Lena Mukhina

In May 1941 Lena Mukhina was an ordinary teenage girl, living in Leningrad, worrying about her homework and whether Vova - the boy she liked - liked her. Like a good Soviet schoolgirl, she was also diligently learning German, the language of Russia's Nazi ally. And she was keeping a diary, in which she recorded 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; their city was starving and its citizens were dying in their hundreds of thousands. From day to dreadful day, Lena records her experiences: the desperate hunt for food, the bitter cold of the Russian winter and the cruel deaths of those she loved. A truly remarkable account of this most terrible era in modern history, The Diary of Lena Mukhina is the vivid first-hand testimony of a courageous young woman struggling simply to survive.

A Girl's Life in the Siege of Leningrad

The Diary of Lena Mukhina

Et rystende vitnesbyrd fra beleiringen av Leningrad publiseres etter å ha ligget 70 år i det russiske statsarkiv. Lenas dagbok gir et unikt innblikk i et av de mørkeste kapitlene i det 20. århundrets historie. I løpet av de nesten 900 dagene beleiringen varte anslår man at nærmere en million mennesker døde. Lena overlevde og døde i Moskva 66 år gammel. Både historikere og litteraturkritikere har hyllet utgivelsen av Lena Mukhinas dagbok som en sensasjon – både som levendegjøring av historien og for den litterære kvaliteten. «Et unikt testament fra andre verdenskrig som viser hva krigen gjorde med ofrene for den ideologiske vrangforestillingen.» Die Welt

Lena Mukhina

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