On January 27, an EWCS dedicated to the 80th Anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the Nazi blockade was put into postal circulation in the On the 80th Anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945 series

On January 27 of 1944, one of the most tragic episodes of the Great Patriotic War ended up. The Siege of Leningrad, which had lasted 872 days from September 8 of 1941 to January 27 of 1944, was completely lifted. The blockade ring was broken on January 18, 1943.

By the beginning of the blockade, the amount of food and fuel in the city was insufficient for a longtime siege. The only way to reach Leningrad was via Lake Ladoga, which was within the reach of the artillery and aircraft of the besiegers, as well as the enemy naval forces operating on the lake. The throughput capacity of this transport corridor did not meet the needs of the city. The mass starvation that began in Leningrad, aggravated by the particularly severe first blockade winter, heating and transport problems, led to hundreds of thousands of deaths among its inhabitants.

After the blockade was broken in January of 1943, the supply of the city was gradually normalized, and already from mid-February, the wartime provision scale established for other industrial centers of the country began to be valid in Leningrad. However, the siege of Leningrad by enemy troops and fleet continued until January of 1944.

By the order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief Joseph Stalin of May 1 of 1945, Leningrad received the status of a hero-city. By the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of May 8, 1965, the city was awarded the Gold Star medal. The 27th of January is one of the days of military glory of Russia.

The commemorative stamp features the emblem of the celebration of the 80th Anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945; the main illustration shows a photo by B. Kudoyarov Salute on January 27 of 1944 in honor of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the enemy blockade and the official emblem of the celebration.

In addition to the issue of the envelope with a commemorative stamp, JSC Marka produced special cancels for Moscow and St. Petersburg.


Design Artists: A. Moskovets and R. Komsa.
Quantity: 500 thousand envelopes.

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