Putin Honors Brother and Siege Victims at Piskarev Cemetery
St. Petersburg, Russia – Russian President Vladimir Putin paid respects to the victims of the Nazi siege of Leningrad, including a personal tribute to his older brother, Viktor, who died during the brutal blockade as a child.The solemn ceremony took place at the Piskarev Cemetery, the largest mass grave from the Second World War, on January 27, 2026.
Putin laid a bouquet of dark red roses at an unmarked mass grave within the 300-meter avenue of the cemetery, were his two-year-old brother, Viktor, is buried. The Piskarev Cemetery holds the remains of over 420,000 Leningraders who perished from starvation, cold, disease, and relentless bombing and shelling during the siege. It also serves as the final resting place for approximately 70,000 soldiers who defended the city.
Prior to visiting the mass grave, the President knelt before the Motherland monument, laying a wreath in