Kirovsky District: Museums and Memorial Sites

• The “Breakthrough of the Siege of Leningrad” Museum Reserve comprises museums and memorial zones, including the Diorama Museum, the “Road of Life” Museum, and the memorial museum for poet A. Prokofiev in Kobona.
• The “Breakthrough” Panorama Museum has two halls; the second contains a 500 m² painting depicting events on the second day of Operation Iskra.
• The “Ghost Village” monument commemorates 38 settlements in Kirovsky District that were destroyed during the war.
• The “Sinyavino Heights” memorial zone includes a stele erected in 1968 in honor of S. B. Baimagambetov and V. I. Ermak.

The “Breakthrough of the Siege of Leningrad” Museum Reserve brings together different places of remembrance. Its components include the “Breakthrough of the Siege of Leningrad” Diorama Museum, the “Road of Life” Museum, and a memorial museum for poet A. Prokofiev in the village of Kobona. It also includes the “Sinyavino Heights,” “Nevsky Pyatachok,” and “Meeting Point of the Two Fronts” memorial zones. The reserve thus encompasses both museum displays and places of remembrance.

In the first, multimedia hall of the “Breakthrough” Panorama Museum, a video chronicle presents five Soviet attempts to break the siege; an animated film about the siege period is also shown there. The second hall takes a different approach: it features a 500 m² painting depicting events on the second day of Operation Iskra. This places a portrayal of several attempts to break through alongside a focus on one specific day of the operation.

This different layout can help you choose a focus: the first hall combines historical events with a film, while the second centers on a large-scale painting. Together with the other museums and memorial zones, they offer a broad perspective on the history of the siege, with each place of remembrance taking its own form.

The “Ghost Village” monument draws attention to the war’s impact on settlements in Kirovsky District: it commemorates 38 places destroyed during the war. The “Sinyavino Heights” memorial zone, by contrast, offers a personal focus. Its stele, erected in 1968, is dedicated to Heroes of the Soviet Union S. B. Baimagambetov and V. I. Ermak, who fell in the battles for the Sinyavino Heights between 1941 and 1944.

Both examples give remembrance a specific focus: the “Ghost Village” represents destroyed settlements, while the stele names two people and the battles in which they fell. Alongside the Museum Reserve’s exhibitions, these memorial sites offer another way to engage with history. Depending on whether you are more interested in museum presentations, individual events, or remembering affected places, you can choose different areas of focus.

Discover more destinations: Lodeynopolskiy rayon, Korsakovskiy rayon, Vsevolozhskiy rayon, Lomonosovskiy rayon, Kirishsky District, Vyborgsky District, Luzhskiy rayon, Volosovskiy rayon.

Which places are part of the Museum Reserve?

They include the “Breakthrough of the Siege of Leningrad” Diorama Museum, the “Road of Life” Museum, the memorial museum for A. Prokofiev in Kobona, and the “Sinyavino Heights,” “Nevsky Pyatachok,” and “Meeting Point of the Two Fronts” memorial zones.

What does the “Breakthrough” Panorama Museum show?

The first hall shows a video chronicle of five Soviet attempts to break the siege and an animated film about the siege period. The second hall contains a 500 m² painting depicting events on the second day of Operation Iskra.

What does the “Ghost Village” monument commemorate?

It commemorates 38 settlements in Kirovsky District that were destroyed during the war.

Who is the stele on the Sinyavino Heights dedicated to?

The stele, erected in 1968, is dedicated to Heroes of the Soviet Union S. B. Baimagambetov and V. I. Ermak, who fell in the battles for the Sinyavino Heights between 1941 and 1944.

For the regional travel overview: Leningrad Oblast.