A far cry from the splendour of Peter's city, Victory Square commemorates the terrible memory of the long Siege of Leningrad by Nazi Germany. For 3 years, 4 months and 19 days, the population, cut off from the rest of the world, experienced constant bombing, hunger, and cold. One million deaths later, the liberated city had nothing but rubble with which to mourn its people. Extolling the heroism of an entire people, the site arouses very real emotions, despite its quintessentially Soviet character.