. Since May 1, 1945, Leningrad has been a hero city, and on May 8, 1965, the city was awarded the Gold Star medal.

The memorial ensembles of the Piskarevsky cemetery and the Seraphim cemetery are dedicated to the memory of the victims of the blockade and the fallen participants in the defense of Leningrad, and the Green Belt of Glory was created around the city along the former blockade ring of the front.

(Additional

January 27, the day of lifting the blockade of Leningrad, is special in the history of our country. Today, on this date, the Day of Military Glory is celebrated annually. The city of Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) itself received the title of Hero City on May 1, 1945. On May 8, 1965, the northern capital was awarded the "Gold Star" medal and the Medal for Leningrad was also received by 1.496 million inhabitants of this city.

"Leningrad under siege" - a project dedicated to the events of that time

The country has preserved the memory of these heroic events to this day. January 27 (the day the blockade of Leningrad was lifted) in 2014 is already the seventieth anniversary of the liberation of the city. The Archival Committee of St. Petersburg presented a project called "Leningrad under siege". On the Internet portal "Archives of St. Petersburg" a virtual exhibition of various archival documents relating to the history of this city during the blockade was created. About 300 historical originals of the time were published. These documents are grouped into ten different sections, each of which is accompanied by expert comments. All of them reflect various aspects of life in Leningrad during the blockade.

Reconstruction of the wartime situation

Today it is not easy for young Petersburgers to imagine that the magnificent city-museum in which they live was sentenced to complete destruction by the Germans in 1941. However, he did not capitulate when he was surrounded by Finnish and German divisions, and managed to win, although he was seemingly doomed to death. In order for the current generation of city residents to have an idea of ​​what their great-grandfathers and grandfathers had to endure in those years (which the surviving residents of besieged Leningrad remember as the most terrible time), one of the modern streets of the city, Italian, as well as Manezhnaya the area was "returned" to the 70th anniversary in the winter of 1941-1944. This project was called "Street of Life".

In the aforementioned places in St. Petersburg, there are various cultural institutions, as well as theaters, which, even in those complex blockade years did not stop their activities. Here, the windows of the houses were sealed with crosses, as was done in Leningrad at that time in order to protect against air raids, barricades from sandbags on the pavements were reconstructed, anti-aircraft guns, military trucks were brought to complete the reproduction of the situation of that time. So the seventieth anniversary of the siege of Leningrad was marked. According to estimates, approximately 3,000 buildings were destroyed by shells during the events of those years, and more than 7,000 were significantly damaged. Residents of besieged Leningrad erected various fortifications. They built about 4 thousand bunkers and pillboxes, equipped about 22 thousand different firing points in buildings, and also erected 35 kilometers of anti-tank obstacles and barricades on the streets of the city.

Siege of Leningrad: main events and figures

The defense of the city, which began on September 8, 1941, lasted about 900 days and ended in 1944. January 27 - All these years, the only way through which the necessary products were delivered to the besieged city, as well as the seriously wounded and children were taken out, was laid in winter on the ice of Lake Ladoga. It was the Road of Life of besieged Leningrad. We will talk about it in more detail in our article.

The blockade was broken on January 18, 1943, and Leningrad was completely cleared on January 27. And it happened only the next year - in 1944. Thus, the residents had to wait a long time before the blockade of the city of Leningrad was finally lifted. Died during this period, according to various sources, from 400 thousand to 1.5 million inhabitants. The following number figured at the Nuremberg trials - 632 thousand dead. Only 3% of them - from shelling and bombing. The rest of the inhabitants died of starvation.

Beginning of events

Today, military historians believe that not a single city on earth in the entire history of warfare gave as many lives for the Victory as Leningrad did at that time. On the day (1941, June 22), in this city, as well as throughout the region, martial law was immediately introduced. On the night of June 22-23, fascist German aviation tried to make a raid on Leningrad for the first time. This attempt ended unsuccessfully. None of the enemy aircraft was allowed to enter the city.

The next day, June 24, the Leningrad Military District was transformed into northern front. Kronstadt covered the city from the sea. It was one of the bases located at that time in the Baltic Sea. With the advance of the enemy troops on the territory of the region, from July 10, heroic defense which the history of Leningrad can be proud of. On September 6, the first Nazi bombs were dropped on the city, after which it began to be systematically subjected to air raids. In just three months, from September to November 1941, 251 air raid alerts were issued.

Loudspeakers and famous metronome

However, the stronger the threat faced the hero city, the more united the inhabitants of Leningrad opposed the enemy. About 1,500 loudspeakers were installed on the streets to warn Leningraders about air raids that were taking place in the first months. The population was notified by radio network about the air raid alert. The famous metronome, which went down in history as a cultural monument of the time of resistance, was broadcast through this network. Its fast rhythm meant that a military alarm had been announced, and its slow rhythm meant a retreat. Mikhail Melaned, the announcer, announced the alarm. There was not a single area in the city to which an enemy projectile could not reach. Therefore, the streets and areas in which the risk of being hit was the greatest were calculated. Here, people hung out signs or wrote with paint that this place was the most dangerous during shelling.

According to the plan of Adolf Hitler, the city was to be completely destroyed, and the troops defending it were to be destroyed. The Germans, having failed in a number of attempts to break through the defenses of Leningrad, decided to starve him out.

The first shelling of the city

Every inhabitant, including the elderly and children, became the defender of Leningrad. A special army was created in which thousands of people rallied into partisan detachments and fought the enemy on the fronts, participated in the construction of defensive lines. The evacuation of the population from the city, as well as the cultural values ​​of various museums and industrial equipment, began already in the first months of hostilities. On August 20, enemy troops occupied the city of Chudovo, blocking the railway in the Leningrad-Moscow direction.

However, the divisions of the army under the name "North" failed to break into Leningrad on the move, although the front came close to the city. Systematic shelling began on 4 September. Four days later, the enemy captured the city of Shlisselburg, as a result of which land communication with big land and Leningrad.

This event was the beginning of the blockade of the city. It turned out to be over 2.5 million inhabitants, including 400 thousand children. By the beginning of the blockade, the city did not have the necessary food supplies. As of September 12, they were calculated for only 30-35 days (bread), 45 days (cereals) and 60 days (meat). Even with the strictest economy, coal could last only until November, and liquid fuel - only until the end of the current one. Food rations, which were introduced under the rationing system, began to gradually decline.

Hunger and cold

The situation was aggravated by the fact that the winter of 1941 was early in Russia, and in Leningrad it was very fierce. Often the thermometer dropped to -32 degrees. Thousands of people died of hunger and cold. The peak of mortality was the time from November 20 to December 25 of this difficult 1941. During this period, the norms for issuing bread to fighters were significantly reduced - up to 500 grams per day. For those who worked in the hot shops, they amounted to only 375 grams, and for the rest of the workers and engineers - 250. For other segments of the population (children, dependents and employees) - only 125 grams. There were practically no other products. More than 4,000 people died of starvation every day. This figure was 100 times higher than the pre-war mortality rate. At the same time, male mortality significantly prevailed over female. By the end of the war, representatives of the weaker sex made up the bulk of the inhabitants of Leningrad.

The Role of the Road of Life in Victory

Communication with the country was carried out, as already mentioned, by the Road of Life of besieged Leningrad, passing through Ladoga. It was the only highway that was available between September 1941 and March 1943. It was along this road that the evacuation of industrial equipment and the population from Leningrad took place, the supply of food to the city, as well as weapons, ammunition, reinforcements and fuel. In total, over 1,615,000 tons of cargo was delivered to Leningrad along this route, and about 1.37 million people were evacuated. At the same time, in the first winter, about 360 thousand tons of cargo were received, and 539.4 thousand residents were evacuated. A pipeline was laid along the bottom of the lake in order to supply oil products.

Protecting the Road of Life

The Hitlerite troops constantly bombed and fired at the Road of Life in order to paralyze this only saving way. To protect it from air strikes, as well as to ensure uninterrupted operation, the means and forces of the country's air defense were involved. In various memorial ensembles and monuments today, the heroism of the people who made it possible for uninterrupted movement along it is immortalized. The main place among them is occupied by the "Broken Ring" - a composition on Lake Ladoga, as well as an ensemble called "Rumbolovskaya Mountain", located in Vsevolzhsk; in the village of Kovalevo), which is dedicated to the children who lived in Leningrad in those years, and also installed in a village called Chernaya Rechka memorial Complex, where the soldiers who died on the Ladoga road rested in a mass grave.

Lifting the blockade of Leningrad

The blockade of Leningrad was broken for the first time, as we have already said, in 1943, on January 18th. This was carried out by the forces of the Volkhov and Leningrad fronts, together with Baltic Fleet. The Germans were pushed back. Operation "Iskra" took place with a general offensive of forces Soviet army, which was widely deployed in the winter of 1942-1943 after the enemy troops were surrounded near Stalingrad. Army "North" acted against the Soviet troops. On January 12, the troops of the Volkhov and Leningrad fronts went on the offensive, and six days later they united. On January 18, the city of Shlisselburg was liberated, and the southern coast of the strategically important Lake Ladoga was also cleared of the enemy. A corridor was formed between it and the front line, the width of which was 8-11 km. Through it within 17 days (just think about this period!) Automobile and railway routes were laid. After that, the supply of the city improved dramatically. The blockade was completely lifted on 27 January. The day of lifting the siege of Leningrad was marked by fireworks that lit up the sky of this city.

The siege of Leningrad was the most brutal in the history of mankind. Most of the residents who died at that time are buried today at the Piskarevsky Memorial Cemetery. The defense lasted, to be precise, 872 days. Leningrad of the pre-war time after that was no more. The city has changed a lot, many buildings had to be restored, some were rebuilt.

Diary of Tanya Savicheva

From the terrible events of those years, there are many testimonies. One of them is Tanya's diary. Leningradka began to conduct it at the age of 12. It was not published, because it consists of only nine terrible records about how members of the family of this girl died in succession in Leningrad at that time. Tanya herself also failed to survive. This notebook was presented at the Nuremberg trials as an argument accusing fascism.

This document is located today in the museum of the history of the hero city, and a copy is kept in the showcase of the memorial of the aforementioned Piskarevsky cemetery, where 570 thousand Leningraders were buried during the blockade of those who died of starvation or bombing in the period from 1941 to 1943, as well as in Moscow on Poklonnaya Hill .

The hand, which was losing strength due to hunger, wrote sparingly, unevenly. Struck by suffering, the child's soul was no longer capable of living emotions. The girl only recorded the terrible events of her life - "death visits" to her family's house. Tanya wrote that all the Savichevs were dead. However, she never found out that not everyone died, their race continued. Sister Nina was rescued and taken out of the city. She returned in 1945 to Leningrad, in native home, and found Tanya's notebook among the plaster, fragments and bare walls. Brother Misha also recovered from a severe wound received at the front. The girl herself was discovered by employees of the sanitary teams who went around the houses of the city. She fainted from hunger. She, barely alive, was evacuated to the village of Shatki. Here, many orphans got stronger, but Tanya never recovered. For two years, doctors fought for her life, but the girl still died. She died in 1944, July 1st.

Photos from open sources

January 27 marks the Day of Military Glory of Russia - the day of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade in 1944.

The blockade of Leningrad is one of the most tragic pages of the Great Patriotic War. It was conducted by German troops from September 8, 1941 and was completed on January 27, 1944. The German command attached great strategic and political importance to the capture of the city. For almost 900 days, communication with Leningrad was maintained only through Lake Ladoga and by air. The enemy conducted continuous bombing and artillery shelling of the city, made numerous attempts to capture it. During the siege of Leningrad, more than 641,000 people died from starvation and shelling, according to other sources, at least one million people.

Soviet troops repeatedly tried to break through the blockade ring, but partially achieved this only in January 1943. It was a strategic offensive operation of the troops of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts in cooperation with the Baltic Fleet and the Ladoga military flotilla. The goal was to restore land communications that connected the city with the country. The offensive was on the Shlisselburg-Sinyavinsky ledge between the city of Mga and Lake Ladoga. The Germans turned this “patch” into a powerful field fortified area, on which they concentrated up to five fully equipped divisions and four divisions in the operational reserve. For a breakthrough in this direction Soviet command created two powerful strike groups, which broke through the enemy defenses with counter strikes and formed a corridor 8-11 kilometers wide along the shore of Lake Ladoga, restoring the land connection between Leningrad and the country. The further offensive of the Soviet troops to the south did not develop, but the blockade was broken turning point in the battle for Leningrad.

The final defeat of the Nazi troops near Leningrad and the complete lifting of the blockade of the city occurred later, during the Leningrad-Novgorod operation from January 14 to March 1, 1944. It was conducted by the troops of the Leningrad, Volkhov and 2nd Baltic Fronts together with the Baltic Fleet. Attacks on the flanks of the German 18th Army near Leningrad and Novgorod Soviet troops defeated its main forces. Then, during the offensive, they defeated the 16th Army and liberated Novgorod, Pushkin, Krasnogvardeisk, Tosno. October was cleared from the Nazis Railway linking Moscow with Leningrad.

On January 27, 1944, the blockade of Leningrad, which lasted 872 days, was finally broken. On this day, artillery salutes and fireworks were given in the city - the only exception during the Great Patriotic War: other salutes were made in Moscow. Tens of thousands of city residents took to the streets, squares, embankments of the Neva. Fireworks started at 20:00. There were 24 volleys of 324 artillery pieces, which were accompanied by fireworks and illumination by anti-aircraft searchlights.

And the army group "North", which kept the city in a blockade, suffered a difficult situation and was driven back from Leningrad by 220-280 kilometers. Three divisions were completely destroyed, 23 defeated. Soviet troops reached the borders of Latvia and Estonia.

The defense of Leningrad was of great military-strategic, political and moral importance. The Hitlerite command lost the possibility of effective maneuver with strategic reserves, the transfer of troops to other directions. If the city on the Neva had fallen in 1941, then the German troops would have joined with the Finns. And the main part of the German army group "North" could turn around in a southerly direction to strike at the central regions of the USSR. In this case, Moscow could not resist, and the war could go according to a different scenario. In the monstrous meat grinder of the Sinyavino operation, the Leningraders, with their feat and unprecedented stamina, saved not only themselves. Having fettered the German forces, they provided invaluable assistance to Stalingrad and the entire country, inspired the army, aroused deep respect and gratitude from the states of the anti-Hitler coalition.

Warriors and residents of Leningrad defended the city. Hundreds of thousands of those who fought for him received government awards, 486 received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, eight of them twice.

On December 22, 1942, the medal "For the Defense of Leningrad" was established, which was awarded to about 1.5 million people. She stays in people's memory as one of the most honorary awards of the Great Patriotic War.

On January 26, 1945, the city itself was awarded the Order of Lenin. On May 1, 1945, Leningrad became a hero city, and on May 8, 1965, it was awarded the Gold Star medal.

The memorial ensembles of the Piskarevsky and Serafimsky cemeteries are dedicated to the memory of the victims of the blockade and the fallen participants in the defense of Leningrad, and the Green Belt of Glory was created around the city along the former blockade ring of the front.

As for our city, today 96 residents of besieged Leningrad and 15 participants in its defense live in Ulyanovsk. On the Day of Military Glory, they will be congratulated at home by representatives of the administrations of municipalities and Councils of Veterans. Thematic book and photo exhibitions will be held in each district, cool watch, mourning rulers. The meetings will be held with the invitation of veterans, servicemen, "children of war".

TASS-DOSIER. January 27th every year Russian Federation Day of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (1944) is celebrated. It was originally established by the federal law "On the days of military glory (victory days) of Russia" dated March 13, 1995 and was called the Day of lifting the blockade of the city of Leningrad (1944). On November 2, 2013, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a federal law, according to which the date became known as the Day of the complete liberation of the city of Leningrad by the Soviet troops from the blockade of its Nazi troops (1944). The new name of the holiday aroused dissatisfaction with the townspeople, especially veterans and blockade survivors, since, in their opinion, it did not reflect the role and contribution of the civilian population to the defense of the city. On December 1, 2014, Putin signed the law "On Amendments to Article 1 federal law"On the days of military glory and anniversaries Russia", which established the current name of the date as January 27.

Leningrad blockade

Leningrad (now - St. Petersburg) - the only one in world history Big City, which was able to withstand nearly 900 days of encirclement.

The capture of Leningrad during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 was one of the most important strategic and political tasks of the German command. During the Battle of Leningrad (July - August 1941), German troops broke through the Mga station, occupied Shlisselburg on September 8 and cut off Leningrad from the rest of the USSR from land. Subsequently, the Germans occupied the Leningrad suburbs - Krasnoye Selo (September 12), Pushkin (September 17), Strelna (September 21), Peterhof (September 23); Soviet troops managed to keep Kronstadt and the Oranienbaum bridgehead. Finnish allies of the Germans advancing on Karelian Isthmus and in the Northern Ladoga region, blocked a number of routes (the Kirov Railway, the White Sea-Baltic Canal, the Volga-Baltic Waterway) for the delivery of goods to Leningrad and stopped approximately on the line of the Soviet-Finnish border of 1918-1940.

September 8, 1941 began the blockade of Leningrad, which lasted 872 days. The directive of the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Wehrmacht Adolf Hitler "The Future of the City of Petersburg" dated September 22, 1941 stated: "... The Fuhrer decided to wipe Petersburg off the face of the earth. (...) In this war, waged for the right to exist, we do not interested in preserving at least part of the population ... ". On September 10, Luftwaffe pilots managed to bomb the Badaev warehouses, as a result of which the city lost significant food supplies. Gradually, the city ran out of fuel, water, cut off the supply of light and heat. In the fall of 1941, famine began. A rationing system was introduced to supply the townspeople with food. By November 20, 1941, the norms for issuing bread for workers dropped to 250 g per day, for the rest of the population - to 125 g.

During the blockade, more than 107 thousand incendiary and high-explosive bombs and over 150 thousand artillery shells were dropped on Leningrad, about 10 thousand houses and buildings were destroyed.

Despite the siege, more than 200 enterprises continued to operate in the city, including seven shipyards that produced 13 submarines. The industry of the besieged Leningrad produced 150 samples of military products. In total, during the years of the blockade, Leningrad enterprises produced about 10 million shells and mines, 12 thousand mortars, 1.5 thousand aircraft, 2 thousand tanks were manufactured and repaired. Despite the bombing, even in the winter of 1941-1942, there were performances and musical performances in the city. In March 1942, trams began to run around the city again, and on May 6, the first football match was held at the Dynamo stadium on Krestovsky Island.

"The road of life"

The supply of the besieged city from September 1941 to March 1943 was carried out along the only military-strategic transport route that passed through Lake Ladoga. During the navigation periods, transportation was carried out along the water route, during the freeze-up period - along the ice road by motor transport. The ice track, named by the Leningraders "Dear Life", came into operation on November 22, 1941. Ammunition, weapons, food, fuel were brought along it, the sick, the wounded and children were evacuated, as well as the equipment of plants and factories. In total, during the operation of the highway, about 1 million 376 thousand people were evacuated along it, 1 million 615 thousand tons of cargo were transported.

Lifting the blockade

On January 12, 1943, the troops of the Volkhov and Leningrad fronts began an operation under code name"Iskra", the purpose of which was to defeat the grouping of German troops south of Lake Ladoga and restore the connection of Leningrad with the mainland.

On January 18, 1943, the Volkhov and Leningrad fronts, with the support of the Baltic Fleet, broke the blockade ring in the area of ​​the Shlisselburg-Sinyavino ledge and restored the land connection of the city with the mainland. On the same day, the fortress city of Shlisselburg was liberated and the entire southern coast of Lake Ladoga was cleared of the enemy. Within 17 days, a railway and a highway were laid through the resulting corridor, and on February 7, the first train arrived in Leningrad.

On January 14, 1944, the troops of the Leningrad, Volkhov and 2nd Baltic fronts began the Leningrad-Novgorod strategic offensive operation. By January 20, Soviet troops defeated the enemy's Krasnoselsko-Ropsha grouping. January 27, 1944 Leningrad was completely liberated. In honor of the victory in the city, salutes were fired in 24 artillery volleys from 324 guns. It was the only salute (1st degree) in all the years of the Great Patriotic War not held in Moscow.

By the end of the blockade, no more than 800 thousand inhabitants remained in the city out of 3 million who lived in Leningrad and its suburbs before the start of the blockade. From starvation, bombing and shelling died, according to various sources, from 641 thousand to 1 million Leningraders. Almost 34 thousand people were injured, 716 thousand inhabitants were left homeless. In total, in 1941-1942, 1.7 million people were evacuated along the "Road of Life" and by air.

perpetuation of memory

In December 1942, the medal "For the Defense of Leningrad" was established. It was awarded to 1.5 million people, including residents of the city and participants in the battles for its liberation. Over 350 thousand soldiers and officers of the Leningrad Front were awarded orders and medals, 226 of them were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. In total, in the northwestern direction (Leningrad, Volkhov and Karelian fronts), 486 people were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (of which eight people - twice).

On May 1, 1945, in the order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief Joseph Stalin, Leningrad was named among the first hero cities.

On April 20, 1944, the exhibition "The Heroic Defense of Leningrad" opened in the premises of the former Leningrad Handicraft Museum. On January 27, 1946, it was transformed into a museum (now the State Memorial Museum of the Defense and Siege of Leningrad).

On May 8, 1965, Leningrad was officially awarded the title of "Hero City", he was awarded the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal.

In 1989, by decision of the executive committee of the Leningrad City Council, the sign "Inhabitant of besieged Leningrad" was established.

Every year on January 27, Russia celebrates the Day of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade.

According to the administration of St. Petersburg, as of January 2017, 102.4 thousand residents and defenders of the besieged city lived in the city (8.8 thousand people awarded the medal "For the Defense of Leningrad" and 93.6 thousand people awarded sign "Inhabitant of besieged Leningrad"). About 30 thousand more blockade survivors lived in other cities and countries.

The beginning of the blockade

Shortly after the start of the Great Patriotic War, Leningrad found itself in the grip of enemy fronts. From the southwest, the German Army Group North (Commander Field Marshal W. Leeb) approached him; from the north-west, the Finnish army set its sights on the city (commander Marshal K. Mannerheim). According to the Barbarossa plan, the capture of Leningrad was to precede the capture of Moscow. Hitler believed that the fall of the northern capital of the USSR would give not only a military gain - the Russians would lose the city, which is the cradle of the revolution and has Soviet state special symbolic meaning. The battle for Leningrad, the longest in the war, lasted from July 10, 1941 to August 9, 1944.

In July-August 1941, the German divisions were suspended in the battles on the Luga line, but on September 8 the enemy went to Shlisselburg and Leningrad, which had a population of about 3 million people before the war, was surrounded. Approximately 300 thousand more refugees who arrived in the city from the Baltic states and neighboring regions at the beginning of the war must be added to the number of those in the blockade. From that day on, communication with Leningrad became possible only via Lake Ladoga and by air. Almost daily, Leningraders experienced the horror of artillery shelling or bombing. As a result of fires, residential buildings were destroyed, people and food supplies were killed, incl. Badaevsky warehouses.

In early September 1941, he recalled General of the Army G.K. Zhukov and told him: "You will have to fly to Leningrad and take command of the front and the Baltic Fleet from Voroshilov." The arrival of Zhukov and the measures taken by him strengthened the defense of the city, but it was not possible to break through the blockade.

The plans of the Nazis in relation to Leningrad

The blockade organized by the Nazis was aimed precisely at the extinction and destruction of Leningrad. On September 22, 1941, a special directive noted: “The Fuhrer has decided to wipe the city of Leningrad off the face of the earth. It is supposed to surround the city with a tight ring and, by shelling from artillery of all calibers and continuous bombing from the air, raze it to the ground ... In this war, waged for the right to exist, we are not interested in preserving at least part of the population. On October 7, Hitler gave another order - not to accept refugees from Leningrad and push them back to enemy territory. Therefore, any speculation - including those circulated today in the media - that the city could have been saved if it had been surrendered to the mercy of the Germans should be attributed either to the category of ignorance or a deliberate distortion of historical truth.

The situation in the besieged city with food

Before the war, the metropolis of Leningrad was supplied with what is called "from the wheels", the city did not have large food supplies. Therefore, the blockade threatened with a terrible tragedy - hunger. As early as September 2, we had to strengthen the food savings regime. From November 20, 1941, the lowest norms for issuing bread on cards were established: workers and engineers - 250 g, employees, dependents and children - 125 g. Soldiers of the first line units and sailors - 500 g. A mass death of the population began. In December, 53 thousand people died, in January 1942 - about 100 thousand, in February - more than 100 thousand. The surviving pages of the diary of little Tanya Savicheva do not leave anyone indifferent: “Grandma died on January 25. ... “Uncle Alyosha on May 10 ... Mom on May 13 at 7.30 in the morning ... Everyone died. Only Tanya remained. Today, in the works of historians, the figures of the dead Leningraders vary from 800 thousand to 1.5 million people. AT recent times data on 1.2 million people appear more and more often. Grief has come to every family. During the battle for Leningrad, more people died than England and the United States lost during the entire war.

"The road of life"

Salvation for the besieged was the "Road of Life" - a route laid on the ice of Lake Ladoga, along which food and ammunition were delivered to the city from November 21, and the civilian population was evacuated on the way back. During the period of the "Road of Life" - until March 1943 - over the ice (and in the summer on various ships) 1615 thousand tons of various cargoes were delivered to the city. At the same time, more than 1.3 million Leningraders and wounded soldiers were evacuated from the city on the Neva. A pipeline was laid to transport oil products along the bottom of Lake Ladoga.

The feat of Leningrad

However, the city did not give up. Its residents and leadership then did everything possible to live and continue to fight. Despite the fact that the city was in the most severe conditions of the blockade, its industry continued to supply the troops of the Leningrad Front with the necessary weapons and equipment. Exhausted by hunger and seriously ill workers performed urgent tasks, repaired ships, tanks and artillery. Employees of the All-Union Institute of Plant Growing have preserved the most valuable collection of grain crops. In the winter of 1941, 28 employees of the institute died of starvation, but not a single box of grain was touched.

Leningrad inflicted tangible blows on the enemy and did not allow the Germans and Finns to act with impunity. In April 1942, Soviet anti-aircraft gunners and aviation thwarted the operation of the German command "Aisshtoss" - an attempt to destroy the ships of the Baltic Fleet standing on the Neva from the air. Opposition to enemy artillery was constantly improved. The Military Council of Leningrad organized a counter-battery fight, as a result of which the intensity of shelling of the city significantly decreased. In 1943, the number of artillery shells that fell on Leningrad decreased by about 7 times.

The unparalleled self-sacrifice of ordinary Leningraders helped them not only to defend their beloved city. It showed the whole world where the limit of the possibilities of fascist Germany and its allies lies.

Actions of the leadership of the city on the Neva

Although in Leningrad (as in other regions of the USSR during the war years) there were some scoundrels among the authorities, the party and military leadership of Leningrad basically remained at the height of the situation. It behaved adequately to the tragic situation and did not "fatten" at all, as some modern researchers claim. In November 1941, the secretary of the city party committee, Zhdanov, established a rigidly fixed cut-down rate of food consumption for himself and all members of the military council of the Leningrad Front. Moreover, the leadership of the city on the Neva did everything to prevent the consequences of a severe famine. By decision of the Leningrad authorities, additional food was organized for exhausted people in specially hospitals and canteens. In Leningrad, 85 orphanages were organized, which took tens of thousands of children left without parents. In January 1942, a medical hospital for scientists and creative workers began to operate at the Astoria Hotel. Since March 1942, the Lensoviet allowed residents to set up personal gardens in courtyards and parks. The land for dill, parsley, vegetables was plowed up even at St. Isaac's Cathedral.

Attempts to break the blockade

With all the mistakes, miscalculations, voluntaristic decisions, the Soviet command took maximum measures to break through the blockade of Leningrad as soon as possible. Four attempts were made to break the enemy ring. The first - in September 1941; the second - in October 1941; the third - at the beginning of 1942, during the general counter-offensive, which only partially achieved its goals; the fourth - in August-September 1942. The blockade of Leningrad was not broken then, but Soviet victims in offensive operations this period were not in vain. In the summer-autumn of 1942, the enemy failed to transfer any large reserves from near Leningrad to the southern flank Eastern Front. Moreover, Hitler sent for the capture of the city the administration and troops of the 11th Army of Manstein, which otherwise could be used in the Caucasus and near Stalingrad. The Sinyavino operation of 1942 of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts outstripped the German attack. Manstein's divisions intended for the offensive were forced to immediately enter into defensive battles against the attacking Soviet units.

"Nevsky Piglet"

The hardest battles in 1941-1942. took place on the "Nevsky Piglet" - a narrow strip of land on the left bank of the Neva, 2-4 km wide along the front and only 500-800 meters deep. This bridgehead, which the Soviet command intended to use to break through the blockade, was held by the Red Army for about 400 days. A tiny plot of land was at one time almost the only hope for saving the city and became one of the symbols of heroism Soviet soldiers who defended Leningrad. The battles for the Nevsky Piglet claimed, according to some sources, the lives of 50,000 Soviet soldiers.

Operation Spark

And only in January 1943, when the main forces of the Wehrmacht were drawn to Stalingrad, the blockade was partially broken. The course of the deblocking operation of the Soviet fronts (Operation Iskra) was led by G. Zhukov. On a narrow strip of the southern shore of Lake Ladoga, 8-11 km wide, land communications with the country were restored. Over the next 17 days, a railway and a highway were laid along this corridor. January 1943 was a turning point in the Battle of Leningrad.

The final lifting of the blockade of Leningrad

The position of Leningrad improved significantly, but the immediate threat to the city continued to exist. In order to finally eliminate the blockade, it was necessary to push the enemy beyond Leningrad region. The idea of ​​such an operation was developed by the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command at the end of 1943 by the forces of the Leningrad (General L. Govorov), Volkhov (General K. Meretskov) and the 2nd Baltic (General M. Popov) fronts in cooperation with the Baltic Fleet, Ladoga and Onega flotillas the Leningrad-Novgorod operation was carried out. Soviet troops went on the offensive on January 14, 1944, and already on January 20 Novgorod was liberated. On January 21, the enemy began to withdraw from the Mga-Tosno area, from the section of the Leningrad-Moscow railway line that he had cut.

On January 27, in commemoration of the final lifting of the blockade of Leningrad, which lasted 872 days, a festive fireworks thundered. Army Group North suffered a heavy defeat. As a result of the Leningrad-Novgorod Soviet troops reached the borders of Latvia and Estonia.

The value of the defense of Leningrad

The defense of Leningrad was of great military-strategic, political and moral importance. The Hitlerite command lost the possibility of the most effective maneuver of strategic reserves, the transfer of troops to other directions. If the city on the Neva had fallen in 1941, then the German troops would have joined with the Finns, and most of the troops of the German Army Group North could have been deployed in a southerly direction and hit the central regions of the USSR. In this case, Moscow could not resist, and the whole war could go according to a completely different scenario. In the deadly meat grinder of the Sinyavino operation in 1942, Leningraders saved not only themselves with their feat and indestructible stamina. Having fettered the German forces, they provided invaluable assistance to Stalingrad, the whole country!

The feat of the defenders of Leningrad, who defended their city in the most difficult conditions, inspired the entire army and the country, earned deep respect and gratitude from the states of the anti-Hitler coalition.

In 1942, the Soviet government established the medal "For the Defense of Leningrad", which was awarded to about 1.5 million defenders of the city. This medal remains in the memory of the people today as one of the most honorary awards of the Great Patriotic War.

DOCUMENTATION:

I. Nazi plans for the future of Leningrad

1. Already on the third day of the war against the Soviet Union, Germany informed the leadership of Finland about its plans to destroy Leningrad. G. Goering told the Finnish envoy in Berlin that the Finns would also receive "Petersburg, which, after all, like Moscow, is better to destroy."

2. According to a note made by M. Bormann at a meeting on July 16, 1941, "The Finns claim the area around Leningrad, the Fuhrer would like to raze Leningrad to the ground, and then transfer it to the Finns."

3. On September 22, 1941, Hitler's directive stated: “The Fuhrer has decided to wipe the city of Leningrad off the face of the earth. After defeat Soviet Russia the continued existence of this largest settlement is of no interest. It is supposed to surround the city with a tight ring and, by shelling from artillery of all calibers and continuous bombing from the air, raze it to the ground. If, due to the situation that has developed in the city, requests for surrender are made, they will be rejected, since the problems associated with the stay of the population in the city and its food supply cannot and should not be solved by us. In this war being waged for the right to exist, we are not interested in saving at least part of the population.

4. Directive of the German Naval Staff September 29, 1941: “The Fuhrer decided to wipe the city of Petersburg from the face of the earth. After the defeat of Soviet Russia, there is no interest in the continued existence of this settlement. Finland also declared its disinterest in the further existence of the city directly at the new border.

5. As early as September 11, 1941, Finnish President Risto Ryti told the German envoy in Helsinki: “If St. Petersburg no longer exists as a large city, then the Neva would be the best border on the Karelian Isthmus ... Leningrad must be liquidated as a large city.”

6. From the testimony of A. Jodl at the Nuremberg trials: During the siege of Leningrad, Field Marshal von Leeb, commander of Army Group North, told the OKW that the streams of civilian refugees from Leningrad were seeking refuge in the German trenches and that he did not have the opportunity to feed and care for them about them. The Führer immediately gave the order (October 7, 1941) not to accept refugees and push them back into enemy territory

II. The myth of the "fatty" leadership of Leningrad

There was information in the media that in besieged Leningrad A.A. Zhdanov allegedly gorged himself on delicacies, which usually featured peaches or bush cakes. the question of a photograph with “rum women” baked in the besieged city in December 1941 is also being discussed. Diaries of former party workers in Leningrad are also cited, which say that party workers lived almost like in paradise.

In fact: the picture with the "rum women" was taken by the journalist A. Mikhailov. He was a well-known photojournalist for TASS. It is obvious that Mikhailov, indeed, received an official order in order to calm Soviet people living on the mainland. In the same context, one should consider the appearance in Soviet press in 1942, information about the State Prize to the director of the Moscow factory of sparkling wines A.M. Frolov-Bagreev, as a developer of technology for the mass production of sparkling wines "Soviet Champagne"; holding skiing competitions and football competitions in the besieged city, etc. Such articles, reports, photographs had one main purpose - to show the population that not everything is so bad, that even under the most severe conditions of a blockade or siege, we can make confectionery and champagne! We will celebrate the victory with our champagne, hold competitions! We hold on and we will win!

Facts about party leaders in Leningrad:

1. As one of the two on-duty waitresses of the Military Council of the Front, A. A. Strakhova, recalled, in the second decade of November 1941, Zhdanov called her and set a rigidly fixed cut-down rate of food consumption for all members of the military council (commander M. S. Khozin, himself, A .A. Kuznetsov, T.F. Shtykov, N.V. Solovyov): "Now it will be like this ...". "... A bit of buckwheat porridge, sour cabbage soup, which Uncle Kolya (his personal chef) cooked for him, is the height of any pleasure! ..".

2. The operator of the central communication center located in Smolny, M. Kh. Neishtadt: “To be honest, I didn’t see any banquets ... Nobody treated the soldiers, and we weren’t offended ... But I don’t remember any excesses there. Zhdanov, when he came, first of all checked the consumption of products. Accounting was the strictest. Therefore, all this talk about "holidays of the stomach" is more speculation than the truth. Zhdanov was the first secretary of the regional committee and city committee of the party, who carried out all the political leadership. I remember him as a person who was quite scrupulous in everything related to material issues.

3. When characterizing the nutrition of the party leadership of Leningrad, certain overexposures are often allowed. We are talking, for example, about the often quoted diary of Ribkovsky, where he describes his stay in the party sanatorium in the spring of 1942, describing the food as very good. It should be remembered that in that source we are talking about March 1942, i.e. period after the launch of the railway line from Voibokalo to Kabona, which is characterized by the end of the food crisis and the return of nutrition to acceptable standards. "Supermortality" at that time took place only because of the consequences of hunger, to combat which the most emaciated Leningraders were sent to special medical institutions (hospitals) created by decision of the City Committee of the Party and the Military Council of the Leningrad Front at many enterprises, factories, clinics in winter 1941/1942.

Ribkovsky, before getting a job in the city committee in December, was unemployed and received the smallest “dependent” ration, as a result he was severely malnourished, so on March 2, 1942 he was sent for seven days to a medical institution for severely malnourished people. The food in this hospital corresponded to the hospital or sanatorium standards in force at that time.

Ribkovsky also honestly writes in his diary:

“Comrades say that the district hospitals are in no way inferior to the city committee hospital, and that some enterprises have hospitals that make our hospital pale.”

4. By decision of the bureau of the city committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks and the Leningrad City Executive Committee, additional medical nutrition was organized at higher rates not only in special hospitals, but also in 105 city canteens. The hospitals functioned from January 1 to May 1, 1942 and served 60 thousand people. Canteens were also organized outside the enterprises. From April 25 to July 1, 1942, 234 thousand people used them. In January 1942, a hospital for scientists and creative workers began to operate at the Astoria Hotel. In the dining room of the House of Scientists in winter months fed from 200 to 300 people.

FACTS FROM THE LIFE OF THE BEACHED CITY

More people died during the battle for Leningrad than England and the United States lost during the entire war

The attitude of the authorities towards religion has changed. During the blockade, three churches were opened in the city: the Prince Vladimir Cathedral, the Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Savior and St. Nicholas Cathedral. In 1942, Easter was very early (March 22, old style). On this day, in the Leningrad churches, under the roar of shell explosions and broken glass, Easter matins were held.

Metropolitan Alexy (Simansky) emphasized in his Easter message that April 5, 1942 marked the 700th anniversary of the Battle on the Ice, in which he defeated the German army.

In the city, despite the blockade, continued cultural and intellectual life. In March, "Silva" was given by the Musical Comedy of Leningrad. In the summer of 1942, some educational establishments, theaters and cinemas; there were even several jazz concerts.

During the first concert after the break on August 9, 1942 at the Philharmonic, the orchestra of the Leningrad Radio Committee under Karl Eliasberg performed for the first time the famous Leningrad Heroic Symphony by Dmitry Shostakovich, which became the musical symbol of the blockade.

During the blockade, no major epidemics occurred, despite the fact that hygiene in the city was, of course, much lower. normal level due to the almost complete lack of running water, sewerage and heating. Of course, the severe winter of 1941-1942 helped to prevent epidemics. At the same time, researchers also point to effective preventive measures taken by the authorities and the medical service.

In December 1941, 53 thousand people died in Leningrad, in January 1942 - more than 100 thousand, in February - more than 100 thousand, in March 1942 - about 100,000 people, in May - 50,000 people , in July - 25,000 people, in September - 7,000 people. (Before the war, the usual death rate in the city was about 3000 people per month).

Enormous damage was done to historical buildings and monuments of Leningrad. It could have been even larger if very effective measures had not been taken to disguise them. The most valuable monuments, for example, the monument and the monument to Lenin at the Finland Station, were hidden under sandbags and plywood shields.

By order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of May 1, 1945, Leningrad, along with Stalingrad, Sevastopol and Odessa, was named a hero city for the heroism and courage shown by the inhabitants of the city during the blockade. For mass heroism and courage in defense of the Motherland in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945, shown by the defenders of besieged Leningrad, according to the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on May 8, 1965, the city was assigned highest degree differences - the title of Hero City.