The Diary of Lena Mukhina: A Girl's Life in the Siege of Leningrad

Description

A harrowing true account of a teenage girl's struggle to survive the Siege of Leningrad during World War II.

In May 1941, Lena Mukhina was an ordinary teenage girl living in Leningrad, worrying about homework and her crush, Vova. Like a good Soviet schoolgirl, she diligently learned German, the language of Russia's Nazi ally, and kept a diary of her hopes and dreams. Then, on 22 June 1941, Hitler broke his pact with Stalin and declared war on the Soviet Union.

All too soon, Leningrad was besieged, and life became a living hell. Lena and her family fought to stay alive as their city starved, with citizens dying in their hundreds of thousands. From day to dreadful day, Lena records her experiences in The Diary of Lena Mukhina: the desperate hunt for food, the bitter cold of the Russian winter, and the cruel deaths of those she loved.

This vivid first-hand testimony of a courageous young woman's struggle to simply survive is a truly remarkable account of one of the most terrible eras in modern history.