Over 90 survivors of the infamous Nazi siege of the then-Soviet city of Leningrad, now known as St. Petersburg, are expected to travel to the city from 19 countries around the world to participate in celebrations dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the end of the blockade, the city government's Committee for External Relations and Tourism said on Tuesday
ST. PETERSBURG (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd January, 2019) Over 90 survivors of the infamous Nazi siege of the then-Soviet city of Leningrad, now known as St. Petersburg, are expected to travel to the city from 19 countries around the world to participate in celebrations dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the end of the blockade, the city government's Committee for External Relations and Tourism said on Tuesday."Over 90 [Leningrad] blockade survivors from 19 countries will visit St. Petersburg on January 25-29. The participation of our compatriots and official foreign and Russian delegations in the events dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the Nazi blockade, as well as other events in Russia and abroad, is aimed at preserving the memory of the siege," the committee said in a statement.
According to the statement, the guest list will also include representatives of the former Soviet republics, along with delegates from Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, Romania, Sweden and the United States.
The heads of the Russian regions that assisted and hosted refugees from Leningrad during the over two-year-long siege are expected to attend the events as well.
As part of the celebrations the participants will lay wreaths at the memorial cemeteries around the city and attend a concert.
The siege of Leningrad lasted for 872 days from September 8, 1941 to January 27, 1944, becoming one of the most tragic parts of the Great Patriotic War and World War II as a whole. According to different estimates, somewhere from 600,000 to 1.5 million people died in the city over the period, mostly from severe famine.
