When the Germans first invaded the USSR, the war seemed remote to the citizens of Leningrad.
But by early September, the Germans had cut off Leningrad from the rest of the country and laid siege to the city, the longest siege of modern times.
- Listen now:
Playlist:
Fanfare
Opening War Theme
Symphony No. 5 in E minor.
Composed in 1888 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Public domain.
Public domain recording. Source.
Closing War Theme
Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.
Your Leningrad episode was exceptional, and for your podcast that is not unusual. Thank you for all the details about the campaign. And thank you for relating the diary of the Russian boy locked in Leningrad, dying of hunger. You do tackle the hard ones.
I cried, what an amazing episode! Thank you
What a great episode. You really were able to bring home the cruelty of war. Left me in tears.
The last WW2 episodes have indeed been exceptionally powerful.
Out of curiosity – where can one read Yuri’s diary? The only potential source I can find is the Leningrad book by Anna Reid.
You can find it here in Russian. I understand someone is working on an annotated English translation, but that project isn’t finished. In the meantime, you can use Google Translate on the Russian language original.
The use of an adolescent diarist and an internationally famous composer to frame the narrative of the Siege of Leningrad was extremely moving and effective. At the same time Mark managed to convey the political and tactical events in his usual dry manner. By focussing on the human effects he highlighted the dire state of Leningrad residents.
I visited Leningrad in 1977 and like all Tourists was taken to the Seige memorial. Along with the standard eternal flame there were a number of huge mounds which we were informed were buried the citizens that did not survive the seige. We were told it held a million people.
Mark you have had alot of good episodes about hard topics to cover. Maybe its because im 37 and had never heard Yuri’s story before, even though I did know of the horrors from the stalingrad seige. But the way you described how the city was before, prior to, and during the siege while using yuri’s story to drive the narrative was incredible. Thank you for helping what feels connect the dots to so many things I’ve learned over time. Wishing always the best for you and your family, Andrew.
Towards the conclusion of your second episode on the Siege of Leningrad (#407), you asked for thoughts on whether or not western music critics were correct in their less-than-favorable reviews of Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony, “The Leningrad.”
I encountered the symphony over 50 years ago while studying Russian at the Naval Academy. Already by then, I was an admirer of classical symphonic music, and took an immediate liking to the work. Even then, I realized it was formulaic and exaltingly triumphant. Yet, given the circumstances surrounding its (alleged) inspiration, why should it have been otherwise? I do think it the most important – possibly the only — symphonic composition to come out of the war. Could it be that some of the western criticism reflects a touch of envy?
I cannot end this comment without mentioning my favorite Shostakovich Symphony: Number 13, the Babi Yar, the five movements of which were inspired by poems of Yevgeny Yevtushenko that were reflections on Soviet life. The first movement, Babi Yar, from which the symphony gets its name, clearly is about the infamous region of Kiev where the Nazis massacred Jews and other opponents of German occupation. A dark, challenging work (although it does have its lighter moments in the second movement), I think it the greatest symphonic composition of the past 100 years. As to what I expect you might do with this information? Nothing, actually. The event which gave the symphony its name already has passed in your telling of the 20th century. I remember you mentioning it. Also, Shostakovich did not compose the work until 1962. You, rightly, will have moved onto other important topics by the time you get to that year.
W/r,
Lee
In a podcast of exceptional episodes this one might be your best. It has a Barbara Tuchman vibe telling the story on the macro and micro level. So moving!