Short answers, pulled from the story.
The first staff meeting to plan the liberation of Leningrad took place on the 9th of September 1943. This gathering occurred exactly two years and one day after the siege began in 1941.
Soviet commanders developed two distinct strategies known as Neva I and Neva II. The Neva I plan relied on a hope that German forces would withdraw voluntarily under pressure from other fronts while the Neva II plan required a three-pronged attack starting from Oranienbaum, Pulkovo Heights, and Novgorod fortifications.
Field Marshal Georg von Küchler commanded an Army Group North that had deteriorated critically by late 1943. He faced a precarious situation with great pessimism regarding upcoming events despite Hitler rejecting all proposals for early withdrawal into the Panther position.
Stalin declared the siege lifted on the 27th of January 1944 following a celebration at 8 pm. German troops retreated 100 kilometers away from Leningrad by the 26th of January before this declaration occurred.
Cities like Staraya Russa, Novorzhev, Dno and Putoshka were freed during this phase which began on the 18th of February involving the 2nd Baltic Front. Pursuing retreating enemy forces advanced up to 180 kilometers to the West while Soviet troops operated in cooperation with part of the Leningrad Front against the German 16th Army.