The Siege of Leningrad

Yesterday was День защитника Отечества / Dyen’ zashitnika Otechestva—Defender of the Fatherland Day-Celebration of the Russian and Soviet Military.  It is also known as Men's Day.   I had the day off from school and went on an excursion highlighting the Siege of Leningrad of the Great Patriotic War (World War II) that lasted for 900 days.  To be precise, the Nazis and the Fins surrounded the entirety of Leningrad on 8 September 1941, thus officially starting the siege.  The siege would not lift until 27 January 1944.  It was one of the longest and most destructive military sieges in history.  


Hitler wanted to capture Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) because the city was the birthplace of the Soviet regime and the Communist ideology by which the Soviet government was run.  Hitler wanted to wipe the entire city and population off the map.  


While the able men of Leningrad were rushed off to the front, civilians - women, elderly, and children - performed heroic deeds by building defense lines to protect the city, camouflage buildings, bury monuments, and remove as many artifacts from museums and palaces as possible.  Many of the items found in the Hermitage were shipped off to Sverdlovsk, now Yekaterinburg, where they were safely kept 
until the conclusion of the war.  

"For the Motherland"

Hitler had plans to celebrate the capture of Leningrad by having a party in the Astoria Hotel.  Hitler directly expressed in Munich that he wanted to starve the population of Leningrad, and that he had no interest in saving the lives of the civilian population.  Starvation set in quickly.  Warehouses that stored food for the city were destroyed by Nazi bombs.  There was nothing to be eaten and nowhere to get supplies for months.  The only food there was to be had was bread: ten ounces for industrial workers (30% of the Leningrad population), five ounces for civilians (70%):

"20 November 1941 established a minimum rate of 125 grams of bread"

The winter of 1941 until 1942 was one of the hardest experienced during the siege.  In addition to extreme starvation, as stated above, temperatures plummeted to -30 Celsius (-22 Fahrenheit), there was little transportation within the city, and there was no running water in any building or apartment.  In early 1942, the civilian population was dying at a rate of 700 - 1,000 people per day.  Most of them due to starvation.  

The Road of Life, which began its operation in late 1941, was an ice road and the only lifeline to the besieged Leningrad from which they received food and other critical supplies.  It was only open during the winter when Lake Ladoga (which feeds the River Neva that courses through the city) was frozen over.  Allied nations to the Soviet Union would bring in aid via this route.  

The city was under almost constant bombardment by Nazi forces.  Every fifth building in Leningrad was destroyed by the Siege's end, and every third building was severely damaged.

"Citizens! If shelling, this is the most dangerous side of the street" - this sign, posted during the siege, can still be found today on Nevsky Prospect. 

Pavlovsk Palace (outside Saint Petersburg) 

Pavlovsk Palace after World War II 

Peterhof (Peter the Great's summer residence) 

Peterhof after World War II

 There are many powerful stories of resilience to come out of the Siege of Leningrad, but one of particular note is that of composer Dmitry Shostakovich.  His 7th Symphony was completed in December 1941 and he dedicated the composition to the city of Leningrad.  On 9 August 1942, the Symphony 7 was performed by the Radio Orchestra of Leningrad and broadcast all over the city and country on loudspeakers.  Loudspeakers were even pointed in the direction of enemy lines.  It was a poignant overture to morale and marked a turning point in the war to Soviet favor.  I have always loved history, it is perhaps one of the reasons I became interested with Russia in the first place, and I find it all the more fitting that this is one of my all time favorite classical pieces.  

The last part of my tour consisted of a visit to the Piskaryovskoye Memorial Cemetery.  Over 500,000 civilians and Red Army soldiers are buried here in mass graves.  As I passed the eternal flame, I felt my emotions swell.  I am not Russian and I have no heritage that is Russian, but I feel such a deep connection with this country.  I cannot help but tear up hearing this story.  By the end of the Siege, over one million people had died - and by the end of the war in 1945, around 26 million Soviets - civilians and soldiers alike - had perished.  That is more than any other country in history.  

Novgorod

This past weekend, I went on an excursion to the historical, medieval city of Novgorod the Great (Великий Новгород Veliky Novgorod).  The city was founded in the 9th or 10th Century around the time Christianity was founded in Kievan Rus (around 988).  At this time, Kievan Rus was controlled by the Rurik Dynasty.  It was a capital and a major center of trade, commerce, politics, and culture before Saint Petersburg was established in the early 18th Century.  The oldest church in Russia, Saint Sofia's Cathedral, built between 1045 and 1050, still stands today.  

Our transport to Novgorod from Saint Petersburg was by bus on Russia's M10 highway that ultimately leads to Moscow.  The highway was in better condition than I expected it would be, but there were many vehicles that were off the road in a less than perfect state.  A small truck also happened to spin out in front of our bus, but managed to correct itself before sliding off the road. It was interesting to view the Russian countryside and the villages and Russian Orthodox churches that dot the landscape along the highway.  Three and a half hours later, we finally arrived in Novgorod, checked into our hotel, and had lunch.  


Then, we embarked on a walking tour of the central, medieval district of the city.  As I stated above, we visited the Novgorod Kremlin home to the oldest church in Russia and the Monument to the Millennium of Russia built in 1862.  The monument includes significant events and important people - political, religious, and cultural - throughout Russian history.  At this particular point on the monument pictured below, near the top, you can see such depictions as the Christianization of Rus in 988, and the beginnings of the Romanov Dynasty in 1613.  

We also stopped to see the magnificent Znamenskiy Cathedral built in the 16th Century.

I would like to note, that at one time, Novgorod had around thirty monasteries.  Now, only seven remain, but there are still almost too many churches to count. 

The night at the hotel was quite rowdy.  My sleep was disrupted at least three times due to people running back and forth down the hall, and also by people conversing quite loudly.  This was the only incident with which I was frustrated on this trip.  However, in the morning, after breakfast, I decided to venture off by myself and walked to Novgorod's Saint Sofia Square, also known as Victory Square in the Soviet times, where I was able to have a moment alone with Lenin.

After checking out of the hotel around noon, we set off on the second part of our excursion: touring the Sviato-Yurievskiy working monastery and the Vitoslavitsy Russian village.  At the monastery, because it was active, all the females in the group had to cover their heads and the males had to remove their hats.  The monastery was absolutely beautiful. 

 The Georgievskiy Cathedral, built in the 12th Century, is where the burial vault of the Novgorod princes is located.  

After visiting the monastery, we headed to the Vitoslavitsy Russian Village from the 16th to the 18th Centuries built entirely out of wood.  It was fascinating to see the intricacies of the structures built, to learn about Russian village life from that period, and to view in person the wooden designs that date back to pagan Russia.  Despite the cold, I was really happy to be there, and I just had to smile when the Russian Orthodox pealing of the bells tolled through the village.  It was a magical moment. 

Lunch was at a nearby restaurant that served Russian cuisine, and I must say that the food was delicious.  I had borscht with sour cream, potatoes with sour cream, blinys (thin pancakes) with sour cream (yes, Russians like their sour cream), cutlet, and tea with a spot of jam.  I left Novgorod very satisfied.

On our return journey to Saint Petersburg, colloquially known as Piter, there were issues with the tour bus. The engine had some sort of mechanical problem and the engine was overheating, so the bus kept having to pull over to the side of the road every five to ten minutes or so for the first hour in order for the engine to cool down.  We were going to have to transfer buses halfway through the journey.  Luckily, the problem seemed to have resolved enough to the point where we could remain on the same bus and return safely to Piter.  I find it fitting, that as we drove through the Russian countryside and entered the city of Petersburg four and a half hours later, I was listening to the Red Army Choir.  

Heart and Soul in Pavlovsk

Today we took an excursion to Pavlovsk. Pavlovsk is an 18th Century imperial palace built by Paul I (Catherine the Great's son) of Russia in a town near Saint Petersburg.  It is beautiful and opulent, like so many palaces in the region, and I am sure, like elsewhere in the world.  However, much of the palace now is restoration rather than original splendor because much of it was destroyed during the Second World War.  The tour that I had of Pavlovsk today was all in Russian, which is great exposure, but in all honesty, much of the vocabulary used I do not know.  Thus, it was hard to follow.  I was curious, so I decided to look up some information, and it is very interesting.  In June 1941, after the Nazis started attacking the Soviet Union, curators at Pavlovsk decided to rescue the artifacts of Pavlovsk, board up the windows, and place sand on the first floor of the palace to shield it.  For two and a half years, the Germans occupied Pavlovsk, and when the Soviets liberated the palace in January 1944, much of the palace had been destroyed.  Even while the war raged on, the Soviet government convened and discussed the restoration of Pavlovsk so that future generations could enjoy and know the history behind it.  It is fascinating to realize how close the Germans were to the city of Saint Petersburg.  Pavlovsk is around an hour away from Saint Petersburg by train.  In a couple of weeks, I will be going on a special tour of Saint Petersburg that highlights the Siege of Leningrad, and suddenly, knowing what I know now about Pavlovsk, I am really excited for it.  

The Palace at Pavlovsk

The train ride to and from Pavlovsk was interesting. People passed through the cabins playing music, the woman sitting across from me at one point insisted that one particular dacha we passed belonged to Vladimir Putin, and another woman, a babushka, passed through the train blessing all those around her. That train ride was nothing like I have experienced in the United States.

Vitebskiy Station in Saint Petersburg

Something special happened at Pavlovsk today that I must share with you.  I went sledding.  I have not been sledding since I was a young child.  This experience brought out the youthful side of me, it brought a smile to my face, and a spark to my eyes.  It was in that moment, flying down the snowy hill at Pavlovsk with friends, and with Russian families, that I felt my first real connection with Russia.  This past week, I kept asking myself when I would feel something, what I would feel, and how I would react to it.  I was slightly scared that everything would continue to feel surreal, that I would spend a semester in Russia but fail to really be here. Today, however, sledding down that hill, I suddenly felt a connection that was soulful and spiritual. I feel ready to embrace Russia with an open heart – and all the joys and the frustrations that will come with it.

Sledding!

Pavlovsk's Portal to Heaven 

First Week of Classes

Let me start off by saying that the first day of classes went by smoothly.  I am really excited by the prospect of improving my Russian through the three separate language classes that I must take: grammar, conversation, and phonetics.  It turns out that I will also be taking a vocabulary course, which is tied in with grammar, and something called СMИ (SMI).  I am not sure what the latter is, I heard it may have something to do with mass media, but it is tied in with my conversation class.  In addition, I will be taking courses in 20th Century Russian Literature and Russian Mentality.  Today, in class, I became really excited because I realized I did not have to translate every single word into English to be able to understand what was being said.  It makes me smile. Although, I do feel as if I need to build up my food vocabulary and review verbs of motion, since, at least right now, those are the two topics most often discussed in my homestay: what would you like to eat? Where are you going? When will you be back? How did you get there? How long did it take? 

I am not used to a long commute to get to school, so that is something I am going to have to get used to.  The more I do it, the less of a trek it seems, and anyway, it is a way to get to know the city.  Walking a lot is probably not such a bad idea in regards to how much I am being fed at my homestay.  The method with which I commute between home and school varies, sometimes by a marshrutka, which is a shared cab, usually by metro, which is like being transported back to the Soviet Union, and by foot.  Walking is pleasant, especially through Tvaricheskiy Gardens:

On a separate  note:

Today, while sitting in the student lounge, I was reminded how much I love Yuri Norshteyn's "Hedgehog in the Fog"  (Russian: Ёжик в тумане, Yozhik v tumane)(1975).  I first saw it in a Russian cinema course and I just enjoyed the strangeness of it and how it made me feel at peace.  It is hard to describe, but I recommend it: 

If you like that, I recommend seeing "Tale of Tales" (Russian: Сказка cказок, Skazka skazok), also by Yuri Norshteyn (1979): 

First Days in Russia

On Wednesday, 1 February, I arrived in Saint Petersburg, Russia.  I want to start out by saying that it is very cold here.  Some of you will probably think: "It is Russia, of course it is cold" or conjure in your mind scenes of the frozen lands in the film "Doctor Zhivago".  However, I must say, that currently, Russia and Eastern Europe are experiencing some of the coldest temperatures on record.  Today, it is not supposed to climb out of subzero temperatures.  Despite the fact that it is cold, Russians tend to keep buildings warm, or at least the government does, Russians cannot control the thermostat.  

I have not experienced much jet lag, but I am still getting used to the time difference! Ten hours ahead of Chicago and eleven hours ahead of Missoula, Montana. I am awake when the average American is asleep.  It was interesting to talk with a friend who had not yet gone to sleep on Friday night, as I had just gotten up Saturday morning. Anyway, that is what I am getting used to, but I have been sleeping just fine.

It has been very hectic the first few days, naturally, I would suppose.  On Thursday, I took a bus tour of the city, which I found to be very exciting. I must also note that after years of studying Saint Petersburg, learning about the city, and viewing countless photographs, being here in person is very surreal. Saint Petersburg is a beautiful city: old, imperial, colorful. There are palaces everywhere, although most of them are now museums or government buildings. Today, I visited perhaps one of the most famous palaces in all of Russia: the Winter Palace, Peter the Great's winter residence in the 18^th Century along the banks of the Neva River. It is now a museum, the Hermitage, where not only the museum is massive, but the art collection there is, as well. It has one of the largest art collections in the world, thanks to Catherine the Great who started collecting artwork from around the world in the mid-18th Century, competing only with the Louvre in Paris, France. Being in the Hermitage is almost an overwhelming experience not only because of all the fantastic art, but also because of the architecture. It is beautiful, opulent, grandiose. I would also like to add that being here holds a special significance because of the film “Russian Ark” which was filmed in the museum. It was interesting to actually be in the museum and be in the actual locations that I saw in the movie. What is even more interesting is that “Russian Ark” was filmed in a single, long take with four live orchestras and hundreds of extras. It is an absolutely wonderful film, and I recommend it to everyone.

There is another cultural note that I would like to mention, because I find it very important.  Nevsky Prospect is one of the main thoroughfares in Saint Petersburg, the central shopping district, the place where things happen, where people go to see and be seen.  Nevsky Prospect has been an integral part of Saint Petersburg for much of its history and that makes it all the more interesting and exciting to stroll down.  That being said, as I passed by the stores, the canals, and of course Gostinyy Dvor (a bazaar dating back to the early days of the city), all of which were bustling with activity, I could not help but think of the Nevsky Prospect about which that Nikolai Gogol wrote.  I know this trip to Russia will, hopefully on many occasions, connect me with the literature I have read in school and that I have grown to love.

Last night, I moved in with my host family, a mother, and a daughter who is around my age. They both seem very nice, helpful, and patient. The apartment is very nice. I am told that it is around 100 years old, which, judging from the interior, does not surprise me. Right now, my nerves are getting the best of me because I have become a little bit rusty with my Russian following a six week break from school. However, I am finding, slowly, that the more I speak Russian with them and interact with them, the more comfortable I feel. So, knowing this, I am excited to see what will happen in the coming days, weeks, and months.