New Books Network — Episode Summary

Podcast: New Books Network
Host: Stephen Szikiewicz
Guest: Prit Buttar, author of To Besiege a City: Leningrad 1941–42 (Osprey, 2023)
Date: January 2, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode of the New Books Network features historian and author Prit Buttar discussing his recent book, To Besiege a City: Leningrad 1941–42. The conversation covers the origins, conduct, and significance of the Siege of Leningrad—one of the most devastating and unique episodes of World War II. Buttar and host Stephen Szikiewicz explore the military, political, and human aspects of the siege, examining the broader context of the Eastern Front, Soviet and German decision-making, and the enduring symbolism of Leningrad’s resistance.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Origins and Motivation for the Book

• Leningrad stood out to Buttar as a unique siege in military history, both for its scope and the singular, genocidal intent behind it—aimed at the destruction of a whole city and its people rather than merely forcing a military surrender.
• The significance of revisiting Leningrad is underscored by recent global events such as sieges in the Middle East and Ukraine.

  “More Soviet citizens, soldiers and civilians died in and around the city than British Empire war dead from both world wars combined… it was a deliberate attempt to destroy a city and its people and to wipe them from the face of the earth.” — Prit Buttar [02:44]

2. Research Challenges

• Access to Soviet/Russian archives has become increasingly difficult due to current global tensions. Most sources were amassed prior to recent restrictions; Buttar also relied on mutual information exchanges with Russian contacts.
• The literature is vast—memoirs from survivors and accounts by scholars like David Glantz—but the challenge was in curating and focusing the material.

3. Historical Significance of Leningrad/St. Petersburg

• Founded by Peter the Great to be a “window to the West,” Leningrad’s legacy was shaped by its intellectual culture, Western orientation, and role as the cradle of both tsarist and revolutionary change.

  “This attitude of independent thought, of being a bit difficult and rather unruly, made it challenging for an authoritarian regime.” — Buttar [06:27]

4. The Stalinist Purges and Military Unpreparedness

• The late 1930s purges devastated the Red Army, removing swathes of experienced officers and fostering an atmosphere of fear and conformity.
• The lack of challenge and initiative among officers, combined with systemic neglect of logistics and training, had dire consequences as WWII approached.
• A “cudgel” rather than a “sword”: The Red Army remained a blunt instrument, improving only in its ability to absorb and inflict mass attrition.

  “The result was that far too many officers at every single level… behaved in a manner that was more attuned to their own personal survival than… the needs of a nation at war.” — Buttar [09:42]

5. Winter War and Lessons (1939–40)

• The disastrous Soviet performance against Finland exposed the weaknesses created by the purges and bolstered Nazi confidence that the USSR would prove an easy conquest.

  “The Finns managed to hold them at bay for so long. This then fed directly into German thinking about a war with the Soviet Union.” — Buttar [14:14]

6. Soviet Defense Reforms (1940–41)

• Frantic reorganization ensued: troop structures, equipment upgrades (e.g., T-34 tank, new aircraft), and experiments with doctrine.
• Deep systemic problems persisted, especially logistics and communication, due to centralized, punitive command culture.

7. Leningrad’s Place in Soviet and German Strategy

• Leningrad was central to German plans (economic, political, industrial targets; “cradle of the Revolution”).
• The Soviets neither imagined the city under siege nor prepared it for such; defenses were only hurriedly constructed as the crisis unfolded.
• Hitler’s explicit intent: not to capture, but to destroy Leningrad and starve its population, avoiding the need to supply the city’s residents.

8. Operation Barbarossa and the Initial Assault

• Army Group North’s rapid advance (led by noted Panzer generals Manstein and Reinhardt) shocked Soviet defenders, often outmaneuvering or outgunning poorly supplied and led Red Army units.
• Soviet tank and aircraft superiority squandered by poor training, lack of radios, and rushed mobilization.

9. Occupation and Atrocities in the Baltic States

• Locals (initially enthusiastic at the German arrival) soon realized they’d simply exchanged one occupier for another.
• German-instigated pogroms and mass killings, especially against Jews, were cynically masked as local revenge.
• The Baltic states’ populations (and their militias) became entangled in both sides’ atrocities and military campaigns.

10. The Siege Commences (Late 1941)

• As the Germans closed in, tens of thousands of Leningrad citizens—men, women, teenagers—were mobilized to dig defenses.
• Despite hopes to “hold at arm’s length,” the city was encircled by September 1941.
• Both on the Soviet and German sides, strategic confusion reigned: field generals often still thought in terms of capturing the city, while Hitler had already decided on deliberate starvation.

11. The Humanitarian Catastrophe and Lake Ladoga “Road of Life”

• Lake Ladoga was the besieged city’s lifeline. As winter fell and the lake froze, engineers built a perilous “ice road” to bring in food.
• Conditions inside Leningrad deteriorated into “hell on earth”: starvation, cannibalism, improvisation (sawdust mixed into bread, burnt sugar salvaged from bombs).
• Prioritization of supplies focused on workers and soldiers, but mortality among children and teenagers soared.

  “By the barest possible margin, the city was just about kept alive during that winter.” — Buttar [79:40]

12. The Role of Culture and Symbolism

• Dmitri Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony, composed and performed (with immense difficulty) during the siege, became a worldwide symbol of resistance.
  • The performance required assembling half-starved musicians and military personnel, and artillery barrages to suppress German guns during the concert.

  “It became an international symbol of the resilience of this city that just absolutely refused to die.” — Buttar [84:13]

13. Attempts to Break or Tighten the Siege (1942)

• Repeated Soviet offensives and German plans (notably Operation Nordlicht/Northern Light) failed to decisively alter the siege.
• The destruction of the Soviet 2nd Shock Army and the defection of General Vlasov further complicated the front.
• By 1942–43, Leningrad had acquired immense symbolic value as the city that refused to fall, reinforcing Soviet propaganda and national morale.

14. Legacy and Broader Implications

• The German failure to capture Leningrad exposed broader strategic and logistical failings.
• Hitler’s and Stalin’s respective command styles underwent key changes during the war—Hitler became more controlling as time went on, while Stalin increasingly delegated authority.
• Leningrad’s endurance became a universal symbol; Churchill later called it one of the “four great fortresses” that stood against Nazi Germany.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the genocidal intent of the siege:

  “It was a deliberate attempt to destroy a city and its people and to wipe them from the face of the earth.” — Buttar [02:44]

• On the Soviet army after the purges:

  “This is a cudgel. And the Red army gets better at how to swing that cudgel… But it’s not a sword.” — Buttar [09:42]

• On technological and doctrinal stumbles:

  “Most Soviet aircraft in 1939 that had radios were equipped only with radio receivers. They were unable to transmit.” — Buttar [18:40]

• On Hitler’s planning and delusion:

  “You only have to kick in the door and then the whole rotten structure will come crashing down.” — [Hitler, quoted by Po/Buttar, 17:46]

• On the Baltic populations’ tragic fate:

  “This was very fertile ground for the Germans. They instigated nearly all of these killings. But the SS units involved were under strict orders to make sure it looked… as if it was local revenge.” — Buttar [48:36]

• On the ‘Road of Life’ across Lake Ladoga:

  “As soon as it was firm enough to support traffic, engineers began venturing out onto the ice… it was largely through the trucks that ran across this ice… that Leningrad survived that first winter.” — Buttar [79:40]

• On Shostakovich and cultural resistance:

  “He completed the symphony outside Leningrad… and in August 1942 it was performed in Leningrad itself, which proved to be an extraordinary challenge because people still hadn’t recovered from the first winter.” — Buttar [84:13]

• On the symbolic resonance of Leningrad’s resistance:

  “This became the huge symbol, as you say, of resistance. And they were just not going to—the fact that this city just refused to die…” — Buttar [93:49]

Key Timestamps

• [02:44] — Buttar on the unique horror and motivation for writing about Leningrad
• [06:27] — History and significance of St. Petersburg/Leningrad
• [09:42] — The consequences of Stalinist purges for the Red Army
• [14:14] — Lessons from the Winter War and their impact on German planning
• [18:40] — Soviet military modernization pre-1941 and ongoing deficiencies
• [28:36] — Leningrad’s strategic role in German planning
• [41:20] — Army Group North’s advance and Soviet tank deficiencies
• [48:36] — Baltic states’ reaction to German occupation and the Holocaust
• [53:53] — Construction of Soviet defensive works as the Germans approach
• [75:52] — Lake Ladoga and the “Road of Life”
• [84:13] — Shostakovich’s seventh symphony as a symbol of resilience
• [93:49] — The enduring symbolic importance of Leningrad’s defiance
• [97:00] — Lesser-known episodes: The Spanish “Blue Division” and the 1942 Leningrad football match

Closing & Looking Ahead

The interview closes with Buttar describing additional anecdotes not fully covered in the book, such as the Spanish “Blue Division” fighting in the Arctic and a symbolic football match staged during the siege. The discussion ends with a preview of his upcoming volumes on Leningrad (Hero City) and further works on Operation Bagration and the closing months of WWII.

“Buy the book. It’s all in the book.” — Prit Buttar [98:22]

For Further Reading & Listening

• To Besiege a City: Leningrad 1941–42 by Prit Buttar (Osprey, 2023)
• Forthcoming: Hero City (vol. 2, to 1944)
• Author’s ongoing research on Operation Bagration and Soviet advances into Central Europe

This episode offers a richly detailed and deeply human account of Leningrad’s epic siege—illuminating not just military strategy and suffering, but also the endurance of hope and the shaping of collective memory.