LENIGRAD (SAINT PETERSBURG)
Starved by Hitler, Terrorized by Stalin and Immortalized by Shostakovich

The German Siege ( also knowns as the blockade) of Leningrad lasted 900 days from September, 1941 to January, 1944. During that time 800,000 people, nearly a third of the population at the siege’s beginning, starved to death.

22 September 1941 : Hitler directs that “Leningrad must be erased from the face of the Earth”.
8 November 1941: Hitler states in a speech at Munich: “Leningrad must die of starvation.”

Hitler was so convinced Leningrad would fall quickly that invitations to a banquet in the Astoria Hotel (in Leningrad), were printed in advance but……. Hitler never set foot in Leningrad.

For the heroic resistance of the city and tenacity of the survivors of the siege, Leningrad became the first to receive the Hero City title, as awarded in 1945.

We have been in Russia for over a week and one thing we have already noticed is their resiliense . They accept that their lives are difficult and pride themselves on being able to flourish in conditions that others could not. They definitely take great pride in their cultural heritage and expect the rest of the world to admire it.

We have a long way to go in this land and we are looking forward to every minute of it!

Blog Video 85 from SAMt & Bike Without Borders on Vimeo.