From Peter the Great to Putin, a biography of the city Hitler tried - and failed - to wipe off the map

The siege of Saint Petersburg – then known as Leningrad – stands as a testament to human endurance. Intended by the Nazis as civilian extermination, the numbers who perished in this 900-day ordeal almost outweighed the entire total of British and American troop deaths in the Second World War.

The city’s 2.5 million residents began to starve as rations shrank and dwindled. As temperatures plunged to minus 43°C, electricity faltered, and fuel ran out. Yet, amid this suffering, the resilience of culture and hope shone through, with orchestras and theatres defiantly continuing their performances, a flicker of humanity against the backdrop of despair.

In Saint Petersburg, bestselling historian Sinclair McKay book chronicles the horrors of the siege through immersive prose and gripping first-hand accounts. He also traces the pivotal importance of Saint Petersburg across the centuries, from Peter the Great’s visionary founding of the city to the way it has shaped its most infamous son, Vladimir Putin.

From its darkest moments to its enduring spirit, Saint Petersburg explore the layers of history that have shaped this extraordinary place.

‘Richly-layered and packed with insight, this riveting account of terrible events tells us as much about the present as it does the past’ Patrick Bishop, author of Paris '44

'McKay is a gifted writer; his prose has the cadence, tone and power of a Shostakovich symphony. Horror is majestically conveyed’ Gerard DeGroot, The Times

© Sinclair McKay 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025