2016/01/01 by Dane Burrough, Burrough, Dane
Social Sciences · #Eastern European Communism and Reforms
paper · pdf · doi:10.25611/m-00050
openalex publication_date 2016/01/01 · openalex created_date 2016/11/11 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The Siege of Leningrad, a joint German-Finnish operation during World War II, lasted for 880 days and took the lives of a large number of the citizens of the city. The city was entirely cut off from the rest of the Soviet Union, causing mass starvation that was far deadlier than the military operations of the siege. Many scholars have argued that the Second World War served as the catalyst to fully "Sovietize" the populations of the various Soviet Republics. Examining primary sources from the siege, this paper explores the extent to which that process of Sovietization actually occurred in Leningrad and how the unique experiences of the blockade imprinted on the citizens a sense of independence from the greater Soviet state.