City of Thieves
By David Benioff
• Benioff is a Hollywood screenplay writer and novelist.
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Screen adaptation of The Kite Runner
Troy
X-men Origins: Wolverine
The Game of Thrones
• He wrote the book after a series of
conversations with his grandfather.
• His grandfather was born in Russia and survived World
War II
• He turned the interviews into City of Thieves
David Benioff
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Begins when Germany invades Poland in 1939
France and Great Britain declare war on Germany
Russia made a pact to stay out of the war.
However, in 1941, Germany invades Russia
Fighting a war on two fronts has never been a smart idea
– especially in winter!
World War II
World War II Map
• Was originally built by Emperor Peter the Great as St.
Petersburg
• He wanted a port to Europe
• He wanted a European city
• Very cultural: ballet, opera, poetry, literary cafes
• After the Russian Revolution, the city was renamed
Leningrad
• In 1992 it reverted to
its original name.
Leningrad
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The city was virtually surrounded by the Germans
The siege began on September 8, 1941
Most women and children were evacuated
Life in the city was desperate: almost no food
The siege did not end until January 27, 1944, almost 900
days later
• It is estimated that 1.5 million people died
• Aerial bombardment
• Shelling
• Starvation
The Siege of Leningrad
• A video by a Russian news agency commemorating the
70th anniversary of the Siege of Leningrad:
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYKM2dvpxks
Video
• Lev Beniov: the protagonist
• 17 years old.
• His mother and brother have evacuated Leningrad.
• His father was “disappeared” by the NKVD
• Kolya: the sidekick
• Nikolai Alexandrovich Vlasov
• 20 years old
• a deserter from the Red Army
• Colonel Grechko: the catalyst
• Gives Lev and Kolya a quest
• He works for the NKVD, the secret police
Characters
• “Piter” is the nickname for Leningrad (from “St.
Petersburg”)
• “The Crosses” is a notorious Leningrad prison
• The Kirov Apartment building, a huge block of flats,
where Lev lives
Settings
• Kolya loves literature and music, so there are many
allusions to famous pieces of Russian literature and music
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Eugene Onegin by Alexander Pushkin
Dmitri Shostakovich, a famous pianist
Leo Tolstoy (War and Peace, Anna Karenina)
The Courtyard Hound, by Ushakovo (this may be a fictional
author and novel)
• José Raul Capablanca: a famous chess player from Cuba
Allusions
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Russians always have three names
Their Christian or given name (Nikolai)
Their patronymic, derived from their father’s name
Their family name
Mikhail Romanovich Adamovich (Michael son of Robert
McAdam “son of Adam”)
- Ekaterina Kharalovna Estefanidesa
Names in Russian
• The patronymic is based on the father’s first name
- ich is added to a for a male child (Alexandrovich)
- Aevna/ovna is added for a female child (Alexandrovna)
• It is considered very proper in Russian to address
someone by their Christian name and their patronymic:
• Nikolai Alexandrovich, kak zhivyosh? (How are you?)
Patronymics
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The last name is usually an adjective
Thus, the woman’s name usually ends in –a or – ya
E.g., Anna Arkadyevna Karenina
Анна Аркадьевна Каренина
Can you figure out what your full Russian name would
be?
The Last name
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Much of the language is raw and sexual
Soldiers don’t speak in beautifully rhymed verse
They are used to seeing horrible images
Their speech is raw, sexual, direct, insulting
Language
Benioff, David. Wikpedia.
Benioff, David, http://www.rsanews.com/craig-ferguson-choice-award-sarandon-greek/
“The Second World War: The European Theatre” http://olive-drab.com/od_history_ww2_maps.php
“The Winter Palace on Palace Square in St. Petersburg” http://www.guildtravel.com/citybreaks/visa-freecruise-from-helsinki-to-st-petersburg/
The Siege of Leningrad. Wikipedia.
“The Siege of Leningrad.” http://hommushistory.wordpress.com/2011/09/20/the-siege-of-leningrad/
“Diorama of the Siege of Leningrad” http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/latenightlive/diorama-ofthe-siege-of-leningrad/3667584
“Nevsky Prospekt during the Siege of Leningrad.” http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/5970
“Soldiers of the Red Army.” http://bio.bwbs.de/bwbs_biografie/Siege_of_Leningrad_broken_B1144.html
“Soviet Soldiers – Red Army – Leningrad Siege”
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2668/3935356298_f40447ac77.jpg
Bibliography