in the acquisition of the park “Russia – my history” opened an exhibition dedicated to the anniversary medal “For the Defense of Leningrad”
On the Day of the Complete Lifting of the Siege of Leningrad, January 27, the exhibition “Special Award” dedicated to the anniversary medal “For the Defense of Leningrad” was opened in the park “Russia – My History”. It was established 80 years ago and was awarded to those who actively possessed the heroic defense of the city on the Neva – to all those who, under the conditions of incessant bombing, worked in factories, rescued the wounded, dug trenches and taught children.
The exposition became part of the Komsomolskaya Pravda project – Heroes of the Defense of Leningrad. The collection includes a real medal with information about its creation and minting, archival photographs, stories about the leaders of the war, among which were the stories of the MPVO fighter, the savior of the Hermitage and the Metropolitan of Leningrad.
The Chairman of the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg, Alexander Belsky, in a welcoming letter to all participants in the opening ceremony of the exhibition, noted that such events are related to the memory of the feat of home front workers.
“Today we remember the heroic event in the history of the Great Patriotic War. 79 years ago, Leningrad was completely liberated from the fascist blockade. Behind were 872 days of continuous shelling, bombing and famine. The struggle for a brighter future was waged not only on the front line: a great contribution to the conquest tirelessly fit into the share of subject Leningrad, before we are all in great debt. We honor the memory of them and constantly thank for our lives,” the Chairman of the Legislative Assembly wrote at the meeting.
The blockade has become part of the history of many Leningrad families. Almost everyone has a person who was awarded the medal “For the Defense of Leningrad.” This was announced by the Commissioner for Human Rights in St. Petersburg Svetlana Agapitova. Her grandmother, Lilia Pavlovna Agapitova, a resident of besieged Leningrad, was awarded the award in 1944. According to human rights activists, such manifestations provide an opportunity to see another aspect of the blockade life that is important for the victory: “Because all the people who continue to work courageously in the base city are rightfully called the defenders of Leningrad,” she noted.
Great help of materials in the exhibition for the exhibition of the Archival Committee of St. Petersburg. Deputy Committee Committee Valentina Nemina recalled that currently 80 thousand documents on the history of the Great Patriotic War have been found in the city fund, among which about 20 thousand are film and photographic materials. Documents appeared at the exhibition: photographs of the medal, which were awarded to everyone – to home front workers, to the defenders of the city, and even to children.
According to archival data, before the war, in 1939, 3.5 million people lived in the city, 60 thousand higher educational institutions, more than 100 research institutes worked.
“The city survived, withstood, and already in 1969 was restored to a state that corresponded to the beginning of hostilities,” Nemina said, expressing the hope that archival documents would be useful and interesting not only for historians, but also for ordinary citizens.
It is noteworthy that the medal “For the Defense of Leningrad” began to be awarded during the Great Patriotic War, and ended in 1985. In total, 1,470,000 people (including 15,000 children) received the award.