St. Petersburg is the city of the tsars, so we have spent a lot of time these last few days learning about kings and queens and touring their fancy homes. To be honest, I find it kind of boring. I like the stories about "regular" people, not the privileged few. But the gardens and the artwork are pretty to look at, and it always amazes me that some people would spend so much money and effort for their own glorification.
The thing that we've seen here that I've found the most moving is actually a cemetary. It is for people who died during the siege of Leningrad (the old name for St. Petersburg) during WWII. You should look up this important event online. It's really interesting. The German army laid siege to Leningrad. This means that they surrounded it and did not allow any people or supplies to move in or out. They also bombed the city. This siege lasted for 900 days - 900 days with no food coming into the city. An estimated 1 million people died, most of them from starvation. Many bodies were not
identified so they were buried in mass graves. Years later, the Russian goverment established an appropriate and lovely memorial there.
You are probably thinking that I am sort of messed up, disliking pretty things like palaces and going on and on about a cemetary. But when I looked at that memorial, I was struck by an enormous desire for peace. It was powerful. 450,000 is just a number when you read it in your history textbook in the USA. When you know the history and culture of those people, when you can imagine
their lives and their homes, they become individuals. This is why it's important to learn about other cultures and to meet people from different walks of life - to turn numbers into people, and hopefully bring about peace.
The thing that we've seen here that I've found the most moving is actually a cemetary. It is for people who died during the siege of Leningrad (the old name for St. Petersburg) during WWII. You should look up this important event online. It's really interesting. The German army laid siege to Leningrad. This means that they surrounded it and did not allow any people or supplies to move in or out. They also bombed the city. This siege lasted for 900 days - 900 days with no food coming into the city. An estimated 1 million people died, most of them from starvation. Many bodies were not
identified so they were buried in mass graves. Years later, the Russian goverment established an appropriate and lovely memorial there.You are probably thinking that I am sort of messed up, disliking pretty things like palaces and going on and on about a cemetary. But when I looked at that memorial, I was struck by an enormous desire for peace. It was powerful. 450,000 is just a number when you read it in your history textbook in the USA. When you know the history and culture of those people, when you can imagine
their lives and their homes, they become individuals. This is why it's important to learn about other cultures and to meet people from different walks of life - to turn numbers into people, and hopefully bring about peace.
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