#Victory81 🏛 On November, 8, 1945, following the devastating years of the barbaric Siege of Leningrad by Nazis and their accomplices, the trying times of the #GreatPatrioticWar, just a few months after the #Victory, the State Hermitage Museum once again opened its doors to the public. Visitors were welcomed by 69 galleries, reopened following restoration work and the return to Leningrad of the Hermitage national treasures saved from the Nazis and previously evacuated to Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg). During the blockade of #Leningrad, the State Hermitage complex sustained severe damage: 17 artillery shells and two aerial bombs struck the Museum building, destroying roofs, floors and window glazing. On August, 24, 1944, the Soviet leadership took a decision to begin restoration at the #Hermitage. In the autumn of 1944, two trainloads of museum exhibits returned back in Leningrad from Sverdlovsk. The restoration of the Museum's interiors and the return of the entire collection to its pre-war order and appearance continued for many years. ❗️The Hermitage's return to peacetime life became one of the symbols of Leningrad's post-war recovery. The reopening of the Hermitage on November 8, 1945, marked the culmination of the heroic efforts of the staff of our country's national treasure Museum. One of the world's greatest art collections — an essential part of human shared cultural heritage — had been successfully rescued, evacuated, preserved and returned to its rightful home. For the people of Leningrad, the Museum's doors opening once again marked the city's return to peaceful life. 📸 © State Hermitage Museum