LIBERATION OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
 
On January 20th Soviet troops liberated Novgorod. 201 thousand civilians and POWs had been killed in the city by the Nazis. By the time the enemy was driven out 30 residents remained in Novgorod.
On January 27th the siege of Leningrad that began in September 1941 was finally lifted. The lifting of the siege was marked by an artillery salute in Leningrad. In appreciation for the courage, tenacity and unprecedented heroism of its defenders Leningrad was made Hero City. More than 640 thousand people had died from hunger during the siege and tens of thousands of emaciated residents of Leningrad died in evacuation. 17 thousand residents of Leningrad were killed, about 34 thousand wounded in artillery strikes and bombardments.
On July 23rd the enemy was driven out of Pskov. More than 290 thousand Pskov residents and POWs had been killed by the Nazis. Over 11 thousand people had been transported as slave labour to Germany.
On July 28th the city of Brest was liberated. 84 thousand civilians had been killed in the city during the Nazi occupation.
By mid-summer Soviet troops had driven the enemy out of the occupied territories in the Russian Federation. 1.8 million people had been executed in the republic, 1.3 million had been transported to Germany. Hundreds of cities had been destroyed, about 3 million buildings lay in ruins. 11 million people had been left homeless.
 
ON THE UKRAINIAN FRONT
 
In January and February German troops suffered a number of major defeats as a result of a Soviet offensive in Ukraine. The enemy was thrown 80 to 350 kilometers back from the Dnieper.
On April 10th the port of Odessa was liberated. The Nazis had executed 82 thousand civilians and transported 78 thousand to Germany.
Fighting for Crimea continued from the 8th to the 13th of April 1944.
On April 11th Soviet troops liberated Kerch.
On May 9th Sevastopol was liberated. 27 thousand civilians had been killed in the city by the Nazis and 42 thousand had been transported to Germany. 3 thousand residents remained in the city by the time it was liberated. Nearly all of Sevastopol was in ruins.
By the end of August the liberation of the Ukrainian republic was over. More than 123 thousand soldiers received orders and medals, 160 were made Heroes of the Soviet Union. More than 5 million Ukrainians (over 3.8 million civilians and about 1.5 million POWs) had been killed by the Nazis and 2.4 million had been transported to Germany.
 
LIBERATION OF MOLDAVIA
 
By the end of August Soviet troops completed the liberation of the republic of Moldavia driving the enemy out of the capital Kishinev. 64 thousand Moldavians had been killed, more than 47 thousand had been transported as slave labour to Germany and over 207 thousand civilians had been subjected to torture.
 
ON THE BELORUSSIAN FRONT
 
On June 26th the Belorussian city of Vitebsk was liberated. About 140 thousand civilians and POWs had been killed in the city during the Nazi occupation and the city itself had been reduced to ruins.
On July 3rd Soviet forces drove the enemy out of the Belorussian capital Minsk. More than 400 thousand civilians and POWs had been killed in the city during the Nazi occupation.
The Belorussian campaign went on from June 23rd to August 29th. . It covered a vast territory - up to 1100 kilometers along the frontline and 600 kilometers deep. Belorussia was completely liberated of the enemy troops. More than 2 million 200 thousand people (over 1.4 million civilians and over 800 thousand POWs) had been killed in Belorussia by the Nazis and about 380 thousand had been transported to Germany. 209 cities and regional centers had been turned into ruins, 9200 villages had been burned down. About 34 million people had been left homeless.
 
LIBERATION OF THE BALTIC REPUBLICS
 
On July 13th Soviet troops liberated the Lithuanian capital Vilnius. More than 100 thousand civilians and POWs had been executed in Vilnius by the Nazis.
On October 13th Soviet troops completed the liberation of the Latvian capital Riga. 300 thousand civilians and POWs had been killed in Riga by the Nazis. More than 75 thousand had been transported to Germany.
By October 22nd nearly all of the Latvian republic was cleared of the enemy.
On September 22nd Soviet troops liberated the Estonian capital Tallinn. 125 thousand civilians and POWs had been killed in Tallinn by the Nazis. By November 24th Soviet troops completed the liberation of the Baltic republics.
 
LIBERATION OF THE COUNTRIES OF EASTERN EUROPE:
 
RUMANIA
 
On March 26th Soviet troops reached the border with Rumania.
On August 31st Soviet troops reached Bucharest.
By October all of the territory of Rumania had been liberated.
 
YUGOSLAVIA
 
By September 6th Soviet troops reached the Rumanian-Yugoslav border.
On October 20th Soviet and Yugoslav soldiers liberated the capital Belgrade. More than 2 thousand soldiers were awarded Yugoslav orders and medals, 12 were made Peoples Heroes of Yugoslavia.
By October 20th Soviet and Yugoslav troops liberated the territory of Serbia.
 
HUNGARY
 
On September 22nd Soviet troops reached the Rumanian-Hungarian border.
From October 6th to October 28th one third of Hungary, a territory which was home to about one fourth of the population, was liberated during the Debrecen operation.
From October 29th to December 9th Soviet troops with the participation of Hungarian volunteers fought for the liberation of Budapest.
On December 31st 31st street battles began in Budapest.
 
POLAND
 
 
    On July 20th Soviet troops entered Poland.
    By mid-September Soviet troops reached the right bank of the Vistula and the suburbs of Warsaw.
 
 
 
BULGARIA
 
On September 8th Soviet troops entered Bulgaria.
On September 15th 15th Soviet forces in coordination with Bulgaria'a National Front government entered Sofia.
 
CZECHOSLOVAKIA
 
On October 6th Soviet troops together with forces of the 1st Army Corps of Czechoslovakia entered the territory of Czechoslovakia.
By October 28th Soviet troops liberated part of Eastern Slovakia.
 
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With the use of photos from the book "Great Patriotic War in Photos and Films".