Living History

Nevsky Shipyard is situated 40 km away form Saint-Petersburg in the town of Schlisselburg (the town had name “Petrokrepost’ from 1944 till 1992) on the left bank of the Neva River. The fortress “Oreshek” is located on the Orekhovy Island, in the source of the Neva River, opposite Schlisselburg. This fortress has become an original symbol of the town and shipyard.

On September 8, 1941 the town was occupied by Nazi Germany. The town was almost completely destroyed during the lifting of the Siege of Leningrad in January 1943. During the Great Patriotic War soviet troops heroically defended the fortress for 500 days. Enemy artillery fire caused severe damages to the fortress “Oreshek”.

In commemoration of those days the Diorama museum “The Breakthrough of the Siege of Leningrad” was opened in the left bank ramp of the Ladozhsky bridge on May 7, 1985. Today one of the most interesting directions in museum work is the open-air exposition of military equipment of the time of Leningrad defence (1941-44) on the square in front of the Diorama “The Breakthrough of the Siege of Leningrad”. Some of the items of this exposition were restored and reconstructed by Nevsky Shipyard. Literally, all the personnel of “Nevsky Shipyard”, LLC – from top managers to workers – took part in restoration of the tanks. In all, Nevsky Shipyard restored six military vehicles, including famous tank “T-34”.