Diaries of children of the besieged Leningrad

Tanya Savicheva

Born in 1930, Tanya lost almost all of her family during the blockade. The diary has nine written pages, six of which record the dates of death of her close relatives – her mother, grandmother, sister, brother and two uncles. Tanya herself died during evacuation on July 1, 1944, at the age of 14.

Diary entries:

Zhenya died on December 28 at 12:30 am, 1941.

Grandma died on January 25 at 3 pm, 1942.

Leka died on March 17 at 5 am, 1942.

Uncle Vasya died on April 13 at 2 am, 1942.

Uncle Lesha died on May 10 at 4 pm, 1942.

Mom on May 13 at 7:30 am, 1942.

The Savichevs died.

Tanya is the only one left.

Yura Ryabinkin

Yura was born in 1925 in Leningrad. His fate is unknown: the last entry in his diary is dated January 6, 1942. Presumably, he died during the blockade.

Entries dated October 1 and 2, 1941:

I’m 16 years old, and my health is like that of a 60-year-old man. I wish death would come sooner. If only it wouldn't make my mother so depressed.

I've had one dream since I was a little boy: to be a sailor. And now that dream is turning to dust. So what have I lived for? If I can't be in the naval school, I'll join the militia or something else, so that my death won’t be meaningless. If I must die, I'll do it defending my homeland.

Lena Mukhina

Born in 1924 in Ufa, Lena had been living in Leningrad since the early 1930s with her aunt E.N. Bernatskaya, whom she affectionately referred to as Mama Lena in her diary, or simply Mama. R.K. Krums-Strauss, an Englishwoman by birth, shared their apartment. In early June 1942, Lena was evacuated from Leningrad to the Kirov Region and returned to the city in the autumn of 1945.

Entry dated November 21, 1941:

The situation in our city continues to be very tense. We are being bombed by airplanes and shelled by guns, but we have become so accustomed to it that we are surprised at ourselves. However, the worsening food situation is terrible. We don't have enough bread.

Lera Igosheva

Lera was born in 1927. In 1942, she was evacuated along the Road of Life together with her mother.

Entry dated February 28, 1942:

I never thought that at the age of fourteen, I would be left without a father. I can't even comprehend the horror of the situation. It is so difficult to witness a man die of exhaustion, especially when we had just started to get some food. Darling, he was so desperately striving to live! He was not ready to die, he didn't even think about it. And he didn't even give us any advice about how we should live and what we should do.

Misha Tikhomirov

Misha was born in Leningrad in 1925. He was killed on May 18, 1942, at a tram stop by a shell fragment during an artillery bombardment.

Entry dated December 24, 1941:

The mood is not very cheerful, as I haven't heard the radio bulletin yet. My whole body is very weak, especially my legs. Everyone feels like this. Today at school, I learned about the death of the drafting teacher. She is the second victim of hunger... The literature teacher no longer comes to school. Dad says she's the next one to die. Many teachers can barely walk. It would be possible to survive if we received our meagre rations on time. But it's very difficult. Yes, Leningrad desperately needs immediate help now.

Borya Kapranov

Borya Kapranov, born in 1925, tried to leave Leningrad along the Road of Life in early February 1942 as part of a group of Komsomol members but tragically lost his life.

Entry dated November 28, 1941:

We feel the impact of the siege deeply, not only because of the food shortages and hardships but also in other ways. Today, as on many occasions, when we were lining up for dinner, the air raid siren sounded. Our house shook under the force of a powerful blast. As we stood in line at the canteen gate on the street, anti-aircraft shells exploded overhead and bombs fell in the distance. Here is an update as of 6 o'clock. Everything was quiet, and suddenly, a powerful explosion resounded in the distance. The house shook, and then the walls, the floor, and all of us trembled. A light bulb on the ceiling swung as if someone had nudged it. Another situation: we went to the barracks, with shells bursting around us. That's the Germans shelling the neighbourhood. But it has become a regular occurrence.

Yes, we'll go through a harsh school of life, we'll mature early. There is no trace of the past carefree existence.

Kolya Vasilyev

Kolya was born in 1931. The Museum of the Defence and Siege of Leningrad has the following record of him: “He was orphaned at the age of 12, became the Son of the Regiment and enrolled at the Nakhimov School; later, he became a stage actor.”

Entry dated January 27, 1942:

I went to buy bread in the city because there was no bread baked in Lesnoy. There was no firewood or water. I walked to the Vyborg Side. On my way back, I fell several times and started freezing slowly. I reached the market and met my pal Alka. He helped me up and took me to the Svetlana factory. I warmed up in the booth before continuing home. I fell into a ditch and almost froze to death, but my mother happened to walk by and carried me home. And on the same day at 2 pm, my dad died while sitting on the bed.

Lyuda Ots

Born in 1926, Lyuda died on December 14, 1941 during shelling.

Entry dated December 1, 1941:

This week, the Germans have been constantly shelling the city with long-range artillery. A shell hit Building 19A close to us. Our upper windows shattered. And yesterday while we were at work, there was a sudden loud bang, and all the windows shattered. The Red Cross building was hit, right across the way from our library. Life has become so hard. Every day it's getting worse and worse. But our troops managed to retake Rostov-on-Don. Well done!

<...>

The damned war has turned everything upside down. All our plans and dreams were destroyed by one harsh and brutal word: war! Damn it, is this really the end? But I want to live! No, we will win, we will triumph against all odds. We won't die. It can’t be otherwise because… It doesn't matter why, but we will win and that's final! Leningrad will fall, Moscow will stand!

Galya Zimnitskaya

Galya was born in 1927. During the blockade, she served with the Komsomol Fire Regiment, and later got a job at the Mikoyan confectionery factory. She mostly worked outside the factory, performing defence work, peat mining, and clearing rubble from damaged buildings.

Entry dated December 4, 1941:

Hunger is gnawing day and night. Uncle Misha can hardly move; his legs are too weak. Mother is unrecognisable. Grandma is all dried up and hunched over, but she can move more than before. Her skin hangs in thin folds. Sasheta works as a housekeeper in the Kalinin tram-park hostel. She washes linens and dries damp clothes and shoes at night. She's there 24 hours a day. Since the trams aren't running, tram drivers and conductors are doing various jobs like clearing snow from the roads and collecting firewood. Now my grandmother has a worker's ration card, but unfortunately, the shop has nothing except bread distributed on cards.

Tanya Vassoyevich

Tanya was born in 1927. She kept a diary from the first day of the war. During the siege, she buried her 15-year-old brother and her mother, but managed to survive herself.

Entry dated March 27, 1942:

Vova and my mother are buried in actual coffins that I bought in exchange for bread on Sredny Prospekt at the 2nd Street. Khudyakov dug the grave in return for groats and bread. He is kind and took what I had without any complaints and treated me well. Mother was unable to attend Vova's funeral, as she had no remaining strength.

<...>

I stood in the room near the stove with my back turned and didn't cry. I was frightened. I couldn't comprehend or believe it... I had never seen a dead person so close in my life.

Tanya Rudykovskaya

Tanya was born in 1932. She diligently documented her experiences during the siege on stapled scraps of paper brought home by her mother, a teacher. She managed to survive the siege.

Entry dated February 26, 1942:

Breakfast consisted of a little buckwheat porridge and bread with butter. We were fortunate to get some meat and peas from the cooperative. It was freezing, with a light breeze, clear skies, and sunshine. Dad stayed in bed all day. He no longer joined us for supper or breakfast, and yesterday was the last time he came out for dinner.

Entry dated February 27, 1942:

At 9:40 in the morning, DADDY DIED. Gelya went to fetch Savina (a doctor we know), she arrived, but Dad had already passed away. When Mom returned from her duties, she immediately went to Dad. She kissed him and stroked his face while he tried to smile, but couldn't. Tears streamed from his eyes.