Блокад муэей

So last week, we went to see Victory Square (Ploschad Pobedyi) and the Monument to the Heroic Defenders of Leningrad. It's a rather interesting design, particularly for a late Soviet-era work...it consists of a massive stone obelisk rearing towards the sky, encircled by a ring of stone that is broken in just one place - representing the liberation of the city. All along the circle walls are huge torches which burn as constant reminders of the sacrifices of the fallen. On either side of the breach in the circle are the words 900 Dyen and 900 Noch - Nine Hundred Days and Nights - which was the period of time for which St. Petersburg, or Leningrad, was besieged by the German Wehrmacht. From September 8th, 1941 until January 27th, 1944, the entire city was subjected to a lethal rain of bombs and artillery shells at all hours of the day and night. Over one million people died in that time period, both military and civilian, German and Russian. As they told us during orientation, you cannot hope to understand the city of Saint Petersburg without understanding what its people endured in the siege (or blockade, which is the term most Russians prefer).

Underneath the monument is a museum, full of somber plaques to departed heroes and various detritus from the war that has been dug up all around the city. There are also nine hundred burning candles lining the entry tunnel...except that each candle is made from the remains of German artillery shells recovered from the surrounding area. At each end of the exhibition room, one can see a gorgeous mosaic covering the entire wall; one depicts life before the siege, and one shows its aftermath.

You know how they often tell you that there's really no way to describe something to a person who's never been there before? Well, this is something similar. My words really can't do justice to the monument, the museum or the siege. It's just something that has to be experienced firsthand. If you ever have a chance to go to Saint Petersburg, in between visiting the gorgeous cathedrals and palaces, make sure you take a little time to travel down Moskovskii Prospekt and see this as well.