V for Victory

We had a little 2-day holiday on 8 and 9 May to commemorate Victory Day (or VE Day) for the Allies in World War 2 during which warm celebrations were held in town. Earlier on Friday, my class together with a 3rd year class engaged in an excursion organised by our Russian teachers. We footslogged about the Square of Fallen Fighters, the Alley of Heroes and the Volga (all of which housed quite a number of monuments) in an effort to commemorate the courageous defenders (consisted not only of soldiers but also factory workers and generally untrained civilians) of Stalingrad- the former name of Volgograd, for those really in the dark- in the Battle of Stalingrad. The bloody battle, whose casualties of both German and Soviet amounted up to 2 million, stamped a pivotal moment in the war leading to the decisive Battle of Berlin that had the Nazi bowing to defeat.

But enough of history ;) Stretching from days prior to this significant date you could distinctly observe war veterans with numerous medals pinned on their chests ambling along the alley, paying due respect to their fallen comrades. As our teacher enlightened us with historical facts and thoughts, which eminently centred on the national heroes, I could feel the love and pride swelling in her heart through every syllable enunciated on her tongue (and her teary-eyed expressions)- and it made me feel, too… I felt for the people who were caught in the web of insanity of the era, interwoven with hatred between politically correct world leaders in which these people had no choice but to fight for their family and land. How awful it must have been, to be ensnared in tight battlefield unarmed but told not to leave in the pretext of preserving the spirits of the soldiers. Nevertheless, look at Volgograd today! Quite a remarkable sight for a city reduced to mere rubbles courtesy of the war, I must say.

The pictures below, however, were not taken during the excursion, as I sensibly forgot my camera (“A good photographer always brings his camera”- my dad. Well!), but on Tuesday, May 9 instead. A whole lot of people flocked to the centre to watch live cultural performances, buy plentiful souvenirs and balloons of every shape and shade, and of course, paid homage to the war heroes at the memorials. As for me, I got myself a red star-shaped balloon (I don’t know why, stars fascinate me- when I’m bored I’d doodle stars<-- but that might be due to the fact that I couldn’t draw much else. Haha), a Russian flag to complement my newfound patriotism (hahaha) and a giant cotton candy for my super-sweet tooth. Fabuloso!


A view of a monument in the park opposite our academy


Lovely fountains by the embankment of Volga


a guy talking to a war veteran (note his medals if you can)


20 Roubles for a few snaps with Mr. Python. No, thank you, sir!


A happy couple dancing to the tune of Native Indian live music nearby


catching on the collage bug from neemo ;)