The Family under Siege: Leningrad, 1941–44

Abstract

Studying families that went through the Blockade of Leningrad gives scholars a window into the dynamics of a social group under catastrophic conditions, when years of experience can be compressed into a few days. The families that dealt with the blockade displayed common characteristics as well as unique, subjective hallmarks that hold important lessons for understanding not only the Soviet world of that day but also the internal family dynamics for any number of sociohistorical contexts. In every home, and in every room of communal apartments in the besieged city, residents witnessed and participated in the most extraordinary and, at the same time, banal events that had nothing to do with official government policy but were, instead, intensely personal. Reconstructing these personal histories is possible only by utilizing the observations, opinions, and conclusions of those who directly experienced these tragic events, material that can be found in the diaries, letters, memoirs, and interviews of Leningraders. Among other things, the evidence suggests that ordinary people interpret and experience even the most significant events through the lens of family members and those closest to them.