World War II · Film · 2009
Attack on Leningrad
Leningrad
A British journalist left behind in besieged Leningrad survives the first winter of the blockade with the help of a young Soviet policewoman.
Where it happened
Follow the story across 1 places.
Stop 1: Leningrad
Key location
Presumed dead after an air raid and left behind by her colleagues, Kate learns to survive among queues, air raids and frozen streets.
What really happened
German and Finnish forces cut Leningrad off by land on 8 September 1941, trapping about 2.5 million civilians. Hitler intended to starve the city rather than storm it; rations for dependants fell to 125 grams of bread a day in November 1941, and in the first winter hundreds of thousands died of hunger and cold.
Supplies came only across Lake Ladoga, by boat and then over the ice 'Road of Life' from late November. The siege lasted 872 days until 27 January 1944, and estimates of civilian deaths range from about 650,000 to over a million. The foreign journalist at the centre of the film is fictional.
Where to watch
Checking streaming services…
Full details
- Original title
- Leningrad
- Directed by
- Aleksandr Buravsky
- Countries
- Russia
- Languages
- English, Russian
- Released
- 2009
- Period
- –
- Theaters of war
- Eastern Front
- Themes
- Home front
