i’m from Saint Petersburg, Russia, which was called Leningrad until the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. during WWII, the city was under siege for 2,5 years, and it’s considered to be one of the most gruesome sieges in history
as a kid, i heard a lot about it — from documentaries our teachers showed us, from veterans that visited our school, from my own great-grandma who was a survivor. all this in order for us to appreciate our city’s history and to remember that there is nothing worse than war
this is what the museum dedicated to the lifting of the siege of Leningrad looks like today:
the huge “Z” on the roof is a symbol used to show support of the Russian war against Ukraine. yes, a half-assed swastika was put there to endorse a brutal war that involves sieges of Ukrainian cities
and here are pictures of actual survivors of the siege of Leningrad getting detained at anti-war protests in Saint Petersburg:
(you can read more about them and other survivors speaking up against the war here)
for a country that makes a big deal out of beating the fascists in WWII, Russia feels way too similar to a fascist state.
