Marking the Day of Remembrance and Sorrow: The exhibition “Heroic Deeds of Leningrad in letters, documents and postcards” opens in the Memorial Hall of the Monument to the Heroic Defenders of Leningrad

On June 22, 2022 the exhibition Heroic Deeds of Leningrad in letters, documents and postcards. From the collection of Vladimir Yolkin opens in the Memorial Hall of the Monument to the Heroic Defenders of Leningrad on the Victory Square.

Leningrad, one of the biggest industrial and cultural centers of the Soviet Union, suffered from the heaviest siege during the war. For sixteen months, the city didn’t have any access to the overland supply routes. After breaking the siege, the supply continued through the dangerous corridor, located directly along the front line. The Battle for Leningrad lasted for over three years and was one of the bloodiest in the war history. The siege of the city was catastrophic to its residents – the number of casualties was more than one million people. Every citizen battled the invisible enemy – starvation that reached an unprecedented level during the first winter of the war and tortured the residents for almost the entire war. Lifting the siege didn’t bring peace. The battle with the enemy continued for months, while the restoration of the postwar Leningrad took years. The experiences of the Leningrad residents, their feelings and dreams are reflected in private letters, authentic documents of the war time, postcards published during the siege that preserve the images of the besieged city.

The exhibition showcases over a dozen of handwritten and printed exhibits from the collection of Vladimir Ivanovich Yolkin. They tell about the everyday and artistic life of the besieged city, and the active publishing work in Leningrad during the years of the siege.

The exhibition will run until August 30, 2022.