Siege of Leningrad

       At the period of WWII one of the countries that contributed greatly was the USSR. Sovietic people sacrificed their lives and performed brave feats of arms. One of the most famous and important exploits that went down to posterity is known as Siege of Leningrad. It is also called 900-day Siege, though it actually lasted 872 days. It started in September 8th, 1941 and finished January  27, 1944.
In the summer of 1941 the Nazis invaded the Soviet Union and already in September the city of Leningrad (now Saint-Petesburg) was surrounded by the German army. Leningrad’s entire population was mobilized to build anti tank fortifications along the city’s perimeter. 200,000 Red Army defenders led the stabilization of Leningrad's defenders. However, by November the city had been almost encircled. The rail and other supply lines to the Soviet were cut off. The only way to supply the city with food and fuel was across the Lake Ladoga (hazardous “ice and water road”). This supplies were hardly enough to maintain people's life. The Blockade took more than 1 million of Leningraders lives, people mostly died from starvation, exposure, diseases, and shelling from distant German artillery.
    Only in 1943 Soviet offensives managed to rupture the German encircled and more supplies reached Leningrad. In January 1943, a narrow land corridor was open  into the city through which vital rations and supplies again flowed. But only in January 1944, the Red Army succeeded to raise the siege. By this time, the German forces were so weak that renewed Soviet attacks drove them away from the city and from Soviet land. After November 1941, possession of Leningrad held only symbolic significance. The Germans maintained their siege with a single army. However, for the USSR the Leningrad sector was clearly of secondary importance, and the Soviets raised the siege only after the victory in more critical front sectors. Despite its diminished strategic significance, the suffering and sacrifices of Leningrad’s population and defending forces inspired the Soviet war effort as a whole.
    Soviet government awarded the Order of Lenin to Leningrad in 1945 and the title Hero City in 1965, paying tribute to the citizens and the city that went through one of the most memorable sieges in history. A monument commemorating the victims and heroism of the siege was unveiled in 1975.

https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/siege-of-leningrad

https://www.britannica.com/event/Siege-of-Leningrad 

https://www.dw.com/en/leningrad-the-city-that-refused-to-starve-in-wwii/a-19532957