During this tour you will see where the most ferocious battles for Leningrad took place. Near the towns of Marino and Kirovsk the armies of the Volkhovskly and Leningradsky fronts closed up after brutal fighting and the siege was broken, much to the relief of Leningrad residents. The Diorama: The main events of the seven days of the “Iskra” (“Spark”) operation January 12–18, 1943 are recreated by a model located on the left hand side of the Ladozhky bridge across the Neva. It was designed by Leningrad artists in conjunction with war veterans, and has a haunting effect on visitors through a combination of painting and modeling. On approaching the model, you will see a memorial T-34 tank facing east as if it is rushing towards divisions of the Volkhovdky front after a forced crossing of the Neva. Also worth visiting is the Nevskii Pyatachok, a small piece of land on the banks of the Neva reconquered from the Germans in September 1941. Several attempts were made to break the siege on this site up till January 1943. To commemorate those that fell, the entire site was made into a memorial. The Oreshek (Nutlet) Fortress is situated where Ladoga Lake meets the river. Here, a small group of Soviet solders defended the fortress for almost 500 days.