On Tuesday St. Petersburg celebrates the 60th anniversary of its liberation from the Nazi siege. The Russian President is expected to congratulate his townsmen on this event.
After that, Putin will go to Kirovsk by helicopter. The head of state will lay flowers to the Nevsky Pyatachok (Patch) memorial and will meet with pensioners, including WWII veterans and survivors of the siege near the Kirovsk administration building.
During the 900-day siege (late September, 1941 - January 27, 1944) the Nevsky Pyatachok was the only beachhead of the Soviet troops on the right bank of the Neva River.
On this day the head of state will attend the Piskarevskoye cemetery in St. Petersburg and will lay wreaths to the Motherland monument.
The memorial in the Piskarevskoye cemetery is a symbol of commemoration of the siege victims. Its territory covers over 26 hectares. During the 900-day siege 470,000 blockade victims and 50,000 Red Army warriors were buried in its huge communal graves.
In addition, Vladimir Putin will hold a visiting session of the State Council Presidium on the problems of pensioners and veterans.
The Russian President is expected to meet with Governors of the Leningrad region and St. Petersburg Valery Serdyukov and Valentina Matviyenko.
