“Over a quarter of the estimated 25 million fatalities suffered by the Soviet Union during the war were the result of starvation. A fearful example of what was endured is evident in the statistics relating to the siege of Leningrad.

• The siege lasted 900 days from September 1941 to January 1944.
  A million people, one in three of the city’s population, died from wounds, hunger or cold.
• Over 100,000 German bombs fell on the city.
• Over 200,000 shells were fired into the city.
• The police arrested 226 people for cannibalism, a token gesture at controlling what became a widespread practice.” (Lynch, 2008, p.98).

Reference

Lynch, M. (2008) Stalin’s Russia, 1924-53. 4th Ed. London: Hodder Education.