St.Pete Exposition Offers Glimpse of Siege Years' Everyday Life

On the 60th anniversary of the end to the devastating World War II siege of Russia's second city, St. Petersburg's State Memorial Museum of the Defense and Siege of Leningrad - a reference to the city's Soviet name - is due to unveil a permanent new exposition on Saturday.

Irina Muravyova, head of the museum's research department, said that in creating the exposition, museum staff had done their best to highlight virtually every aspect of the city dwellers' condition during the years of the grinding siege.

One exhibit recreates the interior of Leningraders' homes at the time. Others highlight the output of Leningrad factories, which had to manufacture ammunition instead of consumer goods over the siege years. Further, visitors can glimpse the city's academic life at the time.

The exposition's creators made a point of telling the whole truth about the siege, exhibiting photographs of malnutrition cases resulting from extreme food shortage.

The Museum's reserves are constantly being expanded. In May, the staff plan to add more sections to the exposition, where post-siege 1944-1945 urban life will be highlighted.