Russian President Vladimir Putin will arrive in St. Petersburg on Wednesday to take part in commemorations marking the 80th anniversary of breakthrough of the blockade of Leningrad.
Breakthrough of the siege on January 18, 1943, resulting from the successful offensive operation of the Soviet troops "Iskra" (Spark) led by generals Govorov, Meretskov, and Marshal Zhukov, allowed to restore communication between the besieged city and the country and made it possible to fully lift the Nazi siege a year later, in January 1944.
The head of state will lay flowers at the monument "Rubizhny Kamen" (Boundary stone) in the Leningrad region (during the Great Patriotic War fierce battles took place there), at the common grave and at the monument "Mat-Rodina" (Mother Homeland) at the Piskarevsky memorial cemetery. The president will also visit the State Memorial Museum of the Defence and Siege of Leningrad, where he will meet with veterans of the Great Patriotic War, survivors of the siege of Leningrad, and representatives of public patriotic associations.
Within the framework of his trip to the North-Western Federal District, Putin will visit the Obukhov plant, which is part of the Almaz-Antey Concern, and will talk to the plant's workers. He also has a meeting scheduled with the governor of St. Petersburg, Alexander Beglov.
At the end of last year, the president drew the attention of the government and regional authorities to the approaching anniversary, calling for a responsible organization of events. As Putin pointed out, these dates are important not only for St. Petersburg itself, but for the whole country.
The feat of Leningrad
The siege of Leningrad lasted 872 days - from September 8, 1941, to January 27, 1944, but all this time life in the city did not stop, the companies, schools, and cultural institutions were working. The Battle of Leningrad went down in history as one of the longest and bloodiest battles of World War II.
In October 2022 the St. Petersburg City Court declared the siege of the city by the occupation authorities, Nazi German troops and their accomplices a war crime, a crime against humanity and genocide. The total number of victims, according to the data announced at the trial, was at least 1,093,842 people and the amount of damage to the city and its residents exceeded 35 trillion rubles in today's currency.
GSV "Russia - Islamic world"
Photo: Peter H\Pixabay
Based on materials from TASS