Saint Petersburg - Sacrifice and Redemption in the City That Defied Hitler

<''One of my favourite historians'' Dan Snow

Built by slave labour in the early years of the eighteenth century, Saint Petersburg was Peter the Great''s so-called ''window on to Europe'', a city that would outdo all of Europe in its splendour. But a window works both ways, and as bestselling historian Sinclair McKay writes, St Petersburg has always been a city that has drawn Westerners who wanted to see into Russia. It is also a city where much has happened. It was St Petersburg until 1917, Petrograd after the revolution, Leningrad after Lenin''s death in 1924, and St Petersburg once again from 1991.

This biography of a city stretches from Peter the Great to Vladimir Putin, who was born and made in St Petersburg. The story centres the ''900 days and nights'' of the Siege of Leningrad, 1941-44. Unlike Paris or Prague, the Nazis weren''t trying to take over, they wanted to wipe it off the map. According to some, this siege of 1.5 million people - including Putin''s mother - was an attempted genocide. Based on first-hand and many unpublished accounts from figures from all walks of life - irascible authors, factory workers, bakers, furriers, dancers, sailors, grandparents, children - this masterpiece reveals the central importance of St Petersburg over the centuries. This is the story of the city told from the perspective of the people who lived there.<>

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Richly-layered and packed with insight, this riveting account of terrible events tells us as much about the present as it does the past Patrick Bishop, author of Paris '44

Product details

• Authors: Sinclair McKay, McKay Sinclair
• Publisher: Viking
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 27.03.2025
• EAN: 9780241741313
• ISBN: 978-0-241-74131-3
• No. of pages: 432
• Dimensions: 162 mm x 241 mm x 38 mm
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > Regional and national histories; Non-fiction book > History > Miscellaneous; Oral History, HISTORY / Europe / Germany, European History, HISTORY / Social History, HISTORY / Europe / Eastern, 19th century, c 1800 to c 1899, 20th century, c 1900 to c 1999, 18th century, c 1700 to c 1799, Saint Petersburg, Social and cultural history, Early 21st century c 2000 to c 2050, Invasion, conquest and occupation, HISTORY / Wars & Conflicts / World War II / Eastern Front, HISTORY / Modern / 20th Century / Cold War, History / Wars & Conflicts / World War II / European Theater, HISTORY / Russia / General