Kyiv, October 1941.

 In the photo taken in Kyiv in October 1941, German sappers on the porch of the building of the Lenin Museum carry the charge and explosive device of a radio bomb planted by the Bolsheviks during the retreat. Similar explosive devices were planted on Khreshchatyk, the Lavra, and the Opera. Radio-controlled landmines were to blow up the Cabinet of Ministers, the Verkhovna Rada, and this Lenin Museum. F-10 radios were placed to delay the explosion for up to 40 days, at a depth of 2.5 m, and were activated by a radio signal from the distance about 600 km. Thank God, the Germans managed to deactivate some devices. 

Nevertheless, explosions and fires in Kyiv in September-October 1941 destroyed 324 houses and dozens of unique historical monuments. Khreshchatyk turned into a solid ruin. Thousands of Kyivans died. Tens of thousands found themselves homeless.