🗓 On 8 September 1941, the Siege of Leningrad – today’s St Petersburg – commenced. For 872 days, the city was cut off from the rest of the Soviet Union, enduring starvation, shelling, disease and extreme cold.
At the height of the winter of 1941–1942, the daily bread ration for many residents fell to just 125 grammes. Temperatures dropped below -30°C, electricity and heating failed, and hundreds of thousands died from hunger and exhaustion.
Yet Leningrad refused to surrender. Factories continued producing weapons, while schools, hospitals and cultural institutions remained open. In August 1942, Dmitri Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony was performed in the besieged city, becoming a powerful symbol of its resistance.
Leningraders even planted vegetable gardens in parks and on squares, including cabbage on St Isaac's Square. The city's lifeline was the Road of Life across frozen Lake Ladoga, bringing in food and supplies and evacuating civilians.
The blockade was finally broken on 27 January 1944. More than one million people died during the siege – one of the most devastating episodes of the Second World War.
85 years on, we honour the memory of those who endured it and remember the courage and resilience of Leningrad's people.
Their story is remembered in Britain, too: in 2020, a plaque was unveiled in Manchester in recognition of the brave people of besieged Leningrad.
📸 Sputnik
At the height of the winter of 1941–1942, the daily bread ration for many residents fell to just 125 grammes. Temperatures dropped below -30°C, electricity and heating failed, and hundreds of thousands died from hunger and exhaustion.
Yet Leningrad refused to surrender. Factories continued producing weapons, while schools, hospitals and cultural institutions remained open. In August 1942, Dmitri Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony was performed in the besieged city, becoming a powerful symbol of its resistance.
Leningraders even planted vegetable gardens in parks and on squares, including cabbage on St Isaac's Square. The city's lifeline was the Road of Life across frozen Lake Ladoga, bringing in food and supplies and evacuating civilians.
The blockade was finally broken on 27 January 1944. More than one million people died during the siege – one of the most devastating episodes of the Second World War.
85 years on, we honour the memory of those who endured it and remember the courage and resilience of Leningrad's people.
Their story is remembered in Britain, too: in 2020, a plaque was unveiled in Manchester in recognition of the brave people of besieged Leningrad.
📸 Sputnik
❤12🙏6
🎙 Statement by Aide to the President of Russia Yury Ushakov following a telephone conversation between President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump
💬 The conversation centered on Ukrainian settlement.
Donald Trump directly communicated the desirability of bringing the conflict to an end as soon as possible, as it would immediately open up prospects – impressive and far-reaching ones at that – for the full restoration of Russia-US relations.
In his view, this would have a particular impact on trade and economic ties, promising huge benefits for both nations. Donald Trump is keen to see a breakthrough achieved during his presidency.
President Vladimir Putin supported this approach in the context of potentially building a constructive partnership between the two great powers and praised the mediation efforts by the US and Donald Trump personally with respect to finding solutions to the Ukrainian conflict.
An objective and extensive analysis of the current developments in the special military operation was provided, along with our vision of the overall progress on the battlefield and achieving the goals and objectives of the special military operation. Speaking of which, actual tangible actions that the Americans could take to expedite the cessation of the hostilities were outlined.
In view of the speculations regarding Russia’s alleged hostile intentions against European states, it was stressed that no aggressive plans against Europe have ever entered our minds. The circulated myths about the Russian threat serve as a pretext for Europeans to ramp up their support for Ukraine and their own military expenses.
Read in full
💬 The conversation centered on Ukrainian settlement.
Donald Trump directly communicated the desirability of bringing the conflict to an end as soon as possible, as it would immediately open up prospects – impressive and far-reaching ones at that – for the full restoration of Russia-US relations.
In his view, this would have a particular impact on trade and economic ties, promising huge benefits for both nations. Donald Trump is keen to see a breakthrough achieved during his presidency.
President Vladimir Putin supported this approach in the context of potentially building a constructive partnership between the two great powers and praised the mediation efforts by the US and Donald Trump personally with respect to finding solutions to the Ukrainian conflict.
An objective and extensive analysis of the current developments in the special military operation was provided, along with our vision of the overall progress on the battlefield and achieving the goals and objectives of the special military operation. Speaking of which, actual tangible actions that the Americans could take to expedite the cessation of the hostilities were outlined.
In view of the speculations regarding Russia’s alleged hostile intentions against European states, it was stressed that no aggressive plans against Europe have ever entered our minds. The circulated myths about the Russian threat serve as a pretext for Europeans to ramp up their support for Ukraine and their own military expenses.
Read in full
👍10🙏3
🎙 Highlights from Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's remarks at the meeting with MGIMO University students (Moscow, 7 September 2026)
🔹 We have always been open to cooperating with those prepared to engage on the basis of equality, mutual benefit and the balance of interests. The vast majority of countries in the Global South and East are willing to do so. However, the West does not want this to happen.
🔹 The process of mounting tensions between us and the West did not begin because we wanted to "pick a fight". We simply wanted our truth and our legitimate interests, which are fully consistent with the principles enshrined in the UN Charter and other instruments of international law, to be heard and taken into account.
🔹 The unprecedentedly aggressive actions taken to impose sanctions and to seize state assets and reserves [...] are nothing short of outright theft and plunder. Western countries are now engaging in plunder with regard to Russian assets and the so-called "shadow fleet".
🔹 Once the globalisation created by the Americans, which everyone was being drawn into and persuaded to join, has been destroyed by its very creators, it means we need to be bolder in shaping new spaces in which rules will apply that cannot be unilaterally revised or changed at someone's whim. This is precisely what BRICS is doing now.
🔹 When it comes to security, we should set ourselves an ambitious goal, even if it will take time to achieve: a Eurasian security architecture that is open to all countries on the continent and does not involve actors from outside the region. This is not a utopian idea. At some point, it could become a reality.
Real in full
Real in full
Please open Telegram to view this post
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
❤6👍6👏1
Born in 1828 at Yasnaya Polyana, Tolstoy lived many lives: aristocrat, soldier, teacher and social thinker. His masterpieces, War and Peace and Anna Karenina, turned the experiences and struggles of ordinary people into stories of universal importance.
By the late 19th century, English translations had made Tolstoy a major literary figure in Britain. His ideas about non-violence, simple living and social equality also inspired a small but active Tolstoyan movement, with groups in London, Manchester, Leeds and elsewhere.
Tolstoy’s works have continued to find new readers in the UK. His novels are regularly reissued and translated, while British publishers, theatres and broadcasters keep bringing his masterpieces to new audiences. From the BBC’s War and Peace, starring a young Anthony Hopkins in 1972, to the 2016 adaptation with Paul Dano, Lily James and James Norton, his stories have repeatedly returned to British screens. Anna Karenina has also been adapted several times, including Joe Wright’s 2012 film starring Keira Knightley.
Nearly two centuries after his birth, Tolstoy's characters still feel remarkably close to us – proof that great literature can cross borders, languages and generations.
Please open Telegram to view this post
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
Please open Telegram to view this post
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
👍6❤5
Media is too big
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
Excerpts from FM Sergey Lavrov's interview with Russian TV presenter Yulia Menshova
⏺ The West has always been interested in weakening our country – the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union [...] Now the West has to defend its position through fair competition. And that is something it has never known how to do throughout its history.
⏺ The loss of the West's ability to objectively lead the world is pushing it to try to maintain its dominance by completely unscrupulous methods – through sanctions, and even direct intervention. They are simply clinging to their last remaining opportunities to preserve their dominance.
⏺ We have never done anything to undermine our relations with the West. And it is no coincidence that the eagle on our coat of arms has two heads, looking both west and east. We keep a close eye on both directions, making sure, first of all, that there are no threats or attempts to harm us. But we also keep a close eye on where there are opportunities for mutually beneficial relations. And at this stage, of course, all these opportunities are in the East.
⏺ We warned that Ukrainian terrorist attacks on civilian targets in Russia, including oil refineries, would provoke a response that would be much more severe for Ukraine. This is what is happening now.
⏺ If Western diplomacy comes down to holding back countries that put forward sensible, balanced and compromise-based initiatives, then so be it. In that case, we will achieve our goals not at the negotiating table, which would be preferable for us – and Anchorage summit proved that – but on the battlefield.
⏺ I feel sorry for Britain, because it has itself, through Prime Minister Andy Burnham, said that it will stand with Ukraine until the end. Since the end for Ukraine is not a happy one, I feel sorry for Britain.
Watch in full
Watch in full
Please open Telegram to view this post
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
❤16👍7🔥2
💬 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov: As for negotiations on Ukraine, what is needed above all is negotiation based on an understanding of the root causes and on working out an agreement to remove them. We have always been ready for that.
The current Ukraine crisis was created by the West, primarily the previous US administration, the European Union and NATO members, who are still trying to achieve what they call Russia's defeat and support Ukraine in everything.
From the very outset, the Trump administration has shown both the willingness and the ability to address the root causes of the conflict. That is precisely what gives grounds to expect that negotiations and contacts with the relevant envoys will be useful for both sides.
Another point I would like to make is that it is the European Union that continues to do everything it can to prevent the situation from moving towards addressing the root causes and finding ways to reach a reliable, long-term settlement based on eliminating those causes.
Read in full
The current Ukraine crisis was created by the West, primarily the previous US administration, the European Union and NATO members, who are still trying to achieve what they call Russia's defeat and support Ukraine in everything.
From the very outset, the Trump administration has shown both the willingness and the ability to address the root causes of the conflict. That is precisely what gives grounds to expect that negotiations and contacts with the relevant envoys will be useful for both sides.
Another point I would like to make is that it is the European Union that continues to do everything it can to prevent the situation from moving towards addressing the root causes and finding ways to reach a reliable, long-term settlement based on eliminating those causes.
Read in full
❤9👍2
🎙 Excerpt from Russian MFA Spox Maria Zakharova's weekly briefing
💬 After Germany levelled blatant anti-Russian accusations over the alleged “drone attack” involving aircraft at Leipzig Airport, a number of EU and NATO member states rushed to join the German démarche without carrying out any independent analysis. No facts were presented.
This was followed by a whole series of public statements, as well as the summoning of the heads of Russian diplomatic missions, expressing solidarity with Germany and the Kiev regime [...]
It is obvious that the aim of such actions is to keep anti-Russian sentiment at a high level among the European public.
This is meant to cover up the serious political and economic miscalculations of the European elites, justify to their citizens the allocation of huge resources to fund Ukraine, and accelerate the expansion of the European defence industries under the pretext of preparing for an allegedly inevitable armed confrontation with our country. If it is “inevitable”, then they should admit that it is they who are seeking it.
The mass repetition of groundless and absurdly false accusations against Russia of engaging in “subversive activities” has become a mandatory element of the information war being waged against our country.
Read in full
💬 After Germany levelled blatant anti-Russian accusations over the alleged “drone attack” involving aircraft at Leipzig Airport, a number of EU and NATO member states rushed to join the German démarche without carrying out any independent analysis. No facts were presented.
This was followed by a whole series of public statements, as well as the summoning of the heads of Russian diplomatic missions, expressing solidarity with Germany and the Kiev regime [...]
It is obvious that the aim of such actions is to keep anti-Russian sentiment at a high level among the European public.
This is meant to cover up the serious political and economic miscalculations of the European elites, justify to their citizens the allocation of huge resources to fund Ukraine, and accelerate the expansion of the European defence industries under the pretext of preparing for an allegedly inevitable armed confrontation with our country. If it is “inevitable”, then they should admit that it is they who are seeking it.
The mass repetition of groundless and absurdly false accusations against Russia of engaging in “subversive activities” has become a mandatory element of the information war being waged against our country.
Read in full
❤6👍3💯2