St Petersburg, Jan 18: A WWII Soviet tank will be installed on Sunday near the entrance to a wartime memorial complex in Kirovsk in Leningrad region where the Soviet Army breached the fascist siege of Leningrad 66 years ago.
The KV-1 tank named after Soviet civil war commander Klim Voroshilov was raised from the bed of the Neva River 12 months ago and has been restored and repaired for this purpose.
Valery Serdyukov, Governor of Leningrad region, will be present at the ceremony near Kirovsk where troops of Leningrad and Volkhov fronts burst the siege and met each other on January 18, 1943 as part of the 'Iskra' (Spark) operation.
The KV-1 tank, which took part in the bloody battles on the legendary Neva Bridge-head, was found at a depth of more than two metres in 2007.
The KV-1 vehicles were considered to be the best tanks of the Great Patriotic War. They had thick armour and were equipped with powerful howitzers.
The KV-1 tank will be added to a collection of wartime rarities that have been put on view near the memorial complex in Kirovsk in recent years.
Bureau Report
First Published: Sunday, January 18, 2009, 00:00