On January 27, the Russian Federation celebrates the Day of Military Glory of Russia - the Day of Lifting the Siege of the City of Leningrad. The date is celebrated on the basis of the federal law “On Days of Military Glory and Memorable Dates of Russia” dated March 13, 1995.

The offensive of fascist troops on Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), 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, the Nazis managed to blockade the city from land. According to Hitler's plan, Leningrad was to be wiped off the face of the earth. 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 calculations of the German command, the population of Leningrad should have died from hunger and cold.

On September 8, the day the blockade began, the first massive bombing of Leningrad took place. About 200 fires broke out, one of them destroyed the Badayevsky food warehouses.

In September-October, enemy aircraft carried out several raids per day. The enemy's goal was not only to interfere with the activities of important enterprises, but also to create panic among the population. Particularly intense shelling was conducted at the beginning and end of the working day. Many died during the shelling and bombing, many buildings were destroyed.

The conviction that the enemy would not be able to capture Leningrad restrained the pace of evacuation. More than two and a half million residents, including 400 thousand children, found themselves in a blocked city. There were few food supplies, so we had to use food substitutes. Since the introduction of the card system, food distribution standards to the population of Leningrad have been repeatedly reduced.

Autumn-winter 1941-1942 - the most terrible time of the blockade. Early winter brought with it cold - there was no heating or hot water, and Leningraders began to burn furniture, books, and dismantle 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.

In the autumn on 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.

By January 27, 1944, troops of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts broke the defenses of the 18th German Army, defeated its main forces and advanced 60 km in depth. Seeing a real threat of encirclement, the Germans retreated. Krasnoe Selo, Pushkin, and Pavlovsk were liberated from the enemy. January 27 became the day of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the siege. On this day, festive fireworks were given in Leningrad.

The siege of Leningrad lasted 900 days and became the bloodiest blockade in human history. The historical significance of the defense of Leningrad is enormous. Soviet soldiers, having stopped the enemy hordes near Leningrad, turned it into a powerful bastion of the entire Soviet-German front in the north-west. By pinning down significant forces of fascist troops for 900 days, Leningrad thereby provided significant assistance to the development of operations on all other sectors of the vast front. The victories of Moscow and Stalingrad, Kursk and the Dnieper included a significant share of the defenders of Leningrad.

The Motherland highly appreciated the feat of the city’s defenders. Over 350 thousand soldiers, officers and generals of the Leningrad Front were awarded orders and medals, 226 of them were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. About 1.5 million people were awarded the medal "For the Defense of Leningrad".

For courage, perseverance and unprecedented heroism in the days of the difficult struggle against the Nazi invaders, the city of Leningrad was awarded the Order of Lenin on January 20, 1945, and on May 8, 1965 received the honorary title “Hero City”.

The material was prepared based on information from open sources

Date of publication: 06/28/2017 14:17

Today, June 5, without much fanfare, St. Petersburg and Kronstadt will celebrate a significant date - the lifting of the naval or mine blockade of Leningrad.

Immediately after the defeat of the Nazi troops under the walls of the city on the Neva, the command of the Baltic Fleet, at the direction of the USSR Government, began to clear the waters of the Gulf of Finland from mines and other explosive objects. It was very difficult and heroic work. In fact, mine clearance in the eastern part of the Baltic Sea began in the fall of 1944 and continued until the early 60s. We can recall that back in April 1943, the Military Council of the Navy made an important decision to build dozens of small minesweepers - “hundred-tonners” - at all shipyards of the still besieged city. At the same time, the Boat Plant (now NPO Almaz) accelerated the construction of boat minesweepers with a wooden hull of the KM type. This intense and deadly work had its victories and sacrifices. Probably the most significant victory was breaking the mine blockade of Leningrad in 1946. According to various estimates, more than 80 thousand mines were laid by us, the Germans and the Finns in the Gulf area alone. At least 100 thousand mines - in various coastal waters of the Baltic. The situation was further aggravated by the fact that mines were sometimes placed chaotically, including by aircraft, from the ice of the bay; hundreds and even thousands of mines were torn from anchors and mines and floated freely in the shipping zone. There was another problem - in the eastern part of the bay and Neva Bay, the Germans laid more than one hundred magnetic, antenna and acoustic mines. Non-contact trawls, and also - for ten mines - there was one explosive device - a mine protector. Special ammunition designed to destroy trawls and minesweepers. Interestingly, the Archive of the Russian Navy contains a translation of a review article by the magazine “Navy”, our then allies, in which at least five years were given for clearing the fairways of the Gulf of Finland. Dangerous and difficult work fell to the lot of the trawling crews of our Baltic Fleet. Our sailors coped with it with dignity. Almost half of the minesweepers were based in Kronstadt. Our city, of course, can be called a participant in breaking the mine blockade. For months, small wooden ships, often with steam engines, ironed the fairways with contact and bottom trawls, destroying the “horned death.” Alas, more than three hundred Baltic sailors died or were injured just clearing the waters of the eastern part of the bay... With the end of the war, sea communication between Leningrad and the Baltic ports could only be maintained along the skerry fairway provided by Finland. At the final stage of the war, our submariners used this channel to move to the Baltic Sea to combat positions, bypassing the mined Gulf of Finland. Unfortunately, the skerry fairway was intended only for small-displacement vessels, and in addition, it was extremely difficult for navigation. The situation was complicated by the fact that the Baltic seaports were completely destroyed. The restoration of the deep-sea outlet from Leningrad to the Baltic Sea along the Gulf of Finland acquired the greatest national importance. The main fairway for such sea traffic was the Great Ship Fairway, which was repeatedly blocked by minefields during the war years. For several months, the heroic sailors of the Baltic Fleet “cut” a new “window to Europe” through enemy minefields. On June 5, 1946, the Hydrographic Department of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet notified sailors about the opening of the Great Ship Fairway from Kronstadt to the Tallinn-Helsinki fairway, which by that time already had a connection with the Baltic Sea. Then the Leningrad seaport began operating at full capacity again. 71 years have passed since this, unfortunately, little-known Leningrad victory...

Museum of the History of Kronstadt

On Tuesday, June 5, at the pier in the Central Park of Culture and Culture named after S.M. Kirov, a solemn meeting and a flower-laying ceremony took place at the memorial stele “Mineweeper Sailors” and “Memory Watch” - the launching of a wreath.

According to tradition, the event began with a formation near the memorial stele “Mineweeper Sailors”. Then came the ceremonial part. Representatives of the executive and legislative authorities of St. Petersburg and public organizations addressed the audience.

During the ceremony, baskets of flowers were laid at the memorial stele “Mineweeper Sailors” from: the government of St. Petersburg, the Legislative Assembly of the Northern capital, the High Command of the Navy and public organizations. Then a wreath in memory of the fallen minesweepers was solemnly lowered onto the waters of the Middle Nevka. The ceremony continued with a minute of silence. A guard of honor lined up.

The event in memory of the important historical event is being held in St. Petersburg for the 11th time. As Galina Kolosova, Deputy Chairman of the Social Policy Committee, notes, for St. Petersburg this is one of the brightest pages in the military history of our city. This was a significant event for the restoration of shipping. Galina Kolosova recalled that on the anniversary of the 70th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade during the Great Patriotic War, a stele was erected at the Serafimovskoye cemetery in memory of the sailors who died while clearing the Gulf of Finland from German mines. In 2016, in St. Petersburg, a decision was made to install a monument to the “Feat of the Minesweepers of the Baltic Fleet” in Kronstadt. The customer was the Union of Shipbuilding Veterans. Currently, work is underway to raise funds for the design, manufacture and installation of the monument. In memory of an important event - the opening of passage along the Great Ship Fairway from Kronstadt to the Tallinn-Helsinki fairway - the date June 5, “Day of Breaking the Naval Mine Blockade of Leningrad,” was included in the Law of St. Petersburg “On Holidays and Days of Remembrance in St. Petersburg.”

– St. Petersburg is a maritime city; it was conceived by Peter the Great primarily to provide access to the sea. The entire history of our city is inextricably linked with shipbuilding and shipping. Therefore, the situation of a sea mine blockade is the most unnatural for us, even at the moment when the blockade on land has already been lifted. Despite all the severe consequences of the Great Patriotic War, the city managed to carry out serious measures to clear mines from such a complex fairway as the Gulf of Finland in a year and a half. The professionalism of the people who did this painstaking work deserves great respect,” says Nadezhda Tikhonova, deputy head of the “A Just Russia” faction in the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg.

For the sailors of ships and trawling crews, the war did not end on May 9, 1945. Only 1963 is considered the year of complete elimination of the mine threat in the Baltic Sea. When the war ended, the Gulf of Finland was still an area closed to ships. The clearing of the fairway from mines, which began in the fall of 1944, was completed by the beginning of June 1946. On June 5, 1946, the Hydrographic Department of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet notified sailors about the opening of the Great Ship Fairway from Kronstadt to the Tallinn-Helsinki fairway, which by that time already had a connection with the Baltic Sea. Then the Leningrad seaport began operating at full capacity again.

– During any upheaval, communication facilities and transport infrastructure become the main strategic objects. During the Great Patriotic War, Leningrad suffered perhaps the most severe trials. And the connecting threads with the mainland were almost all destroyed due to the blockade. On the one hand, restoration proceeded with lightning speed (take, for example, the fact of the rapid appearance of the Road of Life), on the other hand, we still have not restored everything lost in the fight against fascism. Against this background, absolutely everything is important. Only some exploits are world famous, while others are more local. And the feat of the Soviet minesweepers was a little unlucky. The city has a date for breaking the blockade - January 18, the day of complete liberation - January 27. We also remember the tragic day – September 8th. Ask passers-by about June 5, about minesweepers, about breaking the naval mine blockade. I suspect that the percentage of those who know will not be large. But this does not mean that the date is insignificant. Leningrad has always been a seaport. It arose with the goal of Russia's access to the sea. The mined fairway deprived the city of one of the most important and historical transport lines, which violated the very idea of ​​​​Peter I, - shared his opinion Alexander Uryadov, deputy director for additional education and youth policy of the Maritime Technical College named after Admiral D.N. Senyavin.

Yuri Mitrofanov, deputy chairman of the Admiralty Coordination Council of public veteran organizations of the Navy, told how mine clearance took place.

They were trawling a mine. She floated up. Two sailors on a boat swam to the mine. They should have set the charge. One wrong move and that's it. The charger worked after five minutes. The sailors had to “run away” in time to avoid getting caught in the explosion. The people who did this are, of course, heroes,” said Yuri Mitrofanov.

Yuri Mitrofanov reported that in St. Petersburg the idea arose to create a naval alternative to the Yunarmiya called “Yunflot”. After all, many children already wear naval uniforms and study in maritime classes. The idea was supported by the Maritime Council under the government of St. Petersburg.

– Our idea, St. Petersburg. It found a response in the Maritime Council under the Government of St. Petersburg, and they are actively involved in it. Why don’t we have something like this, because we are the sea capital. We've been fighting for six months. This idea has been brewing for a long time. And everyone supported her,” Yuri Mitrofanov said in an interview with Sergius Chimes.

Mikhail Petukhov is a participant in combat mine sweeping. In 1951, he served in the 23rd division of the 94th brigade on the minesweeper "704" in the Tallinn direction. He carries out patriotic work among schoolchildren and cadets.

Much less is known about the exploits of the minesweepers than about other military events. About 45 thousand mines were placed in the waters of the Gulf of Finland, 500 warships were damaged. At the cost of the lives of sailors, and more than 1,300 people died, the mine clearance task was completed. During the war and post-war period, 149 minesweepers and minesweepers were blown up by mines. It is necessary that as much as possible be known about this.

-We shouldn't become callous. This is unacceptable. If we don’t do this, no one will,” said Mikhail Petukhov.

In St. Petersburg, the United Council of Veterans of Protective Water Areas and Trawling Brigades of the Baltic Fleet was created and operates, now the Council of Veterans of the public organization of OVR formations and Navy minesweeping brigades in the mine war at sea. The workers and engineers who, during the difficult war and early post-war years, built minesweepers for clearing mines in the Baltic Sea at Leningrad shipbuilding enterprises, are united by the public organization “Union of Shipbuilding Veterans.”

They are trying to record and preserve the memories of veterans. Now, when a lot of water has passed under the bridge since the time of their feat, this is not an easy job. The head of the Council of Veterans of the public organization of OVR formations and Navy minesweeping brigades in the mine war at sea, Nikolai Ivanov, wrote the books: “Book of Memory of the Heroes of the Mine War in the Baltic” and “Chronicle of the Mine War in the Baltic: Day by Day.”

10:30 — REGNUM

In St. Petersburg today, June 5, they remember those who helped victorious Leningrad escape from the mine blockade in which its enemies “shackled” it during the Great Patriotic War.

Commons.wikimedia.org

The day of breaking the naval mine blockade of Leningrad was established by city law in memory of an important historical event - the opening of passage along the Great Ship Fairway from Kronstadt to the Tallinn-Helsinki fairway, which took place on June 5, 1946.

During the war, to blockade Leningrad from the sea, the Nazi German navy installed many multi-tiered mine barriers in the Gulf of Finland, consisting of tens of thousands of sea mines. As a result, the Gulf of Finland became impassable for ships.

After the complete liberation of Leningrad from the blockade in January 1944 and Finland's exit from the war on the side of Germany in September of the same year, the opportunity arose to begin clearing the Gulf of Finland of mines.

But there were so many of these deadly traps that even by the end of the war the Gulf of Finland was still an area closed to navigation. Clearing the shipping channel from mines, which began in the fall of 1944, was completed only by the beginning of June 1946.

Before the fairway was opened for navigation, four divisions of minesweepers simultaneously passed through it and managed to detect and eliminate several more mines.

Finally, on June 5, 1946, the Hydrographic Department of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet informed all sailors about the opening of the Great Ship Fairway from Kronstadt to the Tallinn-Helsinki fairway. After this, the Leningrad seaport began work again, sending and receiving civilian ships.

However, work to clear mines throughout the Gulf of Finland continued until 1963.

“Thanks to the selfless, heroic work of Soviet sailors, the Great Ship Channel was cleared of mines 72 years ago and safe passage of ships into the open sea was ensured. This feat of the Baltic people will forever remain in the chronicle of the glorious deeds of St. Petersburg and our entire country,”- said the head of the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg in his address on the occasion of the memorable date Vyacheslav Makarov.

The politician recalled that every combat mission to trawling required enormous courage and professionalism from Soviet sailors, and many sailors did not return to base.

“It is impossible to overestimate the valor and courage of the minesweeper crews of the Baltic Fleet. For several years, they risked their lives every day, clearing the sea approaches to Leningrad. Eternal glory to the heroes who continued to fight for our city even after the last salvos of the war had died down.”, added the speaker of the city parliament.

On this day in St. Petersburg, a solemn funeral ceremony of laying flowers is taking place at the monument to boat minesweepers in the Central Park of Culture and Culture named after. CM. Kirov.

Background

The politics of the 90s, when everything connected with the Soviet Union was attacked, has been replaced in Russia by a focus on patriotic education and the preservation of the spiritual bonds that unite Russian citizens. The most important place here was occupied by the memory of the victory in the Great Patriotic War, as a manifestation of mass patriotism and heroism of the Soviet people.
At the same time, attempts to distort military history continue both from foreign journalists, historians and artists, and from within Russia. Thus, a RANEPA survey in 2015 showed that 60% of Russian citizens notice such distortions in the domestic media, and 82.5% in the foreign press.
A particularly fierce struggle against the legacy of the Great Patriotic War is being waged in countries that directly or indirectly support fascist ideas: primarily in Ukraine and the Baltic states.

On the 8th of September the mournful anniversary is celebrated - 75 years old from the start date Siege of Leningrad- one of the most terrible crimes of World War II committed by Nazi Germany and its allies.

It is believed that the Siege of Leningrad lasted 900 days. However, in reality there were 872 days of blockade - from September 8, 1941 to January 27, 1944. According to historians today, based on the latest data, the Siege of Leningrad claimed the lives of about one and a half million people, 97% of the victims died of starvation.

Key dates associated with the Siege of Leningrad

• September 8, 1941 - The day the blockade began;
• January 18, 1943 - Day of breaking the blockade;
• January 27, 1944 - Day of complete lifting of the blockade;
• June 5, 1946 - Day of breaking through the naval mine blockade of Leningrad.

Beginning of the blockade

The beginning of the blockade is considered to be September 8, 1941, when the land connection between Leningrad and the rest of the USSR was interrupted. However, in fact, the blockade began two weeks earlier - on August 27, the city’s railway connection with the mainland was interrupted; by this time, tens of thousands of people had accumulated at the stations and in the suburbs of Leningrad, trying to escape to the east. Also in the city at that time there were already more than 300 thousand refugees from the western regions of the USSR and the Baltic republics captured by the Nazis.

Hunger

Leningrad entered the war with the usual supply of food. Food cards were introduced in the city on July 17, but food was not particularly saved, the norms were large, and there was no shortage of food before the blockade began.

However, by the beginning of the blockade, it turned out that the city did not have sufficient supplies of food and fuel, and the only thread connecting Leningrad with the mainland was the famous Road of Life, which ran along Lake Ladoga and was within the reach of enemy artillery and aircraft.

The catastrophic food situation for the besieged city became clear on September 12, when inspections of food warehouses were completed. Not only were losses due to the famous Babaev warehouses bombed during the first air raids, where a significant amount of food was concentrated, but also errors in the distribution of food in the first two months of the war had an impact. The first sharp reduction in food distribution standards occurred on September 15. After this, the norms decreased until December, standing at a minimum level of the famous 125 blockade grams, which were due to children and dependents.

In addition, from September 1, the free sale of food was prohibited (this measure was in effect until mid-1944). The official sale of products in so-called commercial stores at market prices was also prohibited. At the same time, on the black market, which operated in Leningrad throughout the war and the blockade, food, fuel, medicine, etc. could be exchanged for valuables.

In October, city residents already felt a clear shortage of food, and in November real famine began. It was especially scary when, before ice was established on Ladoga, food was delivered to the city only by air. Only with the beginning of winter did the Road of Life begin to operate at full capacity, but the products delivered along it, naturally, were not enough. At the same time, all transport communications were under constant enemy fire.

The harsh winter of 1941-42 aggravated the horrors of mass starvation, which led to huge casualties in the first winter of the siege.

Victims of the blockade

During the years of the blockade, according to various sources, from 600 thousand to one and a half million people died. At the Nuremberg trials, they talked about 632 thousand dead, but later this number was repeatedly revised, alas, upward. Only 3% of the dead were victims of bombing and shelling, the remaining 97% died of starvation.

Citizens! During shelling, this side of the street is the most dangerous!

In the first months of the blockade, despite the meager standards for the distribution of bread, death from hunger had not yet become a mass phenomenon, and most of the dead were victims of bombing and artillery shelling.

It was then that the famous inscriptions appeared on the walls of some houses: “Citizens! During shelling, this side of the street is the most dangerous.”

Inscriptions were made on houses on the northern and northeastern sides of the streets, since the Nazis were shelling the city from the south and southwest - from long-range guns installed on the Pulkovo Heights and in Strelna.

This is due to the fact that the shelling of Leningrad was carried out only from territories occupied by German troops; the Finnish units closing the blockade from the north almost did not shell the city. In Kronstadt, such inscriptions were painted on the southwestern sides of the streets, as the Germans were shelling from the direction of occupied Peterhof.

The most famous inscription on the even “sunny” side of Nevsky Prospekt was made in the summer of 1943 by two girls - fighters of the Local Air Defense (LAD) Tatyana Kotova and Lyubov Gerasimova.

Alas, the actual inscriptions on the walls have not been preserved, but in the 1960-1970s, some of them were recreated as a sign of memory of the heroism of Leningraders.

Currently, the inscriptions “Citizens! During shelling, this side of the street is the most dangerous” are stored at the following addresses:

• Nevsky Prospekt, building 14;
• Lesnoy prospect, house 61;
• 22 line of Vasilievsky Island, building 7;
• Posadskaya street in Kronstadt, house 17/14;
• Ammerman Street in Kronstadt, house 25.

All inscriptions are accompanied by marble plaques.

The feat of Leningrad was noted even before the end of the war. By order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of May 1, 1945, Leningrad was named a hero city for the heroism and courage shown by the city's residents during the siege. Along with Leningrad, three more cities were awarded this title - Stalingrad, Sevastopol and Odessa.