Museum of the Defence and Siege of Leningrad

At house number 9 on Solyanoy Lane, within the complex of historic buildings known as Solyanoy Gorodok, operates a St Petersburg museum devoted entirely to the city's defence and the 872 days of its siege during the Great Patriotic War — officially it is called the State Memorial Museum of the Defence and Siege of Leningrad. The building was constructed in 1901–1903 by the architect Pyotr Trifanov for the former Handicrafts Museum. The museum also has a branch on the western shore of Lake Ladoga, in the village of Kokkorevo, where the wartime Road of Life once ran.

Even before the siege was fully lifted, in December 1943 the Military Council of the Leningrad Front decided to create an exhibition, "The Heroic Defence of Leningrad"; it opened on 30 April 1944, with the participation of the front's commander, Marshal Leonid Govorov. The chief artist was Nikolai Suetin, who had lived through the siege in the city, while the concept was overseen by the historian and front-line veteran Lev Rakov. Within six months the exhibition was visited by around 500,000 people, and later by Marshal Georgy Zhukov and General Dwight Eisenhower. In the autumn of 1945 the exhibition was transformed into a museum, and on 27 January 1946, the second anniversary of the city's liberation, it opened with 37,654 exhibits over an area of 40,000 square metres.

As early as 1949, during the wave of repressions connected with the "Leningrad Affair," the museum was accused of overstating the special role of the city and its leadership in the war, contrary to the official interpretation of events. It was closed temporarily that same autumn, and permanently in 1952; the premises were handed over to the Ministry of the Navy, part of the collection was destroyed, and the museum's leadership fell victim to repression. For almost four decades Leningrad was left without a dedicated museum of its own defence and siege.

The museum's revival became possible during the perestroika era: on 24 April 1989 the Executive Committee of the Leningrad City Council decided to recreate the museum on its former site, albeit in smaller premises. A new exhibition opened on 8 September 1989, the anniversary of the start of the siege, and a permanent one followed in 1995, to mark the 50th anniversary of Victory. It was divided into two wings: a military one, about the front, and a city one, about everyday life under siege — including a mock-up of a room with a makeshift stove, ration cards, and the diary of Tanya Savicheva.

In May 2018 the permanent exhibition was closed for a major renovation, which was completed in September 2019. An option involving a new building near the Smolny, designed by the architect Nikita Yavein, was considered, but in 2019 the authorities opted instead to expand the museum on its existing site using adjoining premises. Today the collection numbers around 51,000 items and a library of 17,000 volumes, although due to lack of space only a small part of it is on display; the museum also carries out research work and organises temporary exhibitions.

The Museum of the Defence and Siege of Leningrad remains the principal place of remembrance for the city's wartime tragedy and resilience — from authentic objects of daily life under siege to documentary evidence of the Battle for Leningrad. Its own turbulent history, including closure and rebirth, has itself become part of the city's story and a symbol of preserving memory against political circumstance.