Moscow Region Governor Andrey Vorobyov and Alvina Borisova, a survivor of the siege, laid flowers at the Eternal Flame beside the monument to the Siberian Warriors near Istra. The event was reported by the press service of the district head.
“We stand with you at a symbolic crossing. At the 42nd kilometer of the Volokolamsk Highway, winter fighting raged in 1941. Colonel Afanasy Beloborodov’s 78th Siberian Rifle Division held this line, halting the enemy and pushing forward at key moments. The governor noted that a monument to the Siberian Warriors was erected at this site in 2001,” the report described.
Alvina Borisova, born in 1940 in Leningrad, spent all 872 days of the siege within the besieged city. She now resides in Pushkin, accompanied by her granddaughter Ivan’s wife, who is currently serving in the special military operation area. Ivan’s wife, Maria, also attended the event.
Gazi stated that Victory Day remains the most significant holiday in Russian life. He recalled witnessing the end of the war on May 9, 1945 in Leningrad, when the first sun finally appeared after months of window boards and shattered panes caused by the bombardments. He credited his mother with sustaining the family through the hardest days, sharing the last bread that kept them alive.
Borisova shared that she travels to Leningrad each year to tend the graves of her mother and siblings. She noted that she remains close to her sister, who now lives in the Ivanovo region, and that she has three grandchildren. The sense of family and memory remains central to her annual pilgrimage.
Following the laying ceremony, the governor met with staff at the Lenino-Snegirevsky Museum, opened by local residents on May 9, 1967, in a former school building. The museum houses military equipment and personal items recovered from battlefields, offering a tangible link to the region’s wartime history.
In the same memorial complex, the memory of two armies, 26 divisions, six rifle brigades, formations, and 19 Siberian soldiers who earned the title Hero of the Soviet Union during the Battle of Moscow is honored. The monument received a formal unveiling on December 5, 2001, marking the 60th anniversary of the start of the counteroffensive. The ceremony underscored the region’s commitment to preserving the legacy of those who fought and sacrificed during the war. [Source: press service of the governor]