Not some thing to joke about for some one from St Petersburg.
"For decades, details of the blockade have been little known in the West. Stalin suppressed the facts of the siege and twisted its history. Until
glasnost , the most serious challenge to his version was put forth by New York Times correspondent Harrison Salisbury, who spent 25 years researching and writing "The 900 Days," a book historians consider the best account in any language.
In honor of the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Leningrad--which the city plans to celebrate lustily, with fireworks and a rare visit by President Boris N. Yeltsin--a Russian-language version of Salisbury's book appeared on St. Petersburg's streets two weeks ago, six months after Salisbury's death.
New findings from the Communist Party archives that were opened in 1992 confirm Salisbury's contention, widely criticized by leaders of the Soviet era, that murderous gangs roamed wartime Leningrad's streets, killing for ration cards or human meat.
Paintings, drawings and diaries, some released only this month, show that cannibalism was so much a fact of everyday life that parents feared their children would be eaten if allowed out after dark. New documents show that the city police created an entire division to fight cannibals, and some 260 Leningraders were convicted of and jailed for the crime."
New Facts Point Up Horror of Nazi Siege of Leningrad : Warfare: The 900-day blockade was lifted 50 years ago today. Archival materials confirm cannibalism. - latimes