En
Ru
Transport communication between besieged Leningrad and the “Big Land” along Lake Ladoga launched
On September 12, 1941 in pursuance of the Decree of the State Committee of the USSR № 604 “On the transportation of goods for Leningrad” dated August 30, 1941, the first convoy of ships with food and ammunition for besieged Leningrad arrived on the western shore of Lake Ladoga, to the Osinovetsky Light.
The siege of Leningrad began on September 8, 1941 when Nazi forces occupied Shlisselburg. The land service between Leningrad and the rest of the country was interrupted. The lake of Ladoga was the last way to supply the besieged city. On September 12 the first convoy of ships with 800 tons of grain on board arrived to the port of Osinovets. On the same day 60 tons of ammunition for Leningrad’s front was unloaded from the patrol ship ‘Purga’. That marked the beginning of transportation by water route. From September 12 to November 15, when navigation had officially ended, 24 097 tons of grain, flour and cereals, over 1130 tons of meat and dairy products and other goods had been successfully transported across Ladoga.
When winter came and the lake covered with ice, the ice route, that Leningrad residents named ‘Road of Life’, started to operate. ‘Road of Life’ was of great importance especially during the first siege winter of 1941-1942 when over 360 thousand tons of goods, 6 rifle divisions with complete equipment and a tank brigade were transported to Leningrad. At the same time 550000 people were evacuated along with 3700 goods vans of industrial equipment and other stock. The total amount of goods transported to Leningrad by ‘Road of Life’ during the period of its operation was 1 million 615 thousand tons. At the same time 1 million 376 thousand people were evacuated from the city. In order to supply the besieged city with oil products Ladoga pipeline had been built across the bottom of the lake.
On January 18, 1943 when Russian forces occupied Shlisselburg, the blockage of Leningrad was broken. ‘Road of Life’ was replaced by ‘Road of Victory’ – the railway road that connected Leningrad and Volkhov. In 1974 at ‘Ladoga lake’ station near Osinovets there was constructed a memorial train station – monument.
Lit.: Дорога Жизни [Электронный ресурс] // Деревня Кобона. Б. д. URL: http://www.kobona.ru/liferoad.html; Ковальчук В. М. Ленинград и Большая земля. История Ладожской коммуникации блокированного Ленинграда в 1941-1943 гг. Л., 1975; Харитонов А. Д. Легендарная ледовая трасса. М., 1965.
Based on the Presidential Library’s materials: