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Sky here with another episode of the History and Plug podcast.

In the summer of 1941, German troops surrounded the Russian city of Leningrad, now St. Petersburg,

began the longest blockade in recorded history, one that will ultimately claim the lives of

nearly three quarters of a million people and lasts for 872 days. At the center of the besieged city

stood a converted palace that housed the world's largest collection of seeds.

Hundreds of thousands of samples hand-collected over two decades,

and what research scientists believed would allow Soviet botanists to create new crops that would thrive in the Russian soil

and lead to food abutants in the nation and prevent any more famines.

And this was no small thing in Russia, where

several famines struck every century, with some of them killing up to a third of the population.

After attempts to evacuate the priceless collection failed and supplies dwindled, the employees

at the Plan Institute were left with a terrible choice, should they save the collection,

or restarving to death. The scientists rescued potato samples under enemy fire,

extinguished bombs landed on the seed bank's roof,

and guarded the collection from scavengers,

bitter-cold in their own hunger.

Today's guest is Simon Parkin, author of The Forbidden Garden,

The Botanists of Besiege Leningrad and Their Impossible Choice.

We look at the story of the botanists who held their posts

during the nearly three-year-long siege, and the sacrifices they made for what they believed to be the greater good. Hope we enjoy this

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