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.