“By that time the entire city was divided into sectors. We became military. We were part of 34th battalion, local anti-aircraft defense. The sectors matched the militia divisions. One or two years later we became 351st detached municipal battalion. My post was a watch tower on top of a 6 storey building. There was a glass tower there, with a wooden wall. There was a diagram with German aircraft silhouettes on the wall. Our duty was report on the phone about the types and the moves of aircrafts. Secondly, we searched buildings hit with a bomb, looking for casualties in order to provide them the first medical aid. And thirdly, we called sappers if a bomb didn’t explode. I had to comb the building from the ground floor to the top floor looking for casualties because the shrapnel was scattered all around.”

Liya would also enforce the curfew in her sector, by patrolling the streets to ensure people were inside, with their lights off after dark:

“In the dark time of the day I patrolled my sector making sure there was a perfect black-out. Nobody was supposed to be in the street after 10pm if they didn’t have a pass, those were our responsibilities”.

After the siege was lifted, Liya would stand guard at military buildings in her sector. This was the only occasion she was given a weapon:

“We were given Canadian rifles. They were had been during the WWI. If someone approached the military warehouses, not knowing the secret password, we had orders to shoot. Besides, we safeguarded military garages. That was at the end of the war after the Germans had been pushed away from Leningrad.”

Liya lived in Leningrad with her husband before immigrating to Canada.