Teleconference with residents of the besieged Leningrad held in Perm
Photo by Vitaly Koksharov The event was held in honour of the complete lifting of Leningrad siege during WWII. The participants of the teleconference recalled the difficult war years, the selfless heroism of soldiers and ordinary people, discussed the issues of keeping up and strengthening the historical memory .
Perm City Administration held a teleconference dedicated to the anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the Nazi blockade. «Echo of the Blockade» telebridge brought together several cities – Saint-Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Chelyabinsk and Vologda. The event was held under the leadership of Alexander Molokovskikh, acting deputy head of the Perm City Administration and was attended by former residents of the besieged Leningrad, representatives of the veterans’ movement, schoolchildren and cadets.
As Alexander Molokovskikh noted, the day of the lifting the siege of Leningrad is an event of national significance. In the history of the Great Patriotic War, the heroism and efforts of the city-on- the Neva are of special importance as having no analogues in the world’s history.
– With the outbreak of war and the occupation of the western part of the country, the Ural enterprises became the basis of the defense complex, producing ammunition and armoured vehicles, charges for «Katyusha» and aircraft rockets, soldier helmets and snowmobiles. Today, every Permian visiting St. Petersburg feels invisible threads connecting the two cities, emphasized Alexander Molokovskikh, Acting Deputy Head of the Perm Administration.
During the war, the Perm Evacuation Centre proceeded 1382 trains with almost 1,416,000 evacuated from other regions. In total, about 380,000 Leningrad residents settled in the Molotov (Perm) region. The city of Molotov (Perm) hosted children’s institutions, enterprises (in particular, Leningrad Telephone Plant, Leningrad Optical Glass Factory, Leningrad Electromechanical Plant), universities, Kirovsky (Mariinsky) Opera and Ballet Theatre, Leningrad Choreographic School and the main collection from the Russian Museum. This has produced a strong influence on the further development of Perm’s industry and culture.
– We, the Leningrad people, in the years of war, survived the death of families and friends, hunger and cold. But we always knew that our Motherland will endure and win. I want to thank the Perm administration for this meeting, for its participation and support, - said Lyudmila Kabakova, the survivor of the Leningrad siege.
As part of the event, the participants remembered the selfless feats of the blockaded Leningrad during the war and the heroism of soldiers as well as discussed the issues of historical memory preservation, the role of youth in the study of war events and patriotic education.
– Veterans of the Great Patriotic War, all those who endeavored enormously to the victory are the generation of unbending people. It is important that veteran organizations cooperate with the younger generation in matters of patriotic education. We must honour and cherish the memory of the heroes who perished in the war. We are always striving to instill the idea of patriotism in our schoolchildren, as well as love for the Motherland and feelings of pride for its people, - said Alexander Udnikov. director of the Perm school No136, the Chevalier of the Order of Courage, veteran of combat operations in Chechnya.