Poems and music about war, courage and love for the Motherland performed at the Presidential Library

A festive occasion for residents of besieged Leningrad and veterans of the Great Patriotic War timed to coincide with the celebration of the Day of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the Nazi siege was held on January 6, 2023.

The organizers were the Administration of the Admiralteysky district of St. Petersburg and the Presidential Library.

In a welcoming speech to the guests and participants of the event, Director General of the Presidential Library Yuri Nosov noted: “The day of the liberation of Leningrad from the siege is a dear holiday for each of us. The feat of the people of Leningrad and the heroism of the defenders of the city will forever remain in our memory”.

Honorary citizen of St. Petersburg, honorary citizen of the Admiralteisky district, chairman of the executive committee of the Leningrad City Council of People's Deputies Vladimir Khodyrev, chairman of the St. Petersburg public organization "Residents of besieged Leningrad" Elena Tikhomirova, head of the administration of the Admiralteisky district Sergey Overchuk and Deputy of the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg Natalia Astakhova welcomed siege survivors and veterans.

Musical works by Dmitry Shostakovich, Isaac Dunayevsky, Georgy Sviridov and Kirill Molchanov were performed by students and teachers of the St. Petersburg State Conservatory. Moreober, veterans and other guests of the concert heard poems by Anna Akhmatova, Sergei Yesenin, Konstantin Simonov and Robert Rozhdestvensky.

The Presidential Library pays much attention to preserving the historical memory of the Siege of Leningrad. Every year, festive occasions dedicated to the feat of the defenders and residents of Leningrad are held in the library. The institution’s portal features electronic collection Defence and Siege of Leningrad, which has preserved the chronicle of this tragic page in the history of our country. The collection includes not only digitized documents, photographs and newsreels, wartime newspapers, food cards, leaflets, memos, but also diaries, letters and memoirs from the personal archives of siege survivors.