Annotated Bibliography

Primary Sources

1. Breyer, Andrei. Diary entry. The Siege of Leningrad: The Saga of the greatest siege of all time as
told by the letters, documents, and stories of the brave people who withstood it., UW-Green Bay
library collection.

This source was a diary entry that was included in a book. The diary was from a 9 year old who
was describing how he found a Nazi spy hiding on his roof. It helped us understand how much
the citizens of Leningrad despised the Nazi’s, and what they did to help the war effort.

2. Chumakova, Lydia. Letter to The Komsomol Committee of the Primorsky District. The Siege of
Leningrad: The Saga of the greatest siege of all time as told by the letters, documents, and stories
of the brave people who withstood it., UW-Green Bay Library Collection.

This source was a re-printed letter found in a book. The letter was asking the Komsomol
Committee of the Primorsky District to find a new home for a recently orphaned child. The letter
expresses how the author wants to adapt the boy, but doesn’t currently have the resources to help
during the Siege of Leningrad.

3. Ivanova, Susanna. Diary Entry. The Siege of Leningrad: The Saga of the greatest siege of all time as
told by the letters, documents, and stories of the brave people who withstood it., UW-Green Bay
Library Collection.

This source was a diary entry that was included in a book. It was written by a 15 year old girl
who had been separated from all her friends, as they had been evacuated and she had not. In the
diary entry she writes about how she was very scared at first during bombing raids, but how she
developed courage though playing the piano.

4. Kirillvna, Varvara. Letter to Mikhail Korobkov. 1941. The Siege of Leningrad: The Saga of the
greatest siege of all time as told by letters, documents, and stories of the brave people who
withstood it, Skomorovsky, Boris, New York, NH.

This source was a letter that was copied into a book. It was sent from a man’s grandmother to the
man, encouraging him to join the red army and fight for Leningrad. It also encouraged the man
to get revenge on the Germans for killing the man's father. It helped us to understand the hate the
citizens felt towards the invaders.

5. Korolyova. Letter. The Siege of Leningrad: The Saga of the greatest siege of all time as told by the
letters, documents, and stories of the brave people who withstood it., UW-Green Bay Library
Collection.

This source was a letter that was reprinted in a book. The letter was written from a girl to the
Baltic fleet of the Red Army. In the letter she talks about how things used to be, and how
 important it is that the Red army win and save Leningrad from complete destruction. It helped us
to understand how life changed for civilians in Leningrad when the siege started.

6. Kosyrev. Letter. The Siege of Leningrad: The Saga of the greatest siege of all time as told by the
letters, documents, and stories of the brave people who withstood it., UW-Green Bay library
collection.

This source was found inside a book. It was a letter written by a man who was part of the Red
Navy, with the job of protecting the city of Leningrad. In the letter, the man references things he
has seen, and asks to be able to adopt a daughter. It helped us understand why many children
were or were not adopted when they became orphaned during the siege.

7. Kotelnikov, Pyotr. Memo. 1941-1942. The Siege of Leningrad:The saga of the greatest siege of all
time as told by letters,documents, and stories of the brave people who withstood it, UW- Green
Bay library collection.

This source was found in a book that we got from the UW-Green Bay library. It was a collection
of diary entries that were later published in a newspaper. The diary entries showed what life was
like in Leningrad, as well as how the main character felt throughout the siege. It told the tale of
how hard he tried to save his wife. It helped us to understand how much the civilians of
Leningrad had to go through to live each day.

8. Novitsky, Vladimir. Letter. The Siege of Leningrad: The Saga of the greatest siege of all time as
told by the letters, documents, and stories of the brave people who withstood it., UW-Green Bay
Library Collection.

This letter was included in part of a book. It was a letter from a volunteer fighter at the front
during the siege of Leningrad to the University where he had been studying before the siege. He
describes what life was like on the front, but he also talks about typical Nazi war strategy, to the
best of it that he can comprehend.

9. Possehl, Suzanne. "It's Budget Slashed, Russian Seed Bank Fights for Its Life." The New York
Times, 23 Mar. 1993, The Environment sec., p. C4,
media.proquest.com/media/pq/hnp/pc/1659257/page/48/pdf?
Accessed 9 Dec. 2018.

This source was a news article written for the New York Times. It was about what was
happening to the seed bank almost directly after the siege of Leningrad. The seed bank was not
receiving enough funds to correctly operate. The U.S.’s Department of Agricultural found this
out, and then gave the Seed Institute $1.5 million. This source taught us the importance of the
seed bank, and gave us specific seeds that were genetically modified in Russia, and are now used
all over the world, including the U.S.. It also taught us how the seed bank used the money to
continue working.
 10. Svetlova, Tanya. Letter. The Siege of Leningrad: The Saga of the greatest siege of all time as told
by letters, documents, and stories of the brave people who withstood it, UW-Green Bay Library
Collection.

This source was a letter written re-printed in a book by a young girl to the Komsomol group. The
Komsomol group was a group of young boys who were in charge of helping the people who
needed them the most, bringing bread to them, and helping them with the things they needed.
This letter was from a child explaining that her mother was very sick and needed help, on the
back of the letter it was written that help was sent, for this was the way they kept track of who the
Komsomol group helped. This source was the first time we had heard of the Komsomol group,
and it educated us on who they were and what they did.

11. Zakharov, Tolya. Diary Entry. 1942. The Siege of Leningrad: The Saga of the greatest siege of all
time as told by the letters, documents, and stories of the brave people who withstood it., UW-
Green Bay Library Collection.

The source was a diary entry written by a 12 year old that was included in a book. The
diary was from a child who had crossed Lake Ladoga, the “Road Of Life” and escaped Leningrad
during the siege. It helped us understand how hard it was to cross the “Road it Life” and what
people had to go through to escape.

Secondary Sources

1. Alexanyan, S.M., and V.I. Krivchenko. "Vavilov Institute Scientists Heroically Preserve World
Plant Genetic Resources Collections During World War II Siege of Leningrad." DIVERSITY,
www.vir.nw.ru/files/pdf/books/diversity2.pdf. Excerpt originally published in Diversity, vol. 7,
no. 4, 1991, pp. 10-13.

This source was a re-printed part of a series of articles about the scientists who saved the seed
bank. It gave us a basic rundown of what happened to the seed bank, and what the scientists did
to save the seeds. We learned the names of the scientists that starved to death in the institute as
well as some of the hardships that they faced. This source helped us to understand what all
happened to the scientists as well as how long they were in the seed bank, and what they did in
there. It gave us a nice timeline on the events that happened there as well.
 2. Boyle, Rebecca. "Russian Seed Bank, Saved During WWII, Fights to Save Land From Developers."
Popular Science. Popular Science, www.popsci.com/science/article/2010-08/russian-seed-bank-
saved-during-wwii-fights-save-land-developers. Accessed 30 Oct. 2018.

This source was a news article. It informed us on what is happening to the russian seed bank
currently as well as what the seed bank has (it’s inventory). Some of the seed banks's land is
being auctioned off for houses and other buildings to use. This source helped us to understand
why it was and still is very important to save and preserve the seed bank.

3. Brisgalov, V., Dr., and P.A.N. Modestova. Advantages and Specificity of Seedling Growing in Spring
Plastic Hothouse in Comparison With Growing in Hotbeds. Report no. 17_23, International
Society for Horticultural Science., 2019. International Society for Horticultural Science,
www.ishs.org/ishs-article /17_23.

This sources was a report on some new technology that was developed by the institute. They
developed a new "hotbed" that can grow plants faster and better, helping them to produces a
higher yield. This source helped to teach us about the long term triumph and what the seed bank
went on to do.

4. Campbell, MacGregor. "Lost Treasures: The Soviet Seed Bank." New Scientist, 4
Feb. 2012, www.newscientist.com/article/mg21328502-000-lost-treasures-the-soviet-seed-bank/.

This source was a magazine article that was featured on New Scientist. In the article, we found
information about the majority of lost seed samples from over two hundred other field stations in
Russia at the time. It brought in new insight as to how valuable the seeds were, and how many are
missing today.

5. Carter, Ian. "Operation 'Barbarossa' and Germany's Failure in the Soviet Union." Imperial War
Museum, IWM 2018, 27 June 2018, www.iwm.org.uk/history/operation-barbarossa-and-
germanys-failure-in-the- soviet-union. Accessed 31 Dec. 2018.

This source was a web page on the Imperial War Museum website. It talked about why Hitler
didn’t like The Soviet Union, and why he wanted to take it over. It helped us to understand why
Hitler decided to attack Leningrad and how he planned to do it.

6. Connor, Steve. "Science Under Siege.",www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/ science-under-

siege- 1539262.html. Originally published in The Independent, 9 Aug. 1992.

This reprinted newspaper article talks about the financial situation of the Vavilov Institute of
Plant
Industry and the possibility of it getting shut down due to budget cuts. It explains that if this
happens, one of the leading centers of research for certain varieties of crops may be lost forever,
directly changing the possibility of continued biodiversity. This gene bank is the biggest and
oldest in the world. It holds roughly 380,000 plant specimens. About seven percent of these are
extinct in the wild and cannot be found anywhere else. The issue is of such concern that the
United Nation Food and Agriculture Organization sent a team of scientists to investigate.
 7. Crow, James F. "N.I.VAVILOV, Martyr to Genetic Truth." Perspectives, University of Wisconsin,
Madison. Genetics Society of America, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1205417/pdf/
ge13411.pdf. Accessed 29 Nov. 2018. Excerpt originally published in Anecdotal, Historical and
Critical Commentaries on Genetics, May 1993, pp. 1-4.

This source was from an article excerpt mainly focusing on Nikolai Vavilov, his work, legacy,
and relations with Stalin. It informs us on the genetics and science that Vavilov completed during
his lifetime. It helped us understand the importance that Vavilov made in creating the Institution
and why he was such an important figure in modern day experimental agriculture.

8. Dylan. "Vavilov Research Institute of Plant Industry." Atlas Obscura, © 2018 Atlas Obscura. All
rights reserved., www.atlasobscura.com/places/vavilov-research-institute-of-plant-industry.
Accessed 11 Nov. 2018.

This source was a web article. This source informed us a little bit about some history of the seed
bank. It also informed us that the city officials had moved the famous art out of Leningrad before
the germans attacked, but the city officials forgot about the seed bank. This source helped us to
understand that the seed bank was not a first priority for the city, though it should have been.

9. Dzyubenko, NI. "Vavilov's Collection of Worldwide Crop Genetic Resources in the 21st Century."
Biopreservation And Biobanking, vol. 16, no. 5, Oct. 2018, pp. 377-83. Ebsco. Accessed 21 Dec.
2018.

We got this source from the UWGB’s (University of Green Bay Wisconsin) library. It was
journal article that taught us about what types of seeds the collection went in to breed after the
siege. The Seed institute bread mostly crops that grew in Russia, such as wheat and rye. The
scientists went on to genetically engineer the seeds to produce a higher yield, and to be able to
grow in polluted areas. It helped us to understand the long term triumph.

10. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, What Is Happening to Agrobiodiversity?
1999. FAO, www.fao.org/3/y5609e/y5609e02.htm.

This research report on modern day biodiversity helped us understand the importance of crop
diversity, especially because more than 90 percent of crop varieties have disappeared from
farmers‘ fields in the past few decades. Variations in crops and the breeding of them is crucial,
shown in this report. As the varieties and breeds of harvested species disappear, so can a wide
range of unharvested species.

11. Franceschini, Amy, editor. "A Visit to the Vavilov Institute." Flatbread Society, Futurefarmers,
US/Belgium, 24 Feb. 2014. www.flatbreadsociety.net/stories/24/a-visit-to-the-vavilov-institute.
 This web page by a European group that aims to preserve valuable seed strands gave us a new
perspective of the Vavilov Institute of Plant Industry. It showed us the technologies and
procedures used at the Institute, as well as a brief explanation of the history. Included in the
article are pictures of the seeds and the variations saved that are now present in many seed vaults
across the world.

12. Greene, David. "Researchers Fight To Save Fruits Of Their Labor." National Public Radio, 2018
NPR, 30 Aug. 2010, www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129499099.

This source was a news article and podcast. This source informed us about the person who
created the seed institute, Nikolai Vavilov and what happened to him. Nikolai Vavilov was
imprisoned by Josef Stalin because he did not agree with Nikolai's genetic research. Nikolai then
ended up dying in prison from starvation. This helped us to understand how harsh Stalin was a
ruler to his people, and how much Nikolai was willing to sacrifice for his work.

13. Hooper, D. U. A Global Synthesis Reveals Biodiversity Loss as a Major Driver of Ecosystem Change.
US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health, 2 May 2012. National Center for
Biotechnology Information, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22678289.

This is a report written by D. Hooper, Department of Biology, Western Washington University. It

explains that the loss of biodiversity causes a reduction in ecosystem function, which poses a
threat compared with the more direct influences from changes in climate. These have direct
effects of other forms of environmental change that are both driving diversity loss and altering
how ecosystems work. The genetic material taken from certain strands and variations of seeds has
the potential to keep ecosystems thriving.

14. Hooper, D. U., et al. Effects of Biodiversity on Ecosystem Functioning: A Consensus of Current
Knowledge. Ecological Society of America, 1 Feb. 2005, esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
/doi/10.1890/04-0922.

This source is a research report on the effects of biodiversity in ecosystems. The report explained
how the changes in components have the possibility to alter ecosystems and the goods and
services they provide. The relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning has many
points relevant to the management of ecosystems, meaning that the germplasm and genetic
material of plants are crucial to the development of agriculture.

15. Jones, Michael. Leningrad: State of Siege. New York, Basic Books, 2008.

This source was a book about the Siege of Leningrad as whole, not just on our specific topic of
the seed bank. We checked the book out from our local Brown County Library to be able to
access it. The book gave us some good background knowledge on what was happening to other
 parts of Leningrad during the siege, not just the seed institute. Learning all of this from the book
really helped us to understand how hard it was for the people of Leningrad to live, and just how
much the Scientists went though for the seeds.

16. Loskutov, Igor G. Vavilov and His Institute: A History of the World Collection of Plant Genetic
Resources in Russia. Rome, Italy, International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, 1999,
citeseerx. ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.694.6989&rep=rep1&type=pdf.

This source was a 186 page report on Nikolai Vavilov (the founder of the seed institute) and on
the seed bank itself. It gave us lots of information about the way the seed bank was run as well as
what projects the scientists were working on when the seed bank was attacked.

17. Lostkutov, I.G. Всероссийский НИИ растениеводства им. Н.И.Вавилова и блокада Ленинграда.
vir.nw.ru/files/pdf/books/Blokada.pdf. Accessed 21 Dec. 2018.

This was an article that was sent to us from a Russian professor at UW-Green Bay who had found
it using his access to special databases. It was written completely in Russian, and we had to
translate it. The article had some good quotes from people who had been in the seed bank during
The Siege Leningrad, as well as some new information on what life was like in the seed bank.

18. McGinnis, L., and M. Wood. "Cream of The Crop." Genetic Preservation of Specialty Crops, vol. 55,
no. 9, Oct. 2007. ProQuest. Abstract.

This sources was an article we found in a google search when first beginning our research. We
read about the long term triumph of the scientists sacrifice. The siege of Leningrad was long and
cold, but the seeds that emerged were able to further expand and grow our knowledge of modern
science and agriculture. We found some very helpful facts and quotes, such as how modern
germplasm and genetic material is used. It helped us to understand what the seeds went on to do
for science.

19. Meier, Allison. "Retracing the Steps of a Pioneering Seed Collector Who Starved in a Stalinist
Prison." Hyperallergic, 2019 Hyperallergic Media Inc, 6 June, 2018, hyperallergic.com/438283/
seeds-of-the-earth-the-vavilov-institute/.

This source was an article that we found opened our eyes about how many varieties of seeds the
institute protects currently. It educated us on the many seeds that the institute saved, and what
they went on to do. This source helped us to understand the scientists motivation for why they
saved the seeds.

20. Olsen, Kenneth M., and Briana L. Gross. Detecting Multiple Origins of Domesticated Crops.
 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 16 Sept.
2008. National Center for Biotechnology Information,
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2544514/.

This is a report written by two biology professors that work with the Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. The scientific report showed us that crop
domestication is crucial for understanding the process of evolution and for learning things about
the history of human civilization. It showed us the main effects of the research that was done at
the Vavilov Institute and how important it is today, providing key research for scientists that are
trying to understand the importance of crop diversity.

21. Pearce for Yale Environment 360, Fred. "The Battle to Save Russia's Pavlovsk Seed Bank." The
Guardian, 2018 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies., 20 Sept. 2010,
www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/sep/20/campaign-russia-pavlovsk-seed-bank

This source was a news article. It taught us about how many seeds the seed bank has, and taught
as about their collection. This source helped us to understand the importance of the seed bank
itself, and why it had to be saved.

22. Raid, Anna. "Chapter 8." 125 Grams. Leningrad: The Epic Siege of World War II, 1941-1944, New
York, Walker & Company, 2011, pp. 158-73.

This source was a chapter from a book we got from the UW-Green Bay Library. It was about the
rations and the rationing system used during the siege of Leningrad. We used this information to
help us understand how little the rations and where, how the ration system worked, and what the
rations where typically made of.

23. Rensberger, Boyce. "Soviet Botanists Starved, Saving Seeds For Future." The Washington Post, 12
May 1992, www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1992/05/12/ soviet-botanists-starved-
saving-seeds-for-future/10840121-9058-4c1f-ae7a-22ac16a6f4de/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.2a
155d2af8ce

This source was a web page. It taught us that 9 scientists died of starvation, to save the seeds. It
also taught us that many of the crops that are used in modern farming today, are a result of cross-
breeding between plants saved by the scientists all those years ago. This source helped us to
understand what the seeds went on to do, and why the seeds were so important to the scientists.

24. Sabitov, A.S., et al. Ribes from the Russian East: Perspectives for Breeding. Report no. 585_24,
Copyright International Society for Horticultural Science, 2019. International Society for
Horticultural Science,www.ishs.org/ishs-article/585_24.

This source was a report on some special types of seeds that the seed bank has currently, and the
 seeds importance in our modern world. It also talked about where the types of seeds are found
naturally, and what the scientists would have to do to collect them. This information helped us to
understand the scientists motivation for why they laid down their life‘s for the seeds.

25. Salisbury, Harrison E. The 900 Days: The Siege of Leningrad. Da Capo Press Inc., 1969.

This source was a book primarily focusing on a more in depth look at the Siege of Leningrad.
This book informed us of specific details and aspects of the Siege, including resources like diary
entries and photographs. We learned from it mainly about the hunger, disease, crime and systems
being used for the war efforts while the city was under attack. This book helped us to understand
the severity of the Siege.

26. Simha, Rakesh Krishnan. "The men who starved to death to save the world’s seeds." Russia Beyond,
Rossiyskaya Gazeta., 12 May 2014,
www.rbth.com/blogs/2014/05/12/the_men_who_starved_to_death_to_save_the_worlds_seeds_35
135. Accessed 18 Nov. 2018.

This source was a news article, published by Rossiyskaya Gazeta, a newspaper published by the
Russian government. This source taught us that the people who worked at the seed bank where
called botanists and that they saved the seeds in case after the war the world was post-
apocalyptic. It also taught us that the siege of Leningrad started in September, 1941, and the
Germans cut off food to 2 million people when they did this. Finally this source taught us about
the creator of the seed bank, Nikolai Vavilov. This source helped us to understand why the
scientists saved the seeds, as well as how many people the siege impacted, and how big this topic
was in history.

27. Simon, Stephanie. "AGRICULTURE : Famed Russian Seed Bank Now Is Withering:
Institute that survived war and famine is threatened by the Soviet breakup and Moscow's fiscal
crisis."www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-07-03-mn-1509-story.html. Originally published
in LA Times, 3 July 1992.

This source is a newspaper written and published for the LA Times. It includes an interview with
a worker of the Vavilov Institute, which gave us insight as to how the scientists of the seed bank
lived. The rest of, the article covered the current day issues of the Institute, including financial
problems and how many seeds and research would be disrupted if the Institute were to be shut
down or disbanded.

28. Tilman, David. The Ecological Consequences of Changes in Biodiversity: A Search for General
Principles. 1 July 1999, esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1890/0012-9658%281999
%29080% 5B1455% 3ATECOCI%5D2.0.CO%3B2.

This source is a report written and published by David Tilman, a professor in the Department of
Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota. This report shows that greater plant
diversity leads to greater productivity in an ecosystem. This diversity–productivity relationship
results in habitat heterogeneity caused by the broader range of species traits in a more diverse
community. This means that the scientists work is crucial to the development of ecosystems,
putting these valuable seed strands at the fingers of many researches to come.
29. Titova, Irina. "Celebrated Russian Seed Bank Fights for its Land." PHYS.org, Phys.org 2003 - 2018,
Science X network, 20 Aug. 2010, phys.org/news/2010-08-celebrated-russian-seed-bank.html.
Accessed 31 Oct. 2018.

This source was a article about what is happening to the seed bank now. It taught us that there are
court-approved plans to take some of the seed banks fields and make them in to areas for houses
to be built. The seed bank will be losing 225 acres of land that were used to grow berries and
fruits. The article also taught us that the seed bank in needed now more than ever because of
climate change. This source helped us to understand the importance of the seed bank in current
time, as it is used to protect and preserve hundreds of unique seeds.

30. Trinastic, Jonathan. "Saving Seeds and Genes." Scitable, Nature Education, 2 Sept. 2015,
www.nature.com/scitable/blog/eyes-on-environment/ saving_seeds_and_genes.

This article by physics doctoral student Jonathan Trinastic gives us an in-depth explanation about
the importance of biodiversity. Overall, it helped us understand how diversified genetics in plants
increase the yield of crops, prevent soil degradation or destruction from pests, and help provide
stability against global warming.

31. Washington, Science News. "Seeds in Need: The Vavilov Plant Institute." Sciences: Comprehensive
Works, vol. 144, 18 Dec. 1993, pp. 1-5. ProQuest.

This source is an article we got using our resources at UWGB. It includes factual information
about the seed bank and the seeds inside, including the impacts on N. Vavilov's legacy on the
Institute. It helped us understand the overall importance of the seed bank, and what risks the
scientists took to save the seeds.