"Death has become a phenomenon observed at every turn. When you step outside in the morning, you stumble over corpses lying in the gateway, and in the street. The dead bodies lie there for a long time, because there's nobody to dispose of them."

  • Yelena Skriabina

The Siege of Leningrad was the longest and most destructive siege of any city in the world. For 872 days, the citizens of Leningrad were at odds with death. Encircled by German troops, the city was cut off from supplies, short of water and under the constant threat of air attacks. Yet the citizens did not give up and believed that there was no other option but to fight. Surrender was never an option.

Leningrad was a strategic location and a desired hub for the German troops. Not only was it an important port and the base of the Soviet Baltic Fleet, but it was also the symbol of the Soviet Revolution. By the start of September 1941, it became apparent that the Germans were fast approaching the city.

There was constant fighting on the outskirts of the city. The Moscow-Leningrad railway route was cut, and the enemy forces encircled Leningrad. Orders were given to fight to the end, and the three million citizens of Leningrad began preparing for the siege.

With the start of winter, temperatures dropped to -40ºC (-40ºF), freezing all the water pipes. Citizens would go down to the river, make holes in the ice and carry water home. Rats were also an enormous issue as they spread disease and ate through the already scarce supplies. People were dying right on the streets and were often left unburied.

Through all this, the city tried to keep up morale. Museums and theatres remained operational as much as possible. Among the most memorable moments was the performance of the Leningrad Symphony (written by Dmitry Shostakovich), which was transmitted everywhere by loudspeaker. Leningrad was determined to survive.

By 1943 the first breakthroughs were made and the Soviet troops were preparing to free the city. On January 14, 1944, the siege was partially lifted.

The siege continued until 27 January 1944, when the Soviet Leningrad–Novgorod Offensive expelled German forces from the southern outskirts of the city. This was a combined effort by the Leningrad and Volkhov Fronts, along with the 1st and 2nd Baltic Fronts.

The Baltic Fleet provided 30% of aviation power for the final strike against the Wehrmacht.[64] In the summer of 1944, the Finnish Defence Forces were pushed back to the other side of the Bay of Vyborg and the Vuoksi River.

Red Army Choir - Little Star :tank:

Siege of Leningrad: 872 days of hunger and bombardment :t34:

Battlefield - The Siege of Leningrad Documentary :lenin-fancy:

Soviet Storm. WW2 in the East - The Siege Of Leningrad. Episode 5. :iron-soviet: this one is really good :lenin-heart:


The State and Revolution

:lenin-shining: :unity: :kropotkin-shining:

The Conquest of Bread

Remember, sort by new you :LIB:

Yesterday’s megathread :sad-boi:

Follow the ChapoChat twitter account :comrade-birdie:

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COMMUNITY CALENDAR - AN EXPERIMENT IN PROMOTING USER ORGANIZING EFFORTS :af:

Join the fresh and beautiful batch of new comms:

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  • lib_0000429384 [any]
    ·
    4 years ago

    But that happens every day.

    What's different about GME is lots of people are tuning into something they've probably ignored their entire life.

    This seems to be turning into a radicalising event, and for that reason it'd be short-sighted for leftists to ignore. I say this as someone who cares nothing about stocks or gamestop or even games for that matter.