When the siege of Leningrad ended. Siege of Leningrad: briefly about the events. How long did the blockade last? Liberation of Leningrad. Restoring urban public transport

Siege of Leningrad- one of the most tragic and important episodes of the Great Patriotic War. The blockade began on September 8, 1941, its breakthrough was carried out on January 18, 1943, and the date of complete lifting of the blockade was January 27, 1944. The exit of German troops to Leningrad

The capture of Leningrad was an important part of the Barbarossa plan developed by the Nazi command. Hitler believed that such a seizure would bring both military and political benefits. Firstly, Germany would gain control of the Baltic coast, as well as the opportunity to destroy the Baltic Fleet and the troops defending the city. Secondly, Hitler believed that the capture of Leningrad would demoralize the Soviet command and population.

From the very beginning of the blockade, the Nazi command assumed the complete destruction of the city, not seeing any benefit for themselves in the existence of Leningrad and its inhabitants. The Soviet command did not consider the option of surrendering the city.

Even before the blockade began, attempts were made to evacuate the urban population. Initially, children were evacuated (many of them were sent to the Leningrad region and were returned as the fighting progressed). Subsequently, people were taken out of the city along an icy road across Lake Ladoga and with the help of aviation.

Marshal Zhukov played a decisive role in the defense of Leningrad. It was he who, as commander of the Leningrad front, managed to stop the German offensive on the Pulkovo Heights and prevent the enemy from entering the city.

Food problem

After this, the tactics of fighting by German troops changed. Their main goal was to destroy the city, and it was subjected to new attacks. In an effort to cause fires in Leningrad, the Germans subjected it to massive bombing. Thus, they managed to destroy large Badayevsky warehouses, where significant food supplies were stored. This made the prospect of famine a real possibility.

On September 8, 1941, land communications between Leningrad and the rest of the country were completely interrupted. The free sale of food was prohibited, and food distribution standards were reduced. The real famine in the city began by November. The most difficult period of the Leningrad blockade was the winter of 1941-1942.

During this period, the lowest standards for bread distribution were introduced (250 g for workers, 125 g for employees, dependents and children under 12 years of age). Added to the problem of hunger was the cold, the heating was turned off, and all transport in the city stopped. The winter turned out to be cold, and there were almost no thaws. Wood-burning stoves became the main means of heating; people went to ice holes on the Neva to get water. Gradually, deaths from starvation became widespread. The sudden death of passers-by on the streets has become common. Special funeral services picked up about a hundred corpses from the streets every day. Dystrophy became the main Leningrad disease. People fell from weakness and exhaustion. The besieged streets have their own sign: once someone falls, he never gets up again. Movement on the streets became extremely difficult, since transport did not work, and all the streets were covered with snow. The death toll has risen to thousands per day. The corpses lay for a long time on the streets and in apartments - there was almost no one to clean them up. The situation was aggravated by constant shelling and air raids.

In besieged Leningrad

During 1942, attempts were made numerous times to break the blockade, but none of them were successful. The only means of communication between Leningrad and the mainland was the ice road along Lake Ladoga - the “Road of Life”.

The situation in the city improved in the spring and summer of 1942 as the cold weather subsided. The number of street deaths decreased; vegetable gardens were installed in public gardens, boulevards and squares. The standards for bread distribution gradually increased. The first tram was launched, and effective measures were taken to prevent epidemics in the city.

As the food situation in the city improved, artillery shelling intensified and the number of bombings increased. The Leningrad radio network carried information about the raids to the population throughout the blockade. The famous Leningrad metronome was broadcast through it. Its fast rhythm meant an air raid warning, its slow rhythm meant a clear out. Subsequently, the metronome became a monument to the resistance of Leningraders.

In besieged, starving Leningrad, the cultural life. With the exception of a few of the most difficult months, schools continued to operate and theater life continued. Dmitry Shostakovich's symphony, dedicated to Leningrad, was first played in the city during the siege and was broadcast by Leningrad radio. The radio itself was of great importance in supporting the spirit of Leningraders.

People at this time fought not only for survival, but also for the preservation of other values. Museum collections, architectural monuments, collections of major libraries, and the precious collection of seeds from the Institute of Plant Growing were saved by Leningraders during the siege.

Breaking the blockade

In January 1943, the operation was successful Soviet troops"Spark". During it, on January 18, 1943, the blockade ring was broken and constant communication between Leningrad and the mainland was established. The final lifting of the blockade was carried out on January 27, 1944.

The Soviet fleet played a significant role during the blockade. He participated in the suppression of enemy artillery, the defense of the “Road of Life”, his personnel brigades were involved in ground battles.

According to the Nuremberg trials, 632 thousand people died during the siege, most of them died of starvation. Most of the dead Leningraders were buried at the Piskarevskoye Memorial Cemetery, where a monument to the siege was erected. Another siege memorial is the Moscow Victory Park: during the war there was a brick factory, in the ovens of which the bodies of the dead were cremated.

In 1965, Leningrad was one of the first to be awarded the title of Hero City for the courage and heroism of its defenders.

Special siege awards were established - the medal “For the Defense of Leningrad” and the badge “Resident of besieged Leningrad”.

Text prepared by Maria Shustrova

Literature:
Granin D., Adamovich A. Blockade book. St. Petersburg, 1994.
Matyushina O.K. Song about life. M., 1978.
Hass G. German occupation policy in the Leningrad region (1941-1944) No. 6, 2003

The order to attack Leningrad was given by Hitler on September 6, and within two days the city was surrounded. This day is the official beginning of the blockade, but in reality the population was cut off from the rest of the country as early as August 27, since the railway lines were already blocked at that time. The USSR command did not foresee this scenario, so it did not organize the delivery of food to the city residents in advance, although it began evacuating residents in the summer. Due to this delay, a huge number of people died of starvation.

The starvation of the inhabitants of Leningrad was part of Hitler's plans. He understood well that if the troops launched an assault, the losses would be too great. It was assumed that it would be possible to capture the city after several months of blockade.

On September 14, Zhukov took command. He gave a very terrible, but, as shown, order that stopped the Russian retreat and forced him to reject thoughts of surrendering Leningrad. According to this order, anyone who voluntarily surrenders will be shot, and the prisoner of war himself will be killed if he manages to return alive. Thanks to this order, instead of the surrender of Leningrad, a war began, which lasted for several more years.

Breaking and ending the blockade

The essence of the blockade was to gradually expel or kill the entire population of Leningrad, and then raze the city to the ground. Hitler ordered that “paths” be left along which people could escape from the city, so that its population would thus decline faster. Refugees were killed or driven away, since the Germans could not contain prisoners, and this was not part of their plans.

According to Hitler's order, not a single German had the right to enter the territory of Leningrad. It was only supposed to bomb the city and starve the inhabitants, but not allow casualties among soldiers due to fighting in the streets.

Attempts to break the blockade were made several times - in the fall of 1941, in the winter of 1942, in the winter of 1943. However, the breakthrough took place only on January 18, 1943, when the Russian army managed to recapture the Petrofortress and completely clear it of enemy troops. However, this joyful event, unfortunately, did not mark the end of the blockade, as German troops continued to strengthen their positions in other areas of the suburbs and, in particular, south of Leningrad. The battles were long and bloody, but the desired result was not achieved.

The blockade was finally lifted only on January 27, 1944, when the enemy troops encircling the city were completely defeated. Thus, the blockade lasted 872 days.

The blockade of Leningrad was broken three years after the siege began. All this time, attempts to break through did not stop. The heroic assistance of the civilian population and the dedication of the defenders of Leningrad saved the city from destruction. How it was possible and what price had to be paid.

Since the autumn of 1941, the city of Leningrad was captured by German troops in a blockade ring. Since large losses of personnel on both sides were expected during the assault on Leningrad, the enemy command decides to simply starve civilians to death. Thereby minimizing your losses. Therefore, during the Battle of Leningrad, the main goal of the army Soviet Union was to break through the blockade ring.

The city did not have sufficient food supplies from the very beginning. And this was known to both the Soviet and German commands. Bread cards were introduced in the city even before the siege of Leningrad began. At first this was only a preventive measure, and the standard of bread was sufficient - 800 grams per person. But already on September 2, 1941, it was reduced (the blockade ring was closed on September 8), and in the period from November 20 to December 25, the norm was cut to 250 grams of bread for workers and 125 grams for employees, children and dependents.

The only connecting thread between the besieged city and the country was the shores of Lake Ladoga. Along it, first on ships and later on ice, food was delivered to the city. Residents of besieged Leningrad continued to evacuate along the same route. This path along Lake Ladoga was known as the Road of Life. But, despite all the efforts and heroism of the people working there, this flow was not sufficient to save the city. Although thanks to him it was possible to save thousands and thousands of lives. Moving along it in itself is fraught with enormous dangers. In addition, we had to constantly fear attacks from enemy aircraft.

Road along Lake Ladoga - “Road of Life”

Events of 1941

Despite the fact that at the same time a large-scale Wehrmacht offensive was unfolding, which resulted in the Battle of Moscow, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief Headquarters paid no less attention to the Leningrad Front. Stalin gave a personal order to prevent the capture of Leningrad at any cost. Zhukov conveyed this idea to the soldiers as simply as possible. He explained that the family of anyone who left their position without permission or succumbed to panic would be shot.

Even before the ring of the enemy blockade closed, railway communication between Leningrad and the rest of the country was interrupted. Therefore, the 54th Army received orders to launch an offensive in the direction of the village of Mgi in order to take possession of the railway section and restore communications with Leningrad. While the army was being pulled to this direction, the Germans captured Shlisselburg, thereby closing the encirclement ring.

In this regard, the assignment of the 54th Army was immediately changed. They had to break through the blockade before the German units had time to thoroughly fortify themselves. They began to act immediately. On September 10th, Soviet soldiers began to attack the enemy. They were able to recapture several sections of land, but after just two days they were driven back to their original positions by powerful enemy counterattacks. Day after day the Red Army soldiers renewed their attacks. They attacked at different times and tried to break through different sections of the front. But everything was unsuccessful. It was not possible to break through the enemy blockade. For such a failure, Marshal of the Soviet Union Kulik was removed from office.

Meanwhile, Zhukov, whose task was the direct defense of the city from enemy attempts to capture Leningrad, did not dare to weaken the main forces and come to the rescue. However, he allocated part of the Neva operational group to break through the ring. They managed to win back a small piece of land, with an area of ​​only two kilometers. Later it was called Nevsky Piglet. These few kilometers cost the lives of 50,000 Soviet soldiers. Although, as is the case with many other battles of the Great Patriotic War, these data are disputed. There are those who call the figure 260 thousand people. According to statistics, soldiers arriving here lived from 5 minutes to 52 hours. 50 thousand shells hit the Nevsky patch per day.

The attacks came one after another. Over a period of 43 days, 79 attacks were carried out. In hindsight, these terrible sacrifices were in vain. It was not possible to make a hole in the German defense. But at the time when these bloody battles took place, this piece of land was the only hope for breaking the blockade of Leningrad. And in the city people were literally dying of hunger. And they died by the thousands, just walking down the street. Therefore, they fought without looking back.

Memorial "Nevsky Piglet"

Attempts to break the blockade of Leningrad in 1942

In January 1942, troops near Leningrad were ordered to encircle and destroy the 18th German army, located south of the city. To accomplish this task, the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts had to act in concert and move towards each other. On January 7th the Volkhov Front set out. It took them a week to start crossing the Volkhov. The breakthrough was a success, and the 2nd Army began to build on its success by penetrating the enemy’s ranks. She managed to advance 60 km. But the Leningrad Front, for its part, was unable to advance. For three months the 2nd Army held its position. And then the Germans cut it off from the main forces, thus cutting off the ability of the Volkhov Front to send reinforcements. None of the groups on the Leningrad Front managed to break through. The soldiers were surrounded. They were unable to break through the ring. Within four months, the 2nd Army was completely destroyed.

In the summer they set another task, not so grandiose. The troops had to break through a small corridor to make it possible to restore land connections with the besieged city. This time the Leningrad Front began to act. It seemed unsuccessful. However, according to the plan, this advance was only supposed to distract the enemy. Eight days later, the offensive of the Volkhov Front began. This time it was possible to bring it closer to half the distance to the connection with Leningradsky. But this time too, the Germans managed to push back the Soviet troops to their original positions. As a result of this operation to break the enemy siege, as before, a large number of people died. The German side lost 35 thousand people in these battles. USSR – 160 thousand people.

Breaking the blockade

The next attempt was made on January 12, 1943. The area chosen for the offensive was very difficult, and the Leningrad soldiers suffered from exhaustion. The enemy fortified himself on the left bank of the river, which was higher than the right. On the slope the Germans installed in tiers fire weapons, which reliably covered all approaches. And the slope itself was prudently filled with water, turning it into an impregnable glacier.

The Leningrad soldiers who took part in the offensive trained intensely for several months, literally rehearsing everything they would have to do during the attack. On the appointed day in the morning, artillery salvoes fired simultaneously from both fronts, which lasted more than two hours. As soon as the artillery fell silent, targeted airstrikes began. And immediately after them the assault groups went forward. With the help of "crampons", hooks and assault ladders, they successfully overcame the ice barrier and rushed into battle.

This time the resistance was broken. Although the German groups fought desperately, they had to retreat. The most brutal battles took place on the flanks of the breakthrough. Even after the German groups were surrounded there, they continued to fight. The German command began hastily sending reserves to the breakthrough site, trying to close the gap and restore the encirclement. But this time they failed. A corridor 8 kilometers wide was conquered and held. In just 17 days, a road and railway were built along it.

Lifting the blockade of Leningrad

Breaking the siege of Leningrad in 1943 was very important. Thanks to the resulting corridor, it became possible to evacuate the remaining civilians and provide the troops with the necessary supplies. But the complete lifting of the blockade of Leningrad occurred only after another year of bloody battles.

The plan for the next military operation was developed, like the previous one, by Govorov. He presented him to the Supreme Commander's Headquarters in September 1943. Having received approval, Govorov began preparations. As in the case of the previous operation, he sought to work out everything to the smallest detail in order to achieve the goal while suffering the least possible losses. The operation began on January 14, 1944. Its final result was to be the complete lifting of the siege of Leningrad.

According to all the rules of military affairs, the beginning was again made by powerful artillery preparation. After this, the 2nd Army moved from the Oranienbaum bridgehead. At the same time, the 42nd Army advanced from the Pulkovo Heights. This time they managed to break through the defense. Moving towards each other, the groupings of these armies in hot battles wedged themselves deep into the enemy’s defenses. They completely defeated the Peterhof-Strelninsk German group. On January 27, 1944, the blockade survivors managed to push back the enemy group 100 kilometers from the city. The terrible siege was finally lifted.

Realizing the importance of the event of lifting the siege of Leningrad, commanders Zhdanov and Govorov decided to take an unprecedented step - they turned to Stalin with a request to allow the victory salute to be carried out not in Moscow, as was customary, but in Leningrad itself. The great city, which withstood the great test, was allowed to do this. On the twenty-seventh of January, to commemorate the day of breaking the siege of Leningrad, 324 guns in the city fired four salvos.

Several decades have passed. People who personally saw besieged Leningrad have grown old. Many of them have already died. But the contribution of the defenders of Leningrad has not been forgotten. Great Patriotic War rich in tragic and heroic events. But the day of the liberation of Leningrad is still remembered today. Of the seven desperate attempts to break through, for each of which thousands of soldiers paid with their lives, only two were successful. But these achievements were no longer surrendered by Soviet troops. German attempts to restore the blockade were unsuccessful.

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. After many years after breaking 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. Could the situation have been mitigated and prepared for in advance? The issue is controversial and worthy of separate research.

The first days of the siege of Leningrad

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 siege of Leningrad in the Badaev warehouses - in the repository of the city's strategic reserves - provoked a terrible famine during the blockade 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 a huge city as Leningrad was (and about 3 people lived in it at that time). million people) was not possible, so the city fed on imported products, and existing supplies 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.

Siege of Leningrad - pain and death

Memories of the people's siege of Leningrad who survived it, their letters and diaries reveal to us a terrible 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. Besides hunger besieged Leningrad Other disasters also attacked: very frosty winters, sometimes the thermometer dropped to -40 degrees. Running out of fuel and frozen water pipes- 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.

Life of besieged Leningrad

At the same time Leningraders They tried with all their might to survive and not let their hometown die. Moreover, Leningrad helped the army by producing military products - the factories continued to operate in such conditions. Theaters and museums resumed their activities. It was necessary to prove to the enemy, and, most importantly, to ourselves: siege of Leningrad will not kill the city, it continues to live! One of the striking examples of amazing dedication and love for the Motherland, life, and 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, the symphony orchestra had already resumed its activities in Leningrad. 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.

The Road of Life is the pulse of a besieged city

From the first days of the blockade, the Road of Life began its dangerous and heroic work - pulse besieged LeningradA. 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 traveled 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.

Children's contribution to the liberation of Leningrad from the siege. Ensemble of A.E.Obrant

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. In the first winter siege of Leningrad many children were evacuated, but despite this, for various reasons, many more children remained 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 a 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. Remember How long did the siege of Leningrad last? 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 in spirit, 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".

Breaking the blockade 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 began to lifting the blockade of Leningrad. 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, carried out breaking the siege of Leningrad. The Nazis began to retreat. Soon the cities of Pushkin, Gatchina and Chudovo were liberated. The blockade was completely lifted.

Tragic and great page Russian history, which killed more than 2 million human lives. As long as the memory of these terrible days lives in the hearts of people, finds a response in talented works of art, and is passed on from hand to hand to descendants, this will not happen again! Siege of Leningrad briefly, but Vera Inberg succinctly described her lines as a hymn to the great city and at the same time a requiem for the departed.

The offensive of fascist troops on Leningrad, the capture of which the German command attached great strategic and political importance, began on July 10, 1941. In August, heavy fighting was already taking place on the outskirts of the city. On August 30, German troops cut the railways connecting Leningrad with the country. On September 8, 1941, Nazi troops captured Shlisselburg and cut off Leningrad from the entire country by land. An almost 900-day blockade of the city began, communication with which was maintained only by Lake Ladoga and by air.

Having failed in their attempts to break through the defenses of the Soviet troops inside the blockade ring, the Germans decided to starve the city out. According to all the calculations of the German command, Leningrad should have been wiped off the face of the earth, and the city’s population should have died of hunger and cold. In an effort to implement this plan, the enemy conducted barbaric bombings and artillery shelling of Leningrad: on September 8, the day the blockade began, the first massive bombardment of the city took place. About 200 fires broke out, one of them destroyed the Badayevsky food warehouses. In September-October, enemy aircraft carried out several raids a day. The enemy's goal was not only to interfere with the activities of important enterprises, but also to create panic among the population. For this purpose, particularly intense artillery shelling was carried out at the beginning and end of the working day. In total, during the blockade, about 150 thousand shells were fired at the city and over 107 thousand incendiary and high-explosive bombs were dropped. Many died during the shelling and bombing, many buildings were destroyed.

The autumn-winter of 1941-1942 was the most terrible time of the blockade. Early winter brought with it cold - heating, hot water there was none, and Leningraders began to burn furniture, books, and dismantled wooden buildings for firewood. The transport was standing still. Thousands of people died from dystrophy and cold. But Leningraders continued to work - administrative institutions, printing houses, clinics, kindergartens, theaters, a public library were working, scientists continued to work. 13-14-year-old teenagers worked, replacing their fathers who had gone to the front.

The struggle for Leningrad was fierce. A plan was developed that included measures to strengthen the defense of Leningrad, including anti-aircraft and anti-artillery. Over 4,100 pillboxes and bunkers were built in the city, 22 thousand firing points were installed in buildings, and over 35 kilometers of barricades and anti-tank obstacles were installed on the streets. Three hundred thousand Leningraders participated in the local air defense units of the city. Day and night they kept their watch at factories, in the courtyards of houses, on the roofs.

In the difficult conditions of the blockade, the working people of the city provided the front with weapons, equipment, uniforms, and ammunition. 10 divisions were formed from the city population people's militia, 7 of which became personnel.
(Military encyclopedia. Chairman of the Main Editorial Commission S.B. Ivanov. Military Publishing House. Moscow. in 8 volumes - 2004. ISBN 5 - 203 01875 - 8)

In the autumn on Lake Ladoga, due to storms, ship traffic was complicated, but tugs with barges made their way around the ice fields until December 1941, and some food was delivered by plane. Hard ice was not installed on Ladoga for a long time, and bread distribution standards were again reduced.

On November 22, the movement of vehicles on the ice road began. This transport route was called the "Road of Life". In January 1942, traffic on the winter road was already constant. The Germans bombed and shelled the road, but they failed to stop the traffic.

In winter, the evacuation of the population began. The first to be taken out were women, children, the sick, and the elderly. In total, about a million people were evacuated. In the spring of 1942, when things became a little easier, Leningraders began to clean up the city. Bread distribution standards have increased.

In the summer of 1942, a pipeline was laid along the bottom of Lake Ladoga to supply Leningrad with fuel, and in the fall - an energy cable.

Soviet troops repeatedly tried to break through the blockade ring, but achieved this only in January 1943. A corridor 8-11 kilometers wide has formed south of Lake Ladoga. Along the southern shore of Ladoga, a railway 33 kilometers long and a crossing across the Neva was built. In February 1943, trains with food, raw materials, and ammunition traveled along it to Leningrad.

In memory of the victims of the siege and dead participants The memorial ensembles of the Piskarevsky Cemetery and the Seraphim Cemetery are dedicated to the defense of Leningrad; the Green Belt of Glory was created around the city along the former blockade ring of the front.

The material was prepared based on information from open sources