Defending Leningrad: Women Behind Enemy Lines (Part I: Inna Konstantinova; Part II: Masha Poryvayeva and Part III: Zoya Kruglova Baiger) [Paperback]

Kazimiera J. Cottam (Author), Nikolai Vissarionovich Masolov (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2, 1998

This book tells the story of a middle-class teenager, recent high school graduate, who ran away from home to join the partisans after her boyfriend was killed. She served with another girl, of working class background, whose story is also told. The third young woman, whose parents were farmers, supplied important intelligence to Soviet army which, in the long run, assisted the Western powers in defeating the Nazis. Some American universities are using this book as a textbook. Unlike Anne Frank who died in a German concentration camp, Ina Konstantinova, the main heroine of the book, perished while covering the retreat of fellow partisans. This book is a source of information about the German occupation of Soviet Russia and the struggle behind enemy lines on the Eastern Front. The book's North American editor was awarded the 1999 Mary Zirin Prize by the Association for Women in Slavic Studies (affiliated with the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic St! udies).

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The genuine value of these books and the interest they are bound to generate among specialists and general readers alike argue for their wider dissemination. The books should be made available to the wider audience they so richly deserve." -- David M. Glantz, Editor, The Journal of Slavic Military Studies, in a review essay scheduled for publication in March 1999

Cottam succeeded in collecting, translating, and editing unprecedented amounts of documentary evidence detailing the scope and importance of the participation of Soviet women in the war. Taken together, the four volumes capture the breadth and depth of the role of Soviet women in the war effort... The genuine value of these books and the interest they are bound to generate among specialists and general readers alike argue for their wider dissemination. The books should be made available to the wider audience they so richly deserve. (David M. Glantz, Editor, The Journal of Slavic Military Studies. (Colonel Glantz is founder and former director of the U.S. Army's Foreign Military Studies Office.)) -- David M. Glantz, Editor, The Journal of Slavic Military Studies

While I deeply enjoyed all four of the books, this was my favorite. We get an indepth look at a young Russian teenager through her own diaries and letters... The book as a whole tells the story of two partisans and one spy. But the story of Ina Konstantinova told in her own words through her notes and letters is my favorite part of the book. The other two women detailed provide inspiration as well: Masha Poryvayeva and Zoya Kruglova-Bailer. As with all of Ms. Cottam's books this is a must read for Women's Studies and just a plain good read for the rest of us. -- Leslie Blanchard, Editor, The Writer's Choice Literary Journal, April 1999

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Russian

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Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: New Military Pub; Rev edition (March 2, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0968270239
• ISBN-13: 978-0968270233
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,584,046 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A teenager's war, June 24, 2001

By 

Signorelli Luca (Turin, Italy) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Defending Leningrad: Women Behind Enemy Lines (Part I: Inna Konstantinova; Part II: Masha Poryvayeva and Part III: Zoya Kruglova Baiger) (Paperback)

We live (as western Europeans or Americans) in a culture where “war” is something far away, usually on the other side of a TV screen. Our kids are living sheltered lives – and often we would like to see them even more protected. So, if it’s always difficult to understand the motivations behind a soldier’s will to fight, it’s even more difficult when the soldier is a 18th years old girl. Born and bred in a cultured family, she could have easily avoided being involved, and instead escaped to choose the worst kind of war – partisan duty behind German lines on the Eastern Front, paying the ultimate price for this choice. There could be a strong potential for the worst rhetoric on the “beauty” of patriotism and self-immolation, but “Defending Leningrad” (another entry on prof. K.J. Cottam series of books on Soviet women’s role during WWII) avoid these simplifications, giving us an invaluable insight on a teenage mind reacting to the reality of conflict.

“Defending Leningrad” is actually a collection of writings. The emotional core is the diary and letters of Ina Konstantinova, the above mentioned teenage, who volunteered to join a partisan brigade stationed behind German lines on the Leningrad front from 1942 to 1944. She worked as a scout collecting intelligence on German troop movement, was arrested several times (always escaping fortuitously), and finally was killed while covering her comrades retreat when her unit was surrounded by German security troops. It’s a remarkable document in its sparseness, its simple, almost banal candour.

Before the war, we see Ina being emotional after reading Victor Hugo “The Miserables” (typically, she idolised Jean Valjean but despised Cosette) and Jack London “Martin Eden”; daydreaming on her future; getting romantic – all summed up, being a very ordinary teenager of her time. The was comes as a big shock, but in her heart Ina seems to be unchanged, at least until her boyfriend is KIA on the front. This event, plus a confused desire to “do something more” – and a not-so-vague longing for independence and adventure – precipitate her choice. The letters to her mother and sister and her diary’s entries from the front reveal a mix of emotions: fear, homesickness, pride for her role but also horror for what she’s seeing – and not always confined to Nazi’s actions, see her reaction to the execution of a collaborationist. She does what she can to reassure her mother that after all everything is OK, that her dad (actually, the Intelligence Chief of her brigade) is protecting her. She’s hardening (at one point she remarks matter-of-factly that her “bodycount” amount to 15 Germans killed), but even if she tries to hide it, the war hardships are progressively taking a toll on her resolve. She never doubt that what she’s fighting for is right, but her unexpressed desire to find again the pre-war serenity is highlighted but the banality of most of what seems important to her – her family well being, getting food and clothes, her young sister’s studies. The abrupt ending of the document seems only to highlight this loss.

Ina’s diary (originally published as “The Girl From Kashin”), is not a literary masterpiece, and you’ll not find the harrowing passages of Anne Frank’s famous book. But this – in my opinion – just add to its sincerity. And compared to it, “Defending Leningrad” other sections are more problematic. The first is Ina’s father tale on his daughter predicament. It’s an interesting counterpoint, but raises more questions that it solves: was he right? Torture and a painful death were the usual fate of captured female partisans - doubters can look the pictures a page 71-72 of Erickson’s “Eastern Front In Photographs”, and remember that such horrors happened even on the Western Front. How could a father rationally send his daughter to face such risks, even for a cause that he sees as good? Ina’s dad never answers, and this silence is revealing: but truth is that we don’t have an answer as well.

The last two pieces are straightforward narratives dealing with the fate of two of Ina’s comrades-in-armes. “Masha’s Birch Trees” is a short story on the life – and death – of Masha Pryvayeva, another partisan scout that was captured and gruesomely executed by German troops in summer 1942. It’s a sad piece, and seems to underscore the problems I mentioned before (Ina, sent in mission together with Masha, barely escaped the same fate). The last, "The Secret Of Zoya Zuglova”, tells us of a girl who did spywork for the Soviet “socialising” with German officers, just to be tortured and executed when caught.

Prof. Cottam’s translation is impeccable, as impeccable are the notes punctuating and explaining the text, giving us the correct historical perspective to evaluate a book that is, without doubt, an exceptional document on the history of partisan warfare on the Eastern Front.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Defending Leningrad: Women Behind Enemy Lines, June 7, 2001

By 

Sasha Pursley (Santa Cruz, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Defending Leningrad: Women Behind Enemy Lines (Part I: Inna Konstantinova; Part II: Masha Poryvayeva and Part III: Zoya Kruglova Baiger) (Paperback)

K. J. Cottam's books are invaluable. This topic has been so neglected by historians in the West, and Cottam's books have done much to rectify the situation. They are a must read.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Women Behind Enemy Lines, April 20, 1999

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[e-mail] ([e-mail]) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Defending Leningrad: Women Behind Enemy Lines (Part I: Inna Konstantinova; Part II: Masha Poryvayeva and Part III: Zoya Kruglova Baiger) (Paperback)

While I deeply enjoyed all 4 of these books, this was my favorite. We get an in depth look at a young Russian teenager through her own diaries and letters.

This inside look helps to break down social barriers we may have implanted in our minds. It weaves the fabric of this heroic young girl's involvement tin the war, her great pride and honor in being involved in the protection and defense of her country.

The book as a whole tells the story of 2 partisans and 1 spy. But the story of Ina Konstantinova told in her own words through her notes and letters is my favorite part of the book. The other 2 women detailed are inspirations as well: Masha Poryvayeva and Zoya Kruglova-Baiger.

As with all of MS. Cottams books this is a must read for women's studies and just a plain good read for the rest of us. Leslie Blanchard

Editor A Writer's Choice Literary Journal ISSN: 1521-2319 http://members.spree.com/writer/ & The Bear's Den- Spoken Word Poetry http://members.tripod.com/bearpoet icq# 33958401