Published on: 2026-09-08
Source: Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University –
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September 8 is the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Siege of Leningrad. 85 years ago, for several million residents of our city, this cold autumn day marked the beginning of harsh trials unlike any humanity had ever experienced before. The forces of Nazi Germany came right up to Leningrad, practically cutting it off from the rest of the country. Communication with the “mainland” was maintained only by air and across Lake Ladoga — under constant shelling.
The people of Leningrad had to fight hunger and cold, take shelter from bombings, and at the same time continue to work, defend the city, help the front, and support each other. No one knew how long it would last or how much strength they would have. Everyone did what they could. To this day, we bow before the feat of the people of Leningrad, before the courage and strength of spirit of those who endured this terrible ordeal.
The Leningrad Polytechnic Institute named after M. I. Kalinin did not cease operations during the blockade. Mechanical workshops and laboratories fulfilled orders for the front. The polytechnics cast parts for submachine guns, grenade and shell casings, manufactured incendiary charges, and proposed vital solutions for the front and besieged Leningrad — ensuring the strength of the ice cover of Lake Ladoga, the method of laying an electric cable along its bottom, and much more. At the Polytechnic, a portable oxygen device was designed that saved the lives of many wounded in hospitals, and a vitamin drink made from conifer needles was developed to support the health of people exhausted by starvation. A hospital operated in the institute’s Main building during the blockade years.
More than 3,500 students and teachers of the institute were fighting on the front at that time. The contribution of the polytechnic community to the Victory is part of the overall heroism of the Soviet people, before whom the descendants bow their heads in deep respect.
Today, marking the 85th anniversary of the beginning of the blockade, we pay tribute to all who did not live to see Victory, and to those who endured. To keep this memory alive and close for the current generation, the Public Relations Department of SPbPU has prepared the project “Blockade. 85” — a series of short videos about things and objects that were part of the lives of those who survived those terrible days and are now preserved in the SPbPU History Museum.
The first film was released yesterday — it tells about loudspeaker from the Great Patriotic War era.
In the second film, which will be released today, viewers will see the awards of a graduate of the Polytechnic, a front-line soldier, the famous writer Daniil Granin, and the “Blockade Book,” of which he was a co-author.
And tomorrow watch a film about the letters of Irina Morozova — a student of Leningrad Polytechnic and a surgical nurse at a front-line evacuation hospital. They were handed over to the Polytechnic Museum quite recently.
The Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Siege is an example of how the strength of spirit and sense of duty help overcome any trials, and a reminder to us of the value of human life and peace on earth.
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