Leningrad: State of Siege Book

'I will talk to you during the artillery fire,' she said, 'lit by its glow . . . What can the enemy do ' destroy, kill, that's it . . . but I can love. It is not possible to count the treasures of my soul. I will love and I will live.'





Michael Jones tells us about the 872-day siege of Leningrad.
Relying on an extensive collection of personal diaries collected by the Blockade Museum in Saint-Petersburg, he has also met visual witnesses (Andrei Krukov's and Elena Martilla's testimonies are the most salient ones). Significantly, the middle section of the book displays a range of sketches drawn by 18-y.o. Elena Martilla from the locals, stating more eloquently than any official history how they faced the harrowing situation they found themselves in... This book is about 'bringing humanity back into this extraordinary story and allow these lost voices to speak again'.

You are told as much about the general conduct of war, about the official bread ration throughout the war, about how some Leningraders carried on with their usual professions, about the power shortages, about the atrocious, hellish living conditions during the most grievous times of the blockade, spanning three months, from December 1941 to March 1942, when there was hardly any water, gas, power or food supplies, with average temperature around -30°C to -40°C.


1. The awful shortcomings of the Soviet Regime

Leningrad - State of Siege is also an account of the awful failure of the (local) Soviet authorities, and how they tried to hide the facts about starvation, and their hardly doing anything to assuage it during the 872-days siege. Michael Jones adresses official versions and redresses the history of the incredibly resilient Leningraders.

You can see how dreadfully unprepared both the militaries and the Soviet Premier were when the war broke out on 22 June 1941, how shockingly irresponsible Voroshilov and reckless Zhukov, two men in charge of the region's defenses. How utterly unforeseeing the city's authorities, constantly monitoring the citizens, but not ensuring the minimal food supply to the population during critical times. How fear and censorship totally paralyzed the decision process, preventing an efficient defense of Leningrad to be set up. It all gave way to foodstuffs diverted from those most in need of them, to theft, black market, and bribery. So much so that even the food supplies reaching Leningrad via daring convoys on frozen Ladoga Lake were mostly not reaching the famished and crucial evacuations forever postponed.


2.'Thousands were dying everyday but beleaguered Leningrad had somewhat stayed alive'

As you read excerpts from eyewitnesses' and inhabitants' personal diaries, you realise what allowed several hundred thousands to escape these abysmal odds: people were cultivating a purpose, a bond, a sense of responsibility towards their fellow sufferers in the city, achieving trust and self-belief. In turn, they managed to survive longer, propped by the sense of belonging to something larger than their weakened selves.


3. This book draws out efficiently the turning points in the conflict

You can refer to a short, summarized timeline, consult a bunch of maps to figure out the whole alarming situation of the city under siege.

Among the key events :

- The German capture of Shlisselburg, blockading and opening the siege of Leningrad (8 September 1941).
- First convoy of lorries bringing in supplies across Lake Ladoga's Road of Life (22 November 1941).
- Leonid Govorov taking command of the Leningrad Front (1 April 1942).
- Tram services resume along three routes in Leningrad (27 April 1942).
- Performance of Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony (9 August 1942).
- Operation Iskra breaks the German blockade in the 'Bottleneck' area from Shlisselburg to Siniavino (18 January 1943).
- The offensive led by Leonid Govorov secures the complete liberation of Leningrad
(27 January 1944).

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Throughout, there are remarkable instances of this wonderful Russian black humour and self-derision I have had the chance to confirm visiting present-day Petersburg in 2018.

My most sincere thanks to TBV for his kind and most pertinent recommendation.


Related works :
L'URSS de la Révolution à la mort de Staline, 1917-1953
A Writer at War: Vasily Grossman with the Red Army
Les Bienveillantes


Musical score :
Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony.