Mourning Ceremony Held Piskaryovskoye Memorial 82nd Anniversary Liberation Leningrad Blockade
27 January 2026
On the occasion of the 82nd anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the Nazi blockade, a ceremonial mourning ceremony was held at Piskaryovskoye Memorial Cemetery.
MPs, veterans of the Great Patriotic War, survivors of the blockade, representatives of delegations from the CIS Member Nations and other countries, authorities of Russian regions, public organizations, and residents of Saint Petersburg gathered to honor the memory of the residents and defenders of the unconquered city.
Speaker of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation and Chairperson of the IPA CIS Council Valentina Matvienko laid flowers at the “Motherland” monument.
She noted that the memory of all defenders of Leningrad, their courage and heroism, is honored on this date. The Speaker emphasized that many schoolchildren and young people visit Piskaryovskoye Cemetery, which means that the memory will remain alive.
According to her, the Federation Council will prepare an address to all parliaments of the world. She expressed the view that the day marking the 85th anniversary of the beginning of the Leningrad blockade should also be included on the agenda of the United Nations in order to remind the world of the horrific crimes against humanity committed by European Nazis.
A delegation of the Interparliamentary Assembly of the CIS took part in the ceremony. It included Deputy Secretaries General of Council of IPA CIS — Plenipotentiary Representatives of Parliaments: Azerbaijan — Aydin Jafarov, Armenia — Hayk Chilingaryan, Belarus — Sergey Khomenko, Kazakhstan — Askhat Mukashev, Kyrgyzstan — Shabdanbek Alishev, as well as First Deputy Head of Secretariat of Council of IPA CIS Sergey Kurdin, and other staff members of the Secretariat.
Representatives of the Assembly paid tribute to all war heroes from the former Soviet republics who took part in the defense and liberation of Leningrad.
27 January 1944 is one of the key dates in the history of the Great Patriotic War. The Leningrad blockade, which lasted for nearly 900 days, became one of the greatest tragedies of the war and at the same time a symbol of unparalleled heroism and the unbroken spirit of the people. Natives of all Soviet republics defended the city on the Neva River, and the memory of their feat will forever remain in the hearts of descendants.
Approximately half a million people were buried in the mass graves of Piskaryovskoye Memorial. On the memorial wall behind the “Motherland” monument, the words of Olga Berggolts are engraved: “No one is forgotten, nothing is forgotten.”
