Stalingrad-Volgograd. They do remember.

Volgograd is a beautiful city,it was almost totally destroyed during the battle of Stalingrad (the cities previous name) in 1942/43. The battle lasted for 200days and was one of the turning points of WW2. Mamayev Kurgan and the Panorama museum tell the story of those 200days.From the bottom to the top of the hill are 200steps but if you you are unable to climb the steps there is vehicle access at the rear with a short level walk to the statue of Mother Russia, you can then descend past the statues and lakes of tears to the bottom. It is a very moving experience. The Panorama museum is also worth a visit and has special exhibits such as Vasili Zaitsevs rifle and the sword of Stalingrad. Throughout the city are other places of rememberance and interest. One sad omission is the fountain of children dancing around a crocodile, it was modelled on a poem by Corny Chukovskiy called 'children don't go walking in Africa'. It once stood infront of the railway station but was removed and never replaced when the area was rebuilt......The label of Gen. Gregori Chuikov should read Gen. Vasili Gregorovich Chuikov....Sorry for the wobbles, I think I need a tripod.