The City of Thieves: Theme and Summary

    One of the main themes of City of Thieves is patriotism, or pride for your country. Patriotism was big in City of Thieves because the feeling of being loyal to your country was one of the only things you had. One of the main protagonists, Lev, started off not liking the fact that he was Russian. He thought that it was bad to be Russian and he didn't like his nose because it was a "Russian nose". Later on in the book, however, he starts to enjoy himself for who he is and you can even see from this quote that he feels a surge of pure love for Russia: "I have never been much of a patriot. My father would not have allowed such a thing while he lived, and his death insured that his wish was carried out. Piter commanded far more affection and loyalty from me than the nation as a whole. But that night, running across the unplowed fields of winter wheat, with the Fascist invaders behind us and the dark Russian woods before us, I felt a surge of pure love for my country." City of Thieves is set in 1941 at a city called Leningrad. The city is surrounded by the German army and all the residents are starving to the point of death. In the beginning of the novel, Lev and Kolya find it extremely difficult to find food. They had even come across a cannibal relying on humans for food. This is how desperate the residents of Leningrad had become.