On the 85th anniversary of the beginning of the siege of Leningrad, on September 8, 2026, a delegation from the St. Petersburg Diocese led by Bishop Veniamin of Kronstadt, Vicar of the Holy Trinity Alexander Nevsky Lavra, took part in a ceremony at the Piskarevskoye Memorial Cemetery in the Northern Capital.
Wreaths were laid by Alexander Beglov, Governor of St. Petersburg, Alexander Belsky, Chairman of the city Legislative Assembly, Bishop Veniamin, heads of religious denominations, representatives of veterans' organizations, youth and patriotic associations, and members of the SVR. Igor Rudenya, the Plenipotentiary representative of the head of state in the Northwestern Federal District, laid a wreath on behalf of the President of Russia.
At the monument to Mother Motherland, "Eternal Memory" was sung to the defenders of the city and the victims of the blockade. A wreath of white flowers in the shape of a cross was laid at the monument.
Flowers were also laid at the Eternal Flame.
A tablet exhibition with reproductions of artists' works dedicated to the heroism of the inhabitants of the besieged city has been opened at the memorial.
The ceremony ended with the passing of the honor guard company and the military band.
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On September 8, 1941, an enemy siege ring closed around Leningrad. During the years of the blockade, about 1.1 million Leningraders died from starvation and bombing. Commemorative actions on this day were held throughout the city — at the memorial plaque "To the Heroism and Courage of Leningraders" at No. 14 Nevsky Prospekt, at the Monument to the Heroic Defenders of Leningrad on Victory Square, at the Serafimovsky and Smolensky memorial cemeteries, at the Bogoslovsky and Nevsky military cemeteries and at other burial sites of defenders and residents of besieged Leningrad.