Leningrad Oblast of two great lakes of the European Part of Russia, Lake Ladoga and Lake Onega. Its northeastern part, between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga, occupies the Karelian Isthmus. Some islands in the Gulf of Finland (including Kotlin, on which the city of Kronstadt has been built) and Lake Ladoga (including Konevets) also belong to the oblast. Much of the area of the oblast belongs to the drainage basin of the Neva, which is the only outflow of Lake Ladoga. Whereas the Neva, which flows to the Gulf of Finland (the city of Saint Petersburg is located in its
Finnish Ladoga Naval Detachment group was the icebreaker "Aallokas", whose commander Captain-Lieutenant Asikainen also commanded the gunboats. There were no major naval battles in the open waters of Lake Ladoga during 1939 - 1940, so the fleet units were tasked with fire support against the attacking Red Army, and spreading mines along the coastal areas. By January 1940 the ice became so thick that only "Aallokas" could be used, and she was damaged in an attack by Soviet aircraft on February 2. After the peace on March 13 the Finnish vessels had to be left at Ladoga, which had become a Soviet lake. Some