Free Republic

Synopsis: Ukrainian forces used drones to directly attack targets in St. Petersburg, Russia. Two apartment buildings were heavily damaged with debris being blown hundreds of meters away. An article from The Independent (link immediately below) offers more details while the video from Kanal 13 shows the actual damage. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/drone-strike-st-petersburg-russia-ukraine-b2505844.html

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to re-establish the Moscow and Leningrad Military Districts, according to the document posted on the government’s legal information web portal on Monday.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Friday likened an Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip to Nazi Germany’s deadly siege of Leningrad during World War II. In the immediate aftermath of the attack by Hamas terrorists that has claimed 1,300 Israeli lives, Israel’s leaders have made no secret of their plans to seek swift vengeance on Gaza. “Casualties among civilians will be absolutely unacceptable. The Israeli siege of the Gaza Strip is unacceptable and is like the Nazi siege of Leningrad,” Putin said according to a translation of his words posted on X by Citizen Free Press.

Vladimir Putin on Friday compared Israel to Nazi Germany as he turned on old ally Benjamin Netanyahu. The Russian president said Israel’s blockade of Gaza ahead of an expected ground offensive against Hamas was “unacceptable”. Israel has been pounding Gaza with air strikes and artillery, with some 300,000 troops stationed on the border in anticipation for a ground operation. Putin said this was comparable to Nazi forces’ siege of Leningrad between September 1941 and January 1944, when at least 750,000 of the city’s civilians starved to death. He told journalists on a visit to Kyrgyzstan that Israel’s plans for Gaza...

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday compared Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip to Nazi Germany’s siege of Leningrad during World War Two and called for a resolution to the conflict to be reached through mediation. Putin said Israel’s blockade of Gaza was unacceptable.

Giant flags of the the USSR and the Russian Federation were raised in St. Petersburg today.

The circumstances of the death of the Deputy General Director of the Unified Settlement Center of Gazprom for Corporate Security, whose body was found in the prestigious village of Leninskoye in the Vyborg District of the Leningrad Region, are being established. A note was found nearby, law enforcement officials told 47news. A month earlier, in the same village, the body of a top manager of another division from Gazprom's orbit was found. Both of the now deceased previously worked at Gazprom Transgaz. As it became known to 47news, in the early morning of February 25, the police received a message...

Out of curiosity, adventure and challenge I've always wanted to visit a Russian city, namely St. Petersburg. We cruise a bit and when Princess said we could board in St. Petersburg I booked the cruise. We could cruise the Baltic Sea and visit/tour 6 other cities. This meant we could fly in a few day early and tour St. Petersburg. I booked the criuse and then the flights into and out of St. Petersburg. Then I had to get a visa. When I got the visa application I put down the flight arrival date as the first day of presence...

World War II guns fire a salute during celebrations of the 74th anniversary of the battle that lifted the Siege of Leningrad in St. Petersburg, on Saturday. The city of St. Petersburg, known as Leningrad until the name was changed back in 1991, is celebrating the Soviets’ victory over the devastating Nazi siege. The city was besieged by German, Finnish and Spanish troops on September 8, 1941, when the Nazis launched Operation Barbarossa against the Soviet Union. The blockade was broken on January 18, 1943 but finally lifted on January 27, 1944. Over 1 million people died mainly from starvation...

"Heroes are not to be criticized..." The official Soviet narrative of the Second World War used the concept of heroism to imbue war commemoration with an obligation towards the State. Such a concept was designed to make subsequent generations feel inferior to their predecessors and obliged to give of their best. Today, the victory serves as the strongest connection between Soviet and modern Russian patriotism. The paper argues that the memory of the Siege of Leningrad (1941-1944) as treated in museums in St Petersburg today is an appropriation by present-day Russian propaganda of the Soviet narrative. Soviet memorial sites are...

Volgograd may become Stalingrad once again after Russian President Vladimir Putin indicated he was in in favour of a referendum to change the name back in honour of the battle which precipitated the end of WWII. Putin offered his support for the referendum idea from a group of Russian WWII veterans he met during a D-Day anniversary event in France on Sunday. The idea is not new but never proved popular enough to be adopted. However, with a wave of patriotism washing over Russia that may be changing.

World War II re-enactors today staged the final Siege of Leningrad battle in St Petersburg to mark the 70th anniversary of the fight which ended the Nazi blockade of the city. More than 400 history fans dressed up as Soviet Red Army soldiers and Nazi Germany troops to recreate the battle which ended one of the world's most deadliest sieges. The re-enactment took place in the village of Porogki in Leningrad - now known as St Petersburg - in front of hundreds of spectators.

At 9:20 on a misty morning the signal came. As the men moved out, they saw silhouetted the massive St. Isaac's Cathedral, the battered Admiralty, the grey ships on the Neva. On the broad, cold Nevski Prospect the passers-by guessed: the hour was near. Then all of Leningrad listened breathlessly to the music of battle. Like moles the Germans had burrowed deep into the alien earth; now thousands of tons of explosives dug them out. Victory's Pattern. The Russians struck from two points at once. One column drove south from the city. Another pushed out from the tiny beachhead at...

Gazprom City is coming to St. Petersburg. But what will it look like? Six internationally known architects have submitted their designs. But locals are worried the city will lose its soul. Ruffling feathers has become something of a specialty for the Russian gas giant Gazprom. As the state-controlled company -- owner of 16 percent of the world's gas reserves -- expands into Europe, accusations have mounted that it uses gas prices as a political lever. Its recent decision to more than double the price paid by Georgia for gas, and its plan to quadruple prices for Belarus -- both price...

PRAGUE, August 8, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- The United States has imposed sanctions on two major Russian arms dealers -- state arms exporter Rosoboroneksport and the aviation firm Sukhoi -- for allegedly selling high-tech equipment to Iran. The August 4 move has been widely condemned in Russia as an "unfriendly act" aimed at crippling Russia's arms industry. It comes against the backdrop of strained bilateral relations in recent weeks. Moscow and Washington have failed to reach agreement on Russia's World Trade Organization bid and continue to disagree on resolving the Middle East conflict and on dealing with Iran's nuclear program. And...

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez said on Tuesday he had forged a strategic alliance to stand up to U.S. imperialism with fellow maverick Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko. "Our countries must keep their hands at the ready on the sword," Chavez, in ex-Soviet Belarus as part of a world tour, said on a visit to a military academy. "After a day of intensive work, we have created a strategic alliance between our countries," he said, speaking through an interpreter. "It is absolutely vital to protect our homeland, to guard against internal and external threats." "The jaws of imperialism and hegemonism have both...

Fifty Years Later, Russians Regard Stalin Positively March 4, 2006 (Angus Reid Global Scan) – Many adults in Russia think the tenure of one of the most notorious Soviet leaders was beneficial, according to a poll by the Public Opinion Foundation. 47 per cent of respondents believe Josef Stalin played a positive role in the country’s history. Stalin was the second leader of the Soviet Union, taking over after the death of Vladimir Lenin in 1924. Stalin was responsible for a series of repressive campaigns—known as the Great Purge—during the 1930s. During his tenure, Stalin eliminated all possible political opposition...

WASHINGTON Feb 27, 2006 (AP)-- Eleven cities have shown interest in playing host to the 2008 Democratic National Convention, twice the number of cities that applied to get the 2004 gathering. The DNC initially sent out letters to more than 30 cities, giving them an overview and finding out their level of interest. The 11 cities that said they were interested: Anaheim, Calif.; Dallas; Denver; Detroit; Las Vegas; Minneapolis; New Orleans; New York; Orlando, Fla.; Phoenix and San Antonio. Some of the cities are in critical swing states like Florida and Arizona, while others are in population centers like New...