Food of the siege

In an attempt to survive Leningraders were forced to find nourishment anywhere they could…

Beauty products

Lipstick, fried toothpaste and face-powder pancakes are all items listed in diaries as sources of food for the Leningraders

Soil

The heavy bombing of food reserves included the destruction of sugar storages. The soil could be dug up and either mixed with flour or sucked upon for sweetness

Water

Water eased the hunger pains and Leningraders would search for water under the icy blanket that covered Russia in the winter or would dig holes into the ice of lakes

Leather

Anything made from leather could be turned into a grimy jelly or a pate, including belts, briefcases and jackets.

Wallpaper paste

People stripped the walls of wallpaper, scraping the paste from the inside to make into a soup, and then eating the paper. Other people ate the paste directly from glue jars

animal food

Tins of cat food were opened and served for dinner, and flaxseed and oats for the cattle and horses became a vital source of nutrients for the starving people of Leningrad

Chickweed

The people of Leningrad turned to harvesting chickweed, and started to pickle weeds and grasses to make them more palatable. This resourcefulness saw many Leningraders saved from the fatal effects of scurvy