After 80 years, siege of Leningrad survivors finally receive pension

Kinovskaya (left), who survived the siege of Leningrad as a child, and her husband Korobov, who also spent several months in the beleagured city as a child. Photos: Eva Krafczyk/dpa

Georgi Korobov doesn't have many memories of the World War II siege of Leningrad, the German military blockade of the Soviet Union's second city, now once again known as St Petersburg.

"I only remember constant hunger and fear," the lean 83-year-old says. Korobov didn't only survive the siege of Leningrad, however.

During the almost 900-day blockade, the arms factory his father worked for, including all its employees and their families, was evacuated to Stalingrad, a major industrial hub the Germans sought to bring under their control in another month-long battle.