BLOCKADE MUSEUM

9 Solyanoy pereulok 191028 St. Petersburg
Open: 10am - 4pm
Closed: Wednesdays and the last Thursday of every month
Tel. 275-7115, 275-7208
Nearest metro station: Chernyshevskaya

The origins of the museum can be traced back to the first wartime exhibition of 1942 and the 1944 exposition, "The Heroic Defence of Leningrad". Reorganized into the Blockade Museum in 1946, the exposition was closed to visitors in 1949 in connection with the so-called Leningrad affair. Over 37,000 exhibits were either destroyed or handed over to other museums and the managers of the museum were subjected to repression. It was not until 1989 that the museum was eventually reopened.

Today, the newly created exhibition focuses on the history of the defence of Leningrad (1941-44), and the life of the city during the 900-day siege. There are more than 35,000 exhibits, including the personal belongings of the defenders of the city, army newspapers, diaries, soldiers' letters from the front, photographs, weapons, decorations, paintings and drawings by front-line artists. A considerable part of the museum is devoted to the air defence, the operation of industrial enterprises and cultural institutions, and the life of children in the besieged city. A typical Leningrad flat of the blockade era is on display.

The museum serves as a venue for meetings of war veterans and residents of besieged Leningrad, and also for parties and concerts.