VE Day in St. Petersburg, 2015

After many years in Moscow, Harvey Smith relocated to St. Petersburg in 2014. There is a list of linked reports at the bottom.

Harvey Smith writes about the commemoration in St. Petersburg.

Victory in Europe Day is marked with considerably more enthusiasm in Russia than in other parts of the world. The Soviets accepted the German surrender on 9th May 1945, so in Russia VE day is commemorated one day later than 8th May as in Western Europe.

However, in 2015 Russian Railways had a commemoration in St. Petersburg for Victory Day on 7th May 2015. This is not unusual as the period from 1st to 9th May is traditionally a holiday period, with 1st May usually a National holiday in Russia.

The event was held at Finlandia station, St. Peterburg from 10.30am. It was by invitation only but the invitations were free and were distributed by Russian Railways to anyone who cared to collect them.

4 locomotives were parked in steam at the station - O^V-324, E-683-32, SO17-2359 and L-5248. The locomotives were stationary, but visitors could climb up and stand in the cabs. A band, a field kitchen and a movie screen playing old news reels were all in operation. Being at Finlandia station, the event did allow me to have a good look around H2 the American built Finnish locomotive that hauled Lenin back from exile.

See also:

• The St. Petersburg Outdoor Railway Museum, 2006 

• The St. Petersburg Outdoor Railway Museum, 2013 (updated 30th May 2017)

• A St. Petersburg Railway Miscellany (updated 11th April 2017)

• Moscow Railway Station / St. Petersburg Depot, 2014 

• The Indoor Railway Museum, St. Petersburg, 2014 

• The Shushary Museum, St. Petersburg, 2006 

• Moscow Sort Depot, St. Petersburg, 2014 (updated 2nd February 2015)

• Grand Maket Rossiya / The Grand Model of Russia

• Moscow Sort Depot, St. Petersburg, 2015-7 (updated 5th November 2017)

• The St. Petersburg Southern Children's Railway (updated 27th June 2016)

• Lebyazhe Railway Museum Depot (16th June 2015)

• The Tsar's Private Railway Station, St.Petersburg (updated 8th August 2017)

• The Shushary Museum, St. Petersburg, 2015 (5th August 2015)

• The Northern St. Petersburg Children's Railway (10th June 2016)

• Russian Railways RetroTrain Trip 2016 (14th June 2016) 

• E^M-721-83 at Petrokrepost (3rd August 2017)

• The new Russian Railway Museum in St. Petersburg 2017 (1st December 2017)

• The Russian Railway Museum, St. Petersburg 2018 (25th October 2018)