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Russia marks breaking of Leningrad blockade · 2009-01-27 15:47
Russia's northern capital St. Petersburg is marking 65 years since the breaking of the Nazi blockade. Formerly known as Leningrad, the city lived through 900 days of starvation and horror.
About 4,000 people gathered near the village of Nikolskoye outside St. Petersburg on Sunday to watch a reenactment of the battle that led to the breaking of the Siege of Leningrad during World War II.
At least 350 participants, dressed in original Soviet and German military uniforms, staged a 40-minute battle to mark the 65th anniversary of the end of the Siege on Jan. 27 1944.
Snow on the battlefield was blackened by smoke from explosions when enthusiasts representing the German side attacked those representing the Soviet side, The St. Petersburg Times reports.
A real German T-4 tank, a Soviet T-34 tank, 45-mm antitank guns, an armored vehicle and a truck were used in the battle, which simulated the repulse of the Germans from Leningrad, as St. Petersburg was then known, by Soviet forces. Some spectators climbed pine trees to get a better view of the show.
The Second World War was devastating for the USSR. It became known as the Great Patriotic War, due to the suffering of the Soviet people, and the blockade was one of the toughest times. However, the breaking of the blockade was one of the key victories.
Hitler's army managed to surround an area of around 5,000 square kilometres, cutting almost all the road links to the city. The last one was a road on the frozen surface of Lake Ladoga. It was only available in the winter and was called the "road of life".
As the siege continued it wasn't unusual to see people drop down dead from starvation in the middle of the street. At one point during the blockade, the death toll was estimated at 4,000 people a day.
Hitler ordered Leningrad to be razed to the ground. It was constantly bombed from the air or shelled by artillery. Reminders of these times can still be seen today, such as a sign on a building warning that particular side will be the most vulnerable during artillery fire.
Several hundred thousand soldiers died defending the city, Russia Today informs.
There were several attempts to break the siege. In 1943 the Red Army managed to open a corridor for supplies to reach the city, but it took another year before the siege was completely lifted.
The total death toll is still unclear. Numbers vary from 400,000 to more than one million. Most were civilians.
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