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The Siege of Leningrad: 900 days of suffering from Nazi barbarism

January 27th marks the anniversary of the end of the 900-day Siege of Leningrad during WWII

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Barrage balloons, used to defend against low-level aircraft attacks, at Saint Isaac's Square, Leningrad

© Fotokhronika TASS

Children from an orphanage evacuated during the siege of Leningrad

© Fotokhronika TASS

Soldiers patroling the city down the Neva River at night, 1942

© Fotokhronika TASS

Children in the streets of the city under the siege

© Fotokhronika TASS/Boris Kudoyarov

Spire of Admiralty being concealed by alpinist

© Fotokhronika TASS/Nikolai Berketov

Leningrad residents on Nevskiy prospekt providing themselves with a drinking water

© Fotokhronika TASS

125 grams of bread, weighed on scale, a daily limit given to workers, dependants and children during the siege of Leningrad

© Fotokhronika TASS/Nikolai Adamovich

People taking their belongings to Finlyandsky station, 1942

© Fotokhronika TASS

Trucks on the ice road across the frozen Lake Ladoga. This route, called Road of Life provided the only access to the besieged city of Leningrad

© Fotokhronika TASS/Rafail Mazelev, Vasiliy Fedoseev

Residents leaving their destroyed houses

© Fotokhronika TASS

Destroyed building in Leningrad

© Fotokhronika TASS

Residents cleaning snow on Nevskiy prospekt

© Fotokhronika TASS/G. Chertov

Following the German invasion of the USSR, Nazi forces closed in around Leningrad (the name for today’s St. Petersburg during World War II), laying siege to the city from September 8, 1941 until January 27, 1944. This was known as the Siege of Leningrad, a brutal, drawn-out military blockade that claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people during the 900-day ordeal. Several hundred thousand people were evacuated from Leningrad across Lake Ladoga via the famous Road of Life, the only route that connected the city with the mainland. The Siege of Leningrad, which stretched out for roughly 900 days can be seen in this photo gallery.

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