The Great Patriotic War

World War II is not forgotten here.  I don't know if many Americans are aware of the Nazi siege of St. Petersburg (then known as Leningrad). That siege began on September 8, 1941 - and lasted 872 days. The result was apparently the "greatest destruction and largest loss of life in a modern city."

The Russians still refer to this as The Great Patriotic War. Our guide told us that the people here feel that they "don't have a right to forget."  According to papers that were discovered after the war, it appears that Hitler intended to simply wipe out the entire population and had hoped for 30 million fatalities. As it was, over 1,500,000 soldiers and civilians died during the siege.

All that to say that there are still monuments to WWII - this one built in 1985 is called the Leningrad Hero City Obelisk.  It commemorates the 40th Anniversary of the Russian victory and is located in Vosstaniya Square.

We didn't get an actual photo stop, so better pictures are here
http://www.visit-petersburg.ru/en/showplace/194715/