Internet and society: Online conference “How did the war change the look of St. Petersburg”

To mark the 65^th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War the city’s news website “Saint Petersburg.ru" is mounting the online conference called “How did the war change the look of St. Petersburg".

The fact, that St. Petersburg has survived terrible years of war, is gradually losing its touch with reality. When strolling in the streets of the city, its residents, particularly young ones, hardly ever think about those splits on the sculptures’ pedestals of the Anichkov Bridge or on the columns of the St. Isaac’s Cathedral. Memorial plaques bearing witness to artillery bombardments are also losing their urgency. Whereas stories about destruction of several houses in Nevsky Prospect or fall of Nazi plane in Tauride Garden seem to be the events of bygone years, or sometimes even fantastic.

However, during the war-time, the City Hero has suffered more dramatically than it may seem now. How did the look of St. Petersburg change during the Great Patriotic War? Which houses did not survive during bombardments? How many architectural monuments were lost?

During the online conference, to be launched on “St. Peterburg.ru” website on May, 6, Alexei Yerofeev, expert of the St. Petersburg Toponymy Commission, is going to answer these and many other questions.