MINSK, 1 February (BelTA) – The exhibition project “Symbols of Besieged Leningrad” timed to the 78th anniversary of breaking the siege of Leningrad kicked off at the Belarusian State Museum of the Great Patriotic War History on 1 February, BelTA has learned.
Addressing the siege survivors with a welcoming speech Saint Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov emphasized: “We remember all of you, we remember how you stood for our Leningrad. It is symbolic that natives of Leningrad helped liberate Minsk and all of Belarus. Decades after the Great Victory, we are proud to have preserved the most important thing - our brotherhood, the brotherhood of the two great peoples.”
Minsk Mayor Vladimir Kukharev emphasized that veterans formed the barrier that stopped the advance of fascism. “You showed that Leningrad could not be captured. Today, you need to communicate the truth about it to as many young people as possible. Many want to distort history, but as long as you are with us, the truth is always here,” he said.
The exposition is a joint project of the Belarusian State Museum of the Great Patriotic War History, the State Memorial Museum of Leningrad Defense and Siege, the Literature and Arts Central State Archive of Saint Petersburg. The project includes three photo and documentary exhibitions: And the Muses Stood Out, Siege Bread, Salute of the Leningrad Victory.
This is not the first joint project implemented with the Belarusian State Museum of the Great Patriotic War History, said Yelena Lezik, director of the State Memorial Museum of Leningrad Defense and Siege. “We have been exchanging materials on the history of the siege of Leningrad for quite a long time. We are very grateful to our Belarusian colleagues for such a careful attitude to the history of our city and for showing this history. We are united by the common memory. When I came to Belarus, I was happy to learn that 2022 was declared the Year of Historical Memory here. This fact has really inspired us to work more actively together," she said.
The exposition narrates about the history of the defense and siege of Leningrad, and shows the key memorable symbols of those years. Among the exhibits are a dress of a child who died in the harshest winter of 1941-1942, a napkin with embroidery which a craftswoman did not finish, the Firefly badge which people wore to illuminate themselves in the dark, ration cards, letters, a can for water and sleds. In addition, the organizers prepared the materials about the Belarusians who fought on the Leningrad front and the Baltic Fleet.
"We brought not only the photographs and documents testifying to the true human tragedy, but also the authentic things that will tell the story of the siege more emotionally. We've made an emphasis on the everyday life of that time, on how people lived, worked, resisted... One of the central exhibits is a piece of the authentic siege bread which Leningrad residents preserved and handed over to the museum after the war. At the same time, we tell how heroic and spiritual our people were. Our city has always been a center of science and culture. Tragedy and heroism go hand in hand in our exposition. I am sure that this exposition will not leave anyone indifferent because it presents the authentic siege relics," Yelena Lezik added.
