They beasted it.
The West responded to the blockade by transporting supplies including food to West Berlin.
The Soviets ended the blockade of West Berlin in 1949 because they realized it was not achieving their goal of forcing the Western Allies out of the city. The blockade had led to the Berlin Airlift, where the Allies supplied West Berlin by air, showing the Soviets that their blockade was ineffective.
How the Soviet's react to the blockade
The Soviets ended the blockade of West Berlin because they realized it was not achieving their goals and was causing international backlash. They also saw that the Western Allies were resolute in their support for West Berlin, making the blockade unsustainable.
The Berlin Airlift was in reaction to the Berlin Blockade. The United States and allies delivered supplies to West Berlin.
Britain set up the blockade.
The Soviet blockade of West Berlin, known as the Berlin Blockade lasted from 24 June 1948 - 12 May 1949.
The 1948 Soviet Blockade of West Berlin was a Failure, because although the Russians could stop land/ground traffic (trucks and trains) from travelling from West Germany, through East Germany to West Berlin, they could not stop airplanes, especially transports carrying essential supplies from flying from West Germany to West Berlin. After several months of around the clock planes flying from West Germany to West Berlin, the Russians gave up in failure.
At the time (June 1948) the Soviet leadership said that the blockade was a response to the introduction of the new currency, the West German Deutsche Mark, to West Berlin. They claimed that it was a violation of the Potsdam Agreement of 1945.
To isolate East Berlin from West Berlin
To avoid armed conflict with the West.
The population of West Berlin at the time of the blockade and airlift (1948-49) was about 2 million.