City of Thieves

Reading Check and Short Answer questions on key plot points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Chapters 1-3

Reading Check

1. Where does the story take place?

2. What is the punishment for looting?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Who is Kolya and why is he a prisoner with Lev?

2. How does the colonel offer Lev and Kolya a chance at freedom?

Paired Resource

NKVD

• This 13-minute video describes the NKVD (the People’s Commissariat of Internal Affairs) and its function during World War II.
• What are the different duties the NKVD perform for the Soviet Union? How were some people victimized by the NKVD? How is this video related to the novel’s theme of War and Survival?

Chapters 4-6

Reading Check

1. What is troubling about the man and his wife who claim to have eggs for Lev and Koyla?

2. What happened to the building Lev lives in?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why don’t Lev and Kolya attempt to escape the NKVD rather than find the eggs?

2. Why does Lev feel guilty after escaping the cannibals?

Paired Resource

Cannibalism During the Siege of Leningrad

• This article describes The Siege of Leningrad and the consequences of severe starvation.
• What did German scientists calculate the people of Leningrad would do within weeks of the siege? How long did the blockade last in Leningrad? How many people died during the siege? Why was little known about the Siege of Leningrad before the 1990s? Why was cannibalism prevalent in Leningrad? How is this article related to the novel’s themes of War and Survival and The Transition From Boy to Man?

Rations During the Siege of Leningrad

• This 23-minute video describes rationing after the Siege of Leningrad.
• Consider watching the video up to 7:12 to prevent spoilers and to optimize time.
• Why was Leningrad forced to ration supplies after the siege? What measures were taken to increase food production? Who received more food rations? What evidence in the novel points to corruption regarding food rationing? Why were food ration cards important in Leningrad? How is this article related to the novel’s theme of War and Survival?

Chapters 7-10

Reading Check

1. Where do Lev and Koyla go after they realize Lev’s house is no longer standing?

2. What is discovered about the chicken Lev and Koyla rescued from the starving boy?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why is Lev envious of Koyla?

2. Where do the boys plan to go after their failed mission of retrieving eggs from the Narva Gate?

Chapters 11-14

Reading Check

1. What is the name of the novel Kolya frequently references, claiming it is a masterpiece?

2. What animal did the Russians use to destroy German tanks by strapping mines to them?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Who are the girls Lev and Kolya encounter, and why are they being kept by the Germans?

2. Why do the captive girls choose to stay with the Germans rather than escape?

Paired Resource

Anti-Tank Dogs

• This article describes the use of anti-tank dogs during World War II.
• Why did the Russians deploy dogs to attack tanks? What did German forces do to prevent dogs from approaching the tanks? How successful were the “suicide dogs” in preventing enemy attacks? How is this article related to the novel’s theme of War and Survival?

Chapters 15-16

Reading Check

1. What happens to the German soldiers before Lev and Kolya can attack them?

2. What is the name of the girl who is working with Korsakov?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What do Kolya and Lev decide to do to free the captive girls from the Germans?

2. Where do Kolya and the others plan to travel after freeing the captive girls from the Germans?

Chapters 17-18

Reading Check

1. Who wrote The Courtyard Hound?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How does Kolya prove himself to be a true friend to Lev?

2. What happens to Novoye Koshkino and why?

3. Why was Kolya labeled a deserter?

Chapters 19-21

Reading Check

1. Who attacks the partisan safe house while Lev and Kolya are sleeping there?

2. Where do the Nazis take the prisoners following their capture?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why do Vika, Kolya, and Lev pretend as though they cannot read when given newspapers by the German soldiers?

2. Where do the prisoners sleep after the mass execution, and why does Lev enjoy it?

Paired Resource

“The Psychology of Cruelty”

• This article describes the cruelty carried out during World War II and the psychological beliefs that incited it.
• What is the purpose of dehumanization in cruelty? How did dehumanization play a role in World War II? What is shocking about the revelation that Nazis weren’t madmen or monsters, according to the article? How is this article related to the novel’s themes of War and Survival and The Transition From Boy to Man?

Chapters 22-24

Reading Check

1. What does Kolya convince the German soldiers to wager on in exchange for their freedom?

2. What does Vika ask Lev to provide her before parting ways?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How did Kolya risk his safety by speaking with the German officer?

2. What does Kolya ask Lev for to locate him in Chudovo?

Chapters 25-27

Reading Check

1. Who shoots Kolya in the backside?

2. What does the colonel give Lev for the eggs?

3. What does Lev do for the army after the siege ends?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What can be inferred about Lev’s marriage when Vika tells him she cannot cook?

2. What is the realization Lev comes to as Kolya is dying?

Recommended Next Reads

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

• This novel is about two sisters who struggle to survive the German occupation of France.
• Shared topics include World War II, survival, and conflicting ideologies.
• Shared themes include War and Survival.
• The Nightingale on SuperSummary

Atonement by Ian McEwan

• This novel is about a British man who enlists as a soldier during World War II in order to escape a false conviction.
• Shared topics include survival, World War II, and internal conflicts.
• Shared themes include The Transition From Boy to Man and War and Survival.
• Atonement on SuperSummary