While on a visit to St Petersburg, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin toured the site of the bloodiest battle on the Leningrad Front, Nevsky Pyatachok (the Neva Bridgehead), where his father fought in 1941.

The prime minister arrived at the War Mass Grave memorial near the village of Nevskaya Dubrovka on a motorboat. It was raining heavily as Mr Putin was welcomed by locals.

Upon his arrival at the memorial, the prime minister laid red roses in commemoration and went to the Church of Theotokos: Salvation of the Perished to see the book listing the names of the thousands of soldiers who defended Nevsky Pyatachok. Mr Putin found the name of his father in the book.

The father of the prime minister served in the 330^th Rifle Regiment. He sustained a serious injury during his regiment's attack on November 17, 1941, had to spend several months in military hospitals, and was unable to rejoin his regiment. The prime minister and the father superior of the church sang the Eternal Memory hymn and lit candles for the peace of those who died.

The prime minister gave the church an icon of Theotokos: Salvation of the Perished as a present. Accompanied by the father superior, he walked up to a monument at the War Mass Grave memorial and adjusted a ribbon on a wreath. Before leaving the memorial, the prime minister gave a few autographs to locals.

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On September 19, 1941 Soviet troops made their first attempt to break the Siege of Leningrad. Soviet soldiers occupied a small area, repelling dozens of enemy attacks until April 1942.

The memorial near the village of Nevskaya Dubrovka was built in 1956 at the site of the graves of the soldiers who were killed defending the bridgehead. There are many graves in this area, including unmarked graves.

In 2001 the memorial was renovated using granite slabs with the etched names of 6,526 fallen soldiers. Another 8,000 names will be added to this list soon.