The author of the book about the blockade told her story to the Presidential Library

Among those who donate documents to the Presidential Library within the framework of the campaign to collect evidence about the blockade is the author of the book “The Blockade Girl (Memories and Thoughts)” Alissa Bolshakova.

Alissa Konstantinovna told specialists of the Presidential Library about what motivated her to engage in literary activity: “Once I heard on the radio a story about the blockade of a lady - a university lecturer. She was not directly related to the topic of her speech, during the war years she lived somewhere in evacuation, but she reasoned with “knowledge of the matter” ... And, unfortunately, she spoke a lot of untruths, so that the listener could have made the wrong conclusion that during the blockade, when the people of Leningrad were starving, in Smolny someone ate caviar and drank brandy. We, the blockaders, the children of the blockade, are very disappointed, it is unpleasant to hear that. Thus I decided to write a book as an answer to all these speculations”.  

Alissa Konstantinovna published the book completely at her own expense. First, with a circulation of 200 copies, then - another 200. She spread them also on her own: “I transferred to St. Petersburg schools in the Nevsky district, then to the Vasileostrovsky district schools. My neighbor told me that her grandson lives in Sevastopol, several copies were sent to him. Them I found out that in school, according to my book, pupils wrote an essay ...".

The book was sent to Alissa Konstantinovna’s friends in Estonia and the Victory Museum in Moscow. Once there was a curious case at all. The author of "The Blockade Girl" went to the store to buy a heater. She got into conversation with the seller. It turned out that his mother works as head teacher at school. Alissa Konstantinovna had just one copy of the book in her bag. Without thinking twice, she presented it to the seller, and in return he presented her a heater...

It was possible for Alissa Bolshakova to appear with her own history on the stage. In the “Theater of Generations” on Vasilyevsky Island a documentary performance about the blockade “67/871” was staged. The action consists of many episodes, memories of different people, and three fragments were taken from the book “The Blockade Girl”.

Two of them are devoted to hunger, and one - to the captured Germans. “Despite everything, we were so sorry for them”, - recalls Alissa Konstantinovna”, - we even gave them our miserable crumbs of food”.

Finally, Alissa Bolshakova found out information about “The History of the Great Victory in Family History” International Contest. She was awarded a diploma in "For professionalism in the study of family history" nomination.  

“One day my mother came home at night and shouted that we were leaving for Leningrad, we urgently need to get ready (now I know that the next morning the Germans occupied Pushkin). In a terrible hurry, mother and grandmother grabbed things, threw them into a suitcase, tied them in a knot. Mother shouted to me: “Take with you what you want!” I took a doll and a small handbag, where an iron jar with candy drops were, and we rushed under fire to run through the city past the burning houses ... ”-  we read in the book.

There are many such small, everyday, but vivid details. During the war, Alissa Bolshakova was from five to nine years old. And, fortunately, almost everyone who studied with her in the same school survived the blockade. They still meet twice a year: January 27 and May 9. Her book is "nice, but not enough ..."

Let us recall, November 9, 2018, the Presidential Library launched a large-scale project dedicated to preserving the historical memory of the blockade of Leningrad. Together with Radio Rossiya and the Petersburg Diary newspaper, the Presidential Library launched a campaign to collect documents, letters, diaries and photographs from the personal archives of the residents of the besieged city. They will be digitized and will be included in the Presidential Library’s collections and will be available to residents of the whole world, will be widely reflected in the media, will be used in exhibitions, conferences and other events.

Within the framework of the campaign, more than 60 people have already transferred documents to the Presidential Library. People come, call and email every day. To forward materials please e-mail at: mashuliya@prlib.ru and media@prlib.ru or call (812) 305-16-45.

In addition, with the participation of the Presidential Library in St. Petersburg, the Unified City Information Center has been created, which will coordinate the work of the media, public organizations and cultural institutions covering events dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade.

The Presidential Library’s portal makes available a virtual tour of the exhibition halls of the temporarily closed State Museum of Defence and Blockade of Leningrad and the electronic collection “Defence and Blockade of Leningrad”, which includes official documents, periodicals, memories of Leningraders, food cards, photo and newsreels.