Abstract: The present research has been carried out as part of studies devoted to the culture of Leningrad during the first months of the military blockade (1941 - 1942). The authors of the article analyze materials of primary sources in order to define typical traits of inhabitants of the blockaded city created by interdependent changes  in the city culture and life style of Leningrad citizens. The subject of the research is the realities as they were perceived by blockaded people, verbalized by them and directly related to cultural metamorphoses of the wartime city. First of all, that implies cultural changes at the level of communication organisation (public utilities and social relations) and food supply. In the course of analyzing documents, the authors have used hermeneutical procedures allowing not only to explain the genesis of these traits but also to understand a person who has these traits. The practical importance of the given research is that the authors make a contribution to the development of the overall perception of Leningrad's culture during the Great Patriotic War. The novelty of the research is caused by the fact that the authors obtain scientific generalisations as part of historical cultural research, i.e. typical traits and personal qualities of blockaded people. These features and traits are defined as human-unknowing, human-deprived and human-thirsting. 

Keywords: human-deprived, human-unknowing, source study of culture, memoirs, personal diaries, primary sources, culture of Blockaded Leningrad, human-thirsting, hermeneutics, wartime culture