Son publishes mother's siege note from Leningrad

During the Great Patriotic War, 13-year-old Maria Smirnova was in besieged Leningrad. Like the well-known diary of Tanya Savicheva, she kept a martyrology, recording the passing of her loved ones day by day.

In the preserved note, the girl’s handwriting reads: «December 12, 1941. At eight in the morning, my beloved daddy died. December 22, 1941. At seven in the morning, my brother Pavlik died. April 16, 1942. At six in the morning, my mommy died.»

The Smirnov family lived at house No. 33 on Mayakovsky Street. In 1942, Maria was evacuated via the «Road of Life» to Vologda Region, but later she decided to return to the besieged city.

As her son Victor explained, his mother feared losing her right to housing. Among Leningraders, rumors circulated that after the siege was lifted, it would be impossible to get back into apartments.

Upon returning, Maria Smirnova got a job at a textile factory on Krasnykh Tekstilshchikov Street. Due to her short stature, she had to work at the loom standing on a wooden box.

The family heirloom was presented to the public on January 27, the day of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the Nazi blockade.