A Memory Action will be held in Bishkek «Together they call us – Leningrad!»

On September 8, 2026, a Memory Action «Together they call us – Leningrad!» will take place in Bishkek, dedicated to the 85th anniversary of the beginning of the siege of Leningrad. The organizers will be the Joint Directorate of Museums of the Department of Culture of the Bishkek City Hall and the Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University.The event will take place in the exhibition hall-gallery named after Hero of the Soviet Union Cholponbai Tuleberdiev.The blockade of Leningrad began on September 8, 1941 and lasted until January 27, 1944 – 872 days. The feat of the city's residents and defenders became one of the symbols of the courage, perseverance and unity of the Soviet people during the Great Patriotic War.A special place in the history of besieged Leningrad is occupied by the assistance provided to the city by residents of the union republics. Kyrgyzstanis participated in the defense of Leningrad, helped evacuated residents and children, and sent food and other necessary assistance. It is the history of ties between Leningrad and the Kyrgyz SSR that will become one of the central themes of the upcoming action.The event program includes a concert of creative groups KRSU. Poems and songs dedicated to the feat and unity of the Soviet people during the Great Patriotic War will be performed. The premiere of the song «Sweet Bread» will also take place.The program will continue with the opening of a historical and documentary exhibition «Together they call us – Leningrad!», dedicated to little-known pages of cooperation between Leningrad and the Kyrgyz SSR. The exhibition will tell about the connections that formed during the first Soviet five-year plans and received special significance during the Great Patriotic War.Author of the exhibition – Director of the Center for Historical and Cultural Heritage KRSU Leonid Sumarokov. The exhibition is based on materials from his historical and documentary essay of the same name «Together they call us – Leningrad!», the presentation of which took place at KRSU on September 8, 2025.The book, based on archival materials, reveals the history of cooperation between Leningrad and the Kyrgyz SSR, mutual assistance between Kyrgyzstanis and Leningraders in peacetime and wartime. The study pays particular attention to the blockade period of 1941–1944 and previously little-known evidence of support for the besieged city.The memorial event is designed to preserve the historical truth about the events of the Great Patriotic War, to recall the contribution of the peoples of the Soviet Union to the common Victory and to pass on the memory of these events to the younger generation.Start: 8 September at 18:00.Place: exhibition hall-gallery named after Cholponbay Tuleberdiev, Bishkek, Kok-Sai st., 39a.We invite everyone to join the Memory Action and together honor the memory of the residents and defenders of besieged Leningrad.