Went on a tour of Russia last summer. It was two weeks long, starting in St. Petersburg, then Moscow, then Stalingrad, then Moscow, then Kursk then Moscow then home. http://www.alpventures.com/russia.html If you are interested, there is the link. The man who runs this tour, Tony, created an excellent tour. The pictures I have posted are the monuments, tanks, planes, guns and other WWII related things in Russia, but we got a real introduction to the culture. Leningrad is considered the cultural center of Russia, so we saw cossack dancing, went to art museums, had traditional Russian meals, saw other cultural Russian performances, including vocal groups and comedy. We went to flea markets and more. One of the greatest aspects of the trip was talking to several veterans (through a translator). We talked to one Russian bomber pilot who flew a lend lease A-20, and did 152 sorties. We talked to several infantry men, one or two of which served from the first day of the war to the end. One of those two fought at Stalingrad, Kursk and Berlin. I highly recommend this trip to anyone. It is more then just a WWII tour, you get to see several different parts of russia, from the developed cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg, to the small rural villages around kursk. Monument to those who died in the seige of Leningrad. The ring is the center piece. It is a ring to represent the encirclement, and the ring is broken, to represent the breaking of the ring, and the lifting of the siege. The words next tot he broken ring say "900 days" and "900 nights", to symbolize the almost 900 days the town was surrounded and fought for survival. This is the enterence to the downstairs, but we were not allowed to take pictures. There are 900 artillery shells with candle style bulbs attached to them symbolizing the 900 day siege, There are stone pictures down there, similar to what the romans did, with the small stones to make a picture. Quite an emotional spot, very depressing video showing the suffering of the people of Leningrad. Red Square. My father almost couldn't believe he was standing there. Me and a monument that shows the closest the Germans got to Moscow. Map at the monument showing the gains made by the Moscow counter offensive. The grain tower - Stalingrad A monument to a russian regiment wiped out defending this building and the volga from the germans. Monument to that unit that was wiped out. inside of destroyed house Human remains we found next to the house. The Tractor Factory Its not that I stayed in the same cloths during the whole trip, just I packed light. THe underware and Tee shirts were all fresh. Mamayev hill Flame of remembrance for those who died at Stalingrad Chukovs grave Vassily's grave (The snipers) The factories that were fought over from the top of the hill Changing of the guard The Volga A water treatment center used by the Germans as a bunker This made me laugh when I saw it. Cloth mill Pavlov's house Cloth mill Inside the cloth mill The train station at Stalingrad, our tour guide tony (guy who put together the tour) standing where the fountain with the dancing children use to be. This is "red square" in enemy at the gates where they do the suicide charge at the beginning. The department store where Paulus was captured The room where Paulus signed the surrender of the 6th Army The main loading zone on the Russia side of the Volga Cloth mill from the Volga Monument to those who died crossing the Volga The hill from the Volga This area was known as the bone yards. They have Russian school children dig one day a year here to find remains. This is a Russian mass cemetery, holding the bodies of some 50,000 men. \ If you look at the picture, you will see the endless Steppe the Germans always talked about. It was over 120 degrees out, and it was august when were were there, so I kind of got an idea what it must have felt like for the German troops on their way to Stalingrad in September. The gravestones are for those who's bodies were identified by something found on their bodies. The mounds of earth are where the majority of bodies are found. This is a monument to those Russians who died in a mass POW camp. As the Germans supply of food ran out, they stopped feeding the Russian POWs. All several hundred POWs died except two, who probably survived from cannibalism. Right across the street is the German mass Cemetery. This walled area holds the bodies of some 20,000 German troops. This walled area is actually a giant circle. Many of the bodies in here have been identified. 30,000 Germans are interned in this mass burial circle. These blocks carry the names of those Germans who's bodies have never been found. Each block holds 1000 names There are over 107 blocks, holding over 107,000 names of German troops who parishes at Stalingrad and who's bodies know no known burial place. Russian Moscow War Museum. If you want grand, this is the place. Mural showing the Moscow Winter Offensive Mural showing the linkup of both pincers during operation Uranus. Mural Showing the defense of Leningrad Mural Showing the battle of Kursk Mural showing the battle of the Dnepper Mural showing the battle of Berlin Stalingrad of Kursk - today The train station where some of the bloodies fighting in kursk took place. "WE DIED BUT WE DID NOT SURRENDER" A message written into the stone wall from a paratrooper company that was surrounded and destroyed. All fought to the death. We had a veteran on our bus talking to us about the battle. When one of the guys on the tour asked about visibility, he said there were so many tanks burning and so much smoke visibility was nill. Just at that moment we went by a field where a farmer was burning haystacks. The Veteran then said it was exactly like that field looks. Of course we had to stop the bus and take a few pictures. Gave me a good idea of the conditions. A monument to the Russian sappers. These three man groups, one with an SMG, and the other two with one mine each, attacked tanks in groups and disabled or destroyed them. An entire battalion was destroyed halting a German attack. As visibility was so bad, they layed in the tall grass and places mines next to tanks that stopped near them. Vicious hand to hand and close range combat occurred, but 30 German tanks were put out of action, and a few hundred German infantry were killed or wounded. An Orthodox church fought over by both sides, and used by both sides to direct artillery. Both sides wanted it, but neither side was willing to destroy it. Thing must have had hundreds if not thousands of bullet holes in it. The north Salient of Kursk, all the trees were planted after the war, so that entire area was open. Russian trenches, forest wasn't there in 1943. No trees were, they were all planted after the war. Either a dugout or the position where a tank was dug in. Monument to a 76.2mm Russian gun company. 42 guys in this company, with 7 guys per gun. Only one man survived from the crew, but he was actually reported dead, and his name is on the list of the dead. This battalion came up against 200 German tanks, the last great attack in the northern pincer. THe attack was stopped further up hill though. A view from the hill where the last great push by the Germans in the north was stopped. That was the Germans objective I believe, the tallest hill in the north section of Kursk. Russian side of the hill, this the Germans never set foot on that ground. A monument to the General in charge of the north lines, Rokossovskii. Enterence to Rokossovskii dugout. Unfortunately the pictures from below are beyond blurry, so I wont post them. My favorate picture from Russia. Two monuments captured in one picture. Monument to a Russian pilot who destroyed 6 German planes himself, the 6th was the one he rammed, killing himself. His entire squadron was jumped and he was the only one left. This battle was observed from the ground, where upon in his LA-5, he downed 5 planes, the 6th one he rammed killing himself. He received the Golden Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union.
