Leningrad Siege Liberation Day: St. Petersburg Event Program

On January 27, St. Petersburg will observe the Day of the Complete Liberation of Leningrad from the Nazi siege. In memory of those events, an extensive program has been organized in the city, including lectures, tours, performances, concerts, and film screenings.

Official Events

On January 27 at 9:30, a solemn mourning rally and flower-laying ceremony will begin at Nevsky Prospect, 14, at the memorial plaque «To the Heroism and Courage of Leningraders». At 11:00, flowers will be laid at Piskaryovskoye and Serafimovskoye Cemeteries, at the Monument to the Heroic Defenders of Leningrad, and at other memorial sites.

From 10:00 to 12:00 and from 19:00 to 22:00, the Rostral Columns will be lit. From January 27 to 28, the Palace, Trinity, and Betancourt bridges will receive special illumination in the colors of the Leningrad Victory ribbon.

At 15:00, an official concert will be held at B.K.Z. «Oktyabrsky» (October Concert Hall), where the «Blockade Room» and «Immortal Regiment of Poetry» platforms will operate, and the «Generations of Heroes» exhibition will open. In the Great Hall of the Philharmonic on the same day, the Concert Choir of St. Petersburg will perform a literary-musical composition featuring works by Schnittke, Flyarkovsky, Solovyov-Sedoy, and Shchedrin.

At 21:00, a 12-gun D-44 salute will thunder near the Peter and Paul Fortress, accompanied by fireworks.

On January 27, the new premises of the Museum of the Defense and Siege of Leningrad in Solyanoy Gorodok will open the exhibition «After the Victory. Leningrad,» dedicated to the city«s postwar restoration. On January 29, the exposition »Leningrad. 1942« will begin work in the Main Pavilion of Moscow Victory Park, telling the history of the brick-pumice plant, the »Chess Club« pavilion, and the park itself.

Exhibitions, Lectures, and Film Screenings

The city«s cultural institutions have prepared dozens of events. The Lenfilm cinema center will show the animated novellas »Blockade Fates« and the documentary »Blockade Zoo.«

On January 24 and 25, patriotic walks «The Blockade Tale of the Botanical Garden» will take place at the Botanical Garden. On January 24 at 16:00, the Theatre «Baltic House» will host the performance-concert «Living Pictures of the Siege» based on the memoirs of Hermitage staff.

On January 27, the Hermitage has planned free events: at 13:00 in the Coat of Arms Hall, a lecture on the Hermitage orphanage during the war years, followed by a concert by the Military Orchestra of the Russian National Guard. From January 27 to February 1, an exhibition of documents from the children«s orphanage will be open in the foyer of the Hermitage Theatre. Until February 28, children»s tours «The Hermitage During the Blockade» will be held on Saturdays.

The Museum of the History of St. Petersburg on January 27 at 11:30 will organize the tour «Blockade Tale of the Leningrad Fortress.» On January 26, 27, and 29, tours «Fortress of Victory» for children aged 9 and up will take place.

At the Monument to the Heroic Defenders of Leningrad on January 27 at 12:15, the «Blockade Bread» action will be held, where bread according to the 1941 recipe will be distributed. At 20:00, the sky over Moskovsky Prospect will be illuminated by «Rays of Victory.»

At the Kirov Museum-Apartment at 15:00, the immersive tour «In the Iron Nights of Leningrad…» will begin. The Literary Museum «XX Century» at 12:00 will conduct a walking tour «Route of a Leningrader.»

The historical park «Russia — My History» offers daily tours «Forget or Remember?» at 14:00. In the courtyards of the Capella from 15:00 to 19:00, the youth memorial action «900 Days and Nights» will take place, and at 18:30 — a light and sound show.

In the Theatre Library at 17:30, film historian Alexei Dunaevsky will give a lecture on blockade film screenings. At the Mayakovsky Library at 18:00, the lecture «Postwar Leningrad» will be held.

Until March 10, the Suvorov Museum is hosting the exhibition «Heroes of the Leningrad Sky.» At the Levashov Bread Factory, a blockade memorial is open daily.

Concerts and Performances About the Siege

On January 27 at the Alexandrinsky Theatre, artists from the Alexandrinka and the Theatre of Musical Comedy will present the performance «Road to Life,» composed of fragments of operettas that sounded in besieged Leningrad.

The Bolshoi Theatre of Puppets will show the production «One Hundred and Twenty-Five Blockade Grams with Fire and Blood in Half» based on the memoirs of Dmitry Likhachev and the works of Olga Berggolts.

In the Concert Hall on the English Embankment, the evening «Broken Ring» will be held with music by Shostakovich, Basner, and Solovyov-Sedoy. At the Jazz Philharmonic, the Leningrad Dixieland will perform with the program «Melodies of the War Years.»

On January 25, 27, and 28, the Fairy Tale Puppet Theatre will perform the play «May I Ask for Nina?» based on a story by Kir Bulychev. On January 27, «Zazerkalye» will perform the vocal-symphonic poem «War Letters» by Valery Gavrilin.

On January 28 at 19:00, the traditional memorial choir concert conducted by Vladimir Begletsov will be held at St. Isaac«s Cathedral. Admission is by free tickets, available at the box office from January 26.