Eighty-one years ago today, on January 18, 1944 (December 23, 1943), the Soviet army finally lifted the siege of Leningrad. The frozen Lake Ladoga was the only passage between the outside world and Leningrad. On January 18, 1944, the Soviet army broke through the tight German blockade that had surrounded Leningrad for 900 days. Under the command of Marshals Zhukov and Voroshilov, the Red Army broke through the Nazi positions south of Lake Ladoga and recaptured many German military positions, including the fortress of Shlicheliburg. The good news of the breakthrough caused the whole country to breathe a sigh of relief. The siege of Leningrad was one of the most tragic events of the war. Half of the city's residents died last winter. The rest survived only when soldiers crossed the frozen Lake Ladoga to deliver supplies to them. Breaking the siege meant that the Soviet Union could use the Gulf of Finland and railway lines to supply its troops, which added fuel to Stalin's assault on the Balkans. In the south, Russian troops have begun to break through Nazi lines in Ukraine and the Caucasus. The Leningrad man holds his daily rations. The wall is covered with signs of valuables for food. At first, a famous brand piano could be exchanged for a few slices of black bread. By the end of 1941, these notices were no longer seen. The living had no strength to dig graves for the dead. During the siege 3 million Leningrad people starved to death alone. More than 1 million