The Last Heroes of Leningrad

Coping strategies of Siege survivors in Soviet and post-Soviet society

By (author) Alexandra Wachter

Book cover: The Last Heroes of Leningrad

Extent: 282 pages

Publisher: V&R unipress

Subjects: German Studies, Slavic Studies, Twentieth- & Twenty-First- Century History

Language: English

Hardback (Published)

(August 2022)

ISBN: 9783847114475

6.3 x 9.33 inches

Price: $74.00

In stock

By investigating how survivors of the Siege of Leningrad were able to come to terms with their memories, this study adds to the understanding of trauma in the context of a (post-)totalitarian society.


Alexandra Wachter investigates how survivors of the Siege of Leningrad (1941-44) were able to come to terms with their memories in Soviet and post-Soviet society. Subject to political fluctuations, official remembrance ranged from enforced silence to extensive exploitation for propaganda purposes, a framework which corresponded with psychological strategies to cope, but not deal, with trauma: repression, denial, acting-out and idealization. Based on a combination of oral history interviews, ethnographic and archival research, this study examines narratives and activities of child and adolescent survivors. Individual experiences are related to varying degrees of involvement in survivors’ organisations, and thick description adds to the understanding of trauma in the context of a (post-)totalitarian society.

  • By (author) Alexandra Wachter