The Demographic Situation and Healthcare on the Eve of War

Abstract

While analysis of the tragedy of the siege and its causes has to begin with an account of the pre-war situation of the northern capital, many aspects of the history of Leningrad on the eve of the war are poorly reflected in contemporary historiography. There are hardly any works on the demographic situation in the city and public health.¹ And there has been even less study of the preparation of Leningrad for possible military operations — despite the fact that in 1939-40 it was the only city of the Soviet Union in the immediate vicinity of a front line and that it had some experience of mobilization operations. The explanation for this state of affairs is mainly the inaccessibility of many sources, especially statistical sources, until recently and even up to the present. The materials of the 1939 census have yet to be published in their entirety, the pattern of subsequent demographic trends is unknown, and the mobilization plans of the city and of individual branches of government are not available.