Leningrad Under Siege, 1941

Leningrad under siege, 1941.

The photograph was taken at the intersection of Nevsky Prospect and Ligovsky Prospect.

The victims in the photograph had succumbed to German artillery shells, randomly launched from great distance into the city.

Had the photograph been taken one year later, starvation would have been the theme. At least 750,000 Leningraders succumbed to starvation during the siege—some have argued the mortality figure was twice that number—and Russia was as much at fault for the final death toll as Germany.

Well before the siege was underway, Stalin had refused to evacuate or provision the city.