Words of gratitude to the cities that received residents of besieged Leningrad heard at the Presidential Library

On February 13, 2024 the Presidential Library, as part of the video lecture Knowledge of Russia, hosted the VIII Charity Memorial Event “Grateful Leningrad”.

The initiators of the Charity Action in Memory of “Grateful Leningrad” are the Social Initiatives Foundation “Peaceful People” and the Public Organization “Residents of Siege Leningrad” with the support of the Government of St. Petersburg and the Public Chamber of St. Petersburg, as well as public organizations, youth communities and veterans associations.

The “Grateful Leningrad” campaign has become a good tradition: during the celebration of the next anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the Nazi siege, veterans, siege survivors and members of their families, students and schoolchildren, representatives of enterprises and institutions meet each other in order to say words of gratitude to those cities and countries where Leningraders were evacuated during the Great Patriotic War.

The organizers and participants of the Charity Commemorative Event “Grateful Leningrad” were greeted by Director General of the Presidential Library, Yuri Nosov: “It is significant that the event is being held in the library marking the 80th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the Nazi siege. We pay great attention to this topic and annually organize various events dedicated to the tragic period in the life of our city”.

Chairman of the St. Petersburg public organization “Residents of Siege Leningrad” Elena Alekseevna Tikhomirova addressed the participants of the campaign with parting words, emphasizing the importance of preserving the memory of the heroic feat of Leningrad and its defenders.

The event was held in a literary and musical format. The commemorative event was hosted by theater and film actor, TV presenter Andrei Urgant and actress, artistic director of the Olga Bergholz Drama Theater Anna Zagrebneva. The meeting participants heard an artistic story about the events of the tragic years, saw photographs and video footage, and watched the performance of St. Petersburg artists.

One can learn more about the feat of the residents of the besieged city and its defenders, about the evacuation of Leningraders thanks to the materials of the electronic collection of the Presidential Library Defence and Siege of Leningrad. The collection includes materials related to the siege: documentary prose, journalism, essays, works of fiction, research, films, video lectures, diaries and documents from the personal archives of the siege survivors.

The commemorative event “Grateful Leningrad” is available on the Rutube-channel of the Presidential Library.