January 27, 1944

January 27, 1944

And on this starless January night,

Amazed at its fantastic fate,

Returned from the bottomless depths of death,

Leningrad salutes itself.

– Anna Akhmatova

Sixty years ago, on January 27, 1944, Leningrad was declared liberated 

from the Nazi blockade, which had lasted 882 days from when the last rail line 

into the city was cut, on August 28, 1941.

On January 27, in honor of the heroic defenders of the city and those 

who had liberated it, a massive salut was organized, 

with 324 guns firing 24 rounds each. 

Akhmatova poem translated by Judith Hemschemeyer, from The Complete Poems of Anna Akhmatova, 

published by Zephyr Press (www.zephyrpress.org)