Blockade documents are handed out to the Presidential Library

Shortly before Radio Day and World Press Freedom Day (in the Julian calendar), about 500 broadcasts’ audio records of the famous blockade reporter, a founder of the All-Union Radio Press Center Matvey Frolov were handed to the Presidential Library.

Director General of the Presidential Library Alexander Vershinin pointed out: “Today as part of the “Leningrad Journalism: saving for ages” action so valuable records are submitted in our funds. These mediums are noteworthy of their history, real humans with their destinies.”

Among the materials offered to the Presidential Library for digitization are the records with unique voice of Olga Bergholz, memoirs of poets the front-line soldiers, intelligence operatives, pilots, who had participated in breaking and lifting of the Blockade and the liberation of Leningrad, as well as reportages dedicated to the anniversaries of the lifting of the Siege of Leningrad.

“These 500 voices, 500 fragments of history will adorn the library stock and will also add to the building of a shared information space of knowledge. It is very important for us to expand our reserve of audio recordings,” - Alexander Vershinin stressed out.

The voices of many other well-known people are also in the records: an explorer I. D. Papanin, the first secretary of the Leningrad Regional Committee of the Communist Party of Soviet Union G. V. Romanov, the People's Artist of the Soviet Union N. K. Cherkasov, a poet M. A. Dudin, a pilot-cosmonaut G. S. Titov and others.

The letters, diaries and other documents from the family archive of Matvey Frolov are sent also handed to the Presidential Library. “This is a tremendous lode of archival documents from the times of the Blockade, - emphasized his son Lev Frolov. - Among them is a letter from my father, sent from besieged Leningrad to his friend at the front.”

These and other materials will be digitized and included in the Presidential Library stock.