The Siege of Leningra, also known as The Leningrad Blockade (Russian: блокада Ленинграда (transliteration: blokada Leningrada)) was a military operation by the Axis powers to capture Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) during World War II. The siege lasted from September 9, 1941, to January 18, 1943, when a narrow land corridor to the city was established. The total lifting of the siege occurred at January 27, 1944. The Siege of Leningrad was one of the longest, most destructive, and the most lethal siege of major cities in modern history.