The Presidential Library’s exhibition spotlights the feat of medical workers during the siege of Leningrad

From January 18 to February 23, 2023 the Presidential Library hosts the grand opening of the multimedia exhibition "Leningrad Pediatric Medical Institute in the Severe Years of the Siege", timed to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the breaking of the siege of Leningrad. The exposition has been prepared by the St. Petersburg State Pediatric Medical University of the Ministry of Health of Russia (formerly the Leningrad Pediatric Medical Institute - LPMI) with the participation of the Presidential Library.

The exhibition first features sources provided for exposition from the collections of the Central State Archive of Historical and Political Documents of St. Petersburg. Through the prism of archival documents, the feat of employees and students of the Leningrad Pediatric Medical Institute, who made huge sacrifices and hardships, giving all their strength in the name of the Great Victory, is highlighted.

The exposition, in particular, illustrates  the educational process during the war years. So, in order to provide the front with medical personnel, the training periods in 1941 and 1942 were reduced to 4 and 3.5 years. Classes were often held in bomb shelters. In their free time, students were on duty in hospital departments, looked after wounded soldiers, donated blood, made individual dressing bags for the Leningrad People's Militia Army and the front, worked at logging and peat harvesting, unloaded vehicles near Lake Ladoga.

During the war years, the research work of the institute did not stop and thesis were defended. The exhibition materials show how the war influenced the topics of the research.

Part of the exposition tells about the activities of the institute's clinical hospital, which did not interrupt its work for a single day, saving the lives of little Leningraders: according to various sources, from 400 to 600 thousand children remained in the besieged city. Wounded and sick children, orphans were placed in LPMI. For the entire period of the siege, not a single child under the care of the institute staff was killed or injured by shells.

Visitors to the exhibition have an opportunity to study the topic of the Siege of Leningrad in more detail thanks to the materials of the Presidential Library. Some of them are available on the institution’s portal in the electronic collection Defence and Siege of Leningrad. It includes official documents, film and photo chronicles, cards, leaflets, memos, as well as memoirs, diaries, materials from the personal archives of Leningrad residents, etc. Many sources are devoted to the feat of medical workers during the Great Patriotic War. Among them is a handwritten report of a pediatrician at a conference of doctors in the Frunzensky district of Leningrad, dedicated to the 25th anniversary of Soviet medicine in 1943. The report says about the difficulties of everyday life of medical workers during the days of the siege, on the state of medical institutions, on the provision of residential medical care.

The exposition "Leningrad Pediatric Medical Institute in the Severe Years of the Siege" has become the second joint exhibition project of St. Petersburg State Medical University and the Presidential Library, implemented as part of a cooperation agreement between the institutions signed in 2022. The exposition “LPMI during the siege years. Saving Children: Honor and Courage of Leningrad Pediatricians” was launched in April 2022.

To visit the exhibition please pre-register by phone (812) 334-25-14 or e-mail at excursion@prlib.ru.

Accreditation of media representatives

Please forward applications for accreditation following the attached form marked Media Accreditation to the following e-mail addresses: media@prlib.ru, hudjakova@prlib.ru Alexandra Khudyakova, tel.: (812) 305-16-21, ext. 167; mob. +7 (981) 788-28-08.

The letter should contain the full name, date and place of birth, passport data (series, number, place of registration), a list of carry-on equipment, contact phone numbers, the name of the media.

We draw the attention of the media representatives that it is necessary to forward applications for accreditation and arrive at the event in advance.

Entrance to the Presidential Library is carried out only by prior registration and upon showing a passport: for media representatives - through entrance № 2, participants and guests of the event - through entrance № 1.

In order to reduce the risks of the spread of a new coronavirus infection (COVID-19), the use of personal protective equipment during the event is mandatory for all attendees.