War is a terrible, terrible word. This is hard backbreaking work in the rear, and bloody battles at the front. This is both joy from the long-awaited short news from the front, and grief from the funeral received. At the word "war" for many of us, pictures of the terrible battles of the Great Patriotic War immediately rise before our eyes. A special place among them is occupied by the heroic defense of Leningrad. The inhabitants of the city, who fell into the enemy ring, for 900 days overcame the terrible cold in winter, constant hunger and incessant bombardments. The courage and heroism of the soldiers who defended the city, who did not let the enemy through at the cost of their own lives, will forever go down in the history of our country.
On the defense of Leningrad
Both soldiers and residents of the city participated in the defense of the city. They were ready to fight to the death and fight to the last bullet for the freedom of Leningrad. A huge number of lives were taken in these terrible battles. Mass graves inLeningrad region more than 573, and how many single and unknown graves! During the battles near Leningrad, more soldiers died than in England during all the years of the war. But none of the defenders even thought of surrendering the city to the enemy.
Raising the topic that it was necessary to give Leningrad to the Nazis and thereby save the lives of citizens and defenders, it is important to remember that Hitler wanted to wipe the city from the face of the earth along with the entire population, so as not to feed the inhabitants in winter. The defenders of Leningrad and the inhabitants themselves understood this very well and were ready to resist to the last man. Mass graves in the Leningrad region - the price paid by Soviet soldiers for peace and freedom in our land.
Sinyavino Heights
Fights near the small village of Sinyavino, Kirovsky District, became decisive in the defense of Leningrad. In battles, as in a meat grinder, the best German troops, specially sent to storm the city, were ground, but many Soviet soldiers died in local swamps. Combat losses near Sinyavino are among the largest in the Leningrad region. 28,959 people are mentioned in the mass grave list, of which 27,878 are those whose names are known, and 1,081 are unknown. In 1975, the Memorial to the Fallen was opened, which includes 64 marble slabs with the names of fallen soldiers.
Vyborg-Petrozavodsk operation
This offensive operation against the Finnish troops ended the Battle of Leningrad. Her goalwas to defeat the Finnish troops and withdraw Finland from the war. During the operation, Soviet troops liberated most of Karelia, created the conditions for Finland to withdraw from the military campaign and eliminated the threat to Leningrad. Over 23,000 Soviet soldiers died during the fighting.
There are more than 100 mass graves in the Vyborgsky district of the Leningrad region.
The largest burial is the Petrovka memorial. 5,095 people were buried in mass graves, of which the names of 4,279 fighters are known.
Leningradskaya Prokhorovka
In August 1941, a tank battle unfolded near Moloskovitsy, which became a real hell for fascist tankers. After our troops lost one of the tank columns, they began to ambush the enemy. So, in the Kotino area, Soviet soldiers destroyed 14 enemy tanks, and near Vypolzovo, Corporal Dolgikh Nikolai knocked out 4 Nazi tanks from an ambush using a turret gun and destroyed several dozen soldiers.
Knowing that Leningrad was behind them, Soviet tankers fought to the last drop of blood. They burned alive in tanks, but did not retreat. At the beginning of the battle, there were 108 vehicles in the Soviet division, and almost all of them burned down in the attack.
In Moloskovitsy, Voloskovskiy district, Leningrad region, the remains of 19 people are buried in mass graves. The names of 26 soldiers are on the memorial plaques.
Military graves near Leningrad
Battlefor Leningrad - one of the longest battles of the Second World War. There are a huge number of mass graves in the Leningrad region. In almost every district of the region there is a memorial and military graves, which are looked after by local residents. Until now, search teams are burying the remains of Soviet soldiers found in the Leningrad Region in mass graves. The names of the heroes who gave their lives for their homeland, unfortunately, are not always possible to establish. Many soldiers, out of superstition, did not put on special capsules with their data before the battle. And in such cases, the data of a fighter is almost impossible to establish. Therefore, on the memorial plates of mass graves in the Leningrad region, the names of the soldiers are not always indicated. Below is a list of military graves by region.
| DistrictLeningrad Region | Number of burials | Buried |
| Boksitogorsky | 16 | 2046 |
| Volosovsky | 23 | 1526 |
| Volkhovsky | 25 | 7209 |
| Vsevolozhsky | 46 | 56170 |
| Vyborgsky | 82 | 25471 |
| Gatchinsky | 52 | 68100 |
| Kingisepp | 66 | 9899 |
| Kirishian | 28 | 26810 |
| Lodeynopolsky | 16 | 4176 |
| Lomonosov | 18 | 8187 |
| Luga | 45 | 8132 |
| Podporozhsky | 16 | 3966 |
| Slantsevsky | 18 | 8048 |
| Tikhvinsky | 15 | 4431 |
| Tosnensky | 26 | 31112 |
| Sosnovoborsky | 573 | 377 533 |
How to find your relative who died near Leningrad
Not only native Leningraders fought for Leningrad. Many soldiers were from various cities of the USSR. And if it is easier for local residents to find a burial place, since they, as a rule, know where and how their soldier died, and it is easier for them to go around the regions of the region in search of the desired military burial, then for those whose relative was called up from another locality, Finding a grave becomes a rather difficult task. Data on the dead and missing, records from medical journals about the nature of wounds and the cause of death, as well as lists of those buried in mass graves are now being made available to the public. There are also such data for the Leningrad Region, and they are constantly updated. If you know where a relative fought and died or went missing, you can contact the local administration to clarify the information, if it is not available on special resources.
Memory never dies
The feat of the soldiers and militias who defended and defended Leningrad to the last bullet will forever remain in the memory of our people as an example of the courage and bravery of a Russian warrior. Several hundred mass graves in the Leningrad region are a symbol of the self-sacrifice of the Soviet soldier, ready to die, but not to submit, not to surrender to the mercy of the winner. And before saying that it was necessary to surrender the city in order to avoid losses among the civilian population and soldiers, it must be remembered that Hitler wanted to completely wipe Leningrad off the face of the earth along with the entire population, so that, as already mentioned, not to feed them in winter. Soviet soldiers, at the cost of their lives, gave the city and its inhabitants life and peace, and we must never forget this.
