2-481-335 - © Fine Art Images/Heritage Images

Dmitri Shostakovich, Russian composer, during the Siege of Leningrad, USSR, WWII, 1941. Shostakovich (1906-1975) opted to remain in Leningrad when the German siege of the city began in September 1941, continuing work on his Seventh Symphony. He contributed to propaganda efforts, posing as a fire warden (pictured) and delivering a radio broadcast to the Soviet people. In October he and his family were evacuated to Kuybishev (Samara), where he completed the Seventh Symphony, which was adopted as a symbol of Russian resistance to the Nazi invasion. Found in the collection of the Russian State Film and Photo Archive, Krasnogorsk.