THE SIEGE OF LENINGRAD AS A HISTORICAL ENTITY IN THE CHRONICLE OF EVENTS, LOSSES, RESULTS AND SIGNIFICANCE

Considering the Actual nature in modern Russia, Leningrad, the second most important city of the USSR, became the site of a long—term and extremely stubborn battle during the Great Patriotic War, which influenced the entire course of hostilities. The Leningraders and the Soviet defenders of the city had to act in extremely difficult conditions of a complete blockade, with the opportunity to rely only on their own strength and resources. The Leningrad blockade, which lasted from September 1941 to January 1944, became a significant page in the history of the city and the country. The Leningraders were able to stubbornly defend the city from complete destruction, which threatened it in the event of a fall. Founded as a new capital, St. Petersburg played this role until the end of the Russian Empire. Despite its proximity to the border, wars avoided it. The revolutions, the change of the state system, and the return of the country's center of government to Moscow were reflected in the renaming of the city on the Neva to Petrograd, then to Leningrad, but its status as the most important political, industrial, scientific, cultural and transport center has been preserved. By the end of the 1930s, the "northern capital" had more than 3 million inhabitants, and the enterprises located here were an essential component of the USSR's military-industrial potential. But the presence of the state border only 30-35 kilometers from Leningrad was a security problem of strategic importance.