Radio House

At #2 Malaya Sadovaya (Little Garden) in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) Italian the architect brothers Vasily Kosyakova, Vladimir Kosyakova, and Georgi Kosyakova designed a building for the St. Petersburg Assembly of Nobles, which was constructed in 1912 - 1914.
In 1933 the building housed Radio Leningrad. This was active during the heroic days of the siege, and Radio Committee employees lived, worked, and died here. From here they supported the Leningraders with their transmissions, and from here Olga Bergholz, the muse of the embattled city, read her poems and speeches.
On September 7, 1993, the St. Petersburg City Council declared Radio House a monument of historical, cultural, and architectural significance. A plaque to the courage of the workers of Radio Leningrad during the siege now adorns the building entrance.
During the siege of Leningrad members of the Radio House worked, lived and even died here. In order to keep up the moral of the dying city they played music, read poetry and literature over the thousands of P.A. speakers hung throughout the city’s streets. This kept morale up and it was their intent to never let the ‘radio’ lapse into silence. Twenty-four hours a day the radio kept the starving and freezing citizens of Leningrad company. At times the Radio House workers were so weak from hunger they did not have the strength to read, play music or even lift their head to speak into the microphone. At those times they would set a metronome in front of the microphone. Though there was no music or words playing the unrelenting ticking of the metronome let everyone in the city know they were still there, still on the air, still alive.
In 1933 the building housed Radio Leningrad. This was active during the heroic days of the siege, and Radio Committee employees lived, worked, and died here. From here they supported the Leningraders with their transmissions, and from here Olga Bergholz, the muse of the embattled city, read her poems and speeches.
On September 7, 1993, the St. Petersburg City Council declared Radio House a monument of historical, cultural, and architectural significance. A plaque to the courage of the workers of Radio Leningrad during the siege now adorns the building entrance.
During the siege of Leningrad members of the Radio House worked, lived and even died here. In order to keep up the moral of the dying city they played music, read poetry and literature over the thousands of P.A. speakers hung throughout the city’s streets. This kept morale up and it was their intent to never let the ‘radio’ lapse into silence. Twenty-four hours a day the radio kept the starving and freezing citizens of Leningrad company. At times the Radio House workers were so weak from hunger they did not have the strength to read, play music or even lift their head to speak into the microphone. At those times they would set a metronome in front of the microphone. Though there was no music or words playing the unrelenting ticking of the metronome let everyone in the city know they were still there, still on the air, still alive.