🗓 On August 9, 1944 — exactly 80 years ago — the Battle of Leningrad, the longest military engagement in the history of the Great Patriotic War, concluded with a Red Army victory.

For more than three years, Soviet soldiers and officers fought fierce battles in the northwestern theatre, while the people in Leningrad steadfastly endured the horrors of the siege.

Capturing Leningrad was a goal of high military and political significance for the Nazi leadership. The city was one of the largest strategic, political and economic centres of the Soviet Union, and its loss would mean isolation of the northern regions of the USSR, and cutting off the Soviet fleet’s access to bases in the Baltic Sea.

⚔️ The Battle of Leningrad included several stages: defence of the distant and near approaches, 872 days of the siege, the breakthrough and the Soviet offensive in the northwestern direction. Instead of taking the city in three weeks, as Hitler planned, the Nazi troops spent about three years at the gates.

The siege was finally lifted on January 27, 1944, paving the way for liberating the southern parts of the Leningrad Region in February. But the Battle of Leningrad did not end until August 1944 and the defeat of Finnish troops in Karelia. The Soviet soldiers were liberating Europe at that time.

☝️ The defence of Leningrad became a symbol of the courage of the Soviet people. At the cost of incredible hardship, heroism and self-sacrifice, Soviet soldiers and residents of Leningrad defended the city.

🎖 Over 350,000 soldiers, officers and generals of the Leningrad Front were decorated with orders and medals, with 226 of them awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. The medal For the Defence of Leningrad was conferred on 1.5 million people. In 1965, Leningrad was among the first to receive the title Hero City as a tribute to the heroism and courage shown by its residents during the siege.

#WeRemember #Victory79

🌍🌿 The Russian Academy of Natural Sciences announces the commencement of the annual International Environmental Competition "EcoWorld".

Why participate:
• Gain public recognition for your environmental efforts
• Showcase your company's or organization's ecological initiatives
• Contribute to solving global environmental challenges
• Network with like-minded eco-guardian

Nominations:
1. Environmental Policy and Environment
2. Ecology, Citizens' Rights, and Heritage Preservation
3. Environmental Education, Awareness, and Culture
4. Eco-Patriotic Activities
5. Youth Programs in Ecology
6. Resource-Saving Technologies and Waste Management
7. Environmentally Safe Goods and Food Products
8. Ecology and Human Health
9. Biodiversity and Landscape Conservation
10. Eco-Friendly Technologies in Construction
11. Landscape Design and Architecture

📋 To apply, please visit:
https://raen.info/activities/proekty4-mezhdunarodnaja-ekologicheskaja-premija-ekomir.html

🟣Academy invites all eligible parties to participate in this esteemed competition.

#EcoWorld2024
#EnvironmentalAwards
#Sustainability