First it dug up the bones and defused the bombs.
Then Russia erected a light-as-air stadium for the 2018 World Cup that rises from the ground around which two million people died over 200 days in the Battle of Stalingrad - the tragic turning point of World War II.
"Every milimeter of this soil is soaked in blood," Volgograd Governor Andrei Bocharov said in an interview.
"There is not a single family living here today - not a single one - that has not lost someone."
Bocharov and the million people who live in the city now known as Volgograd hope the fans from all over the world who descend on the scene of one of history's darkest episodes will nrighten their haunted lives.
The city of Stalingrad was re-named in 1961 afrer the Volga River that stretches along its banks.
The cult of personality built around Joseph Stalin was being dismantled and the city itself resurrected from the rubble left by carpet bombing and street combat that traumatized much of Europe.
Volgograd is still rising - as are the human remains and munitions from 75 years ago.
Construction of the 45,000 seat Volgograd Arena began in November 2014. Immediately, the remains of two bodies and 20 unexploded shells were discovered.
It did not come as surprise: nearly every new building project in the city brings the discovery of World War II munitions and human bones.
"We first try to figure out their identity. This is not easy because a lot of time has passed. But at least we try to identify whether they belong to the Red Army or the Nazis," Bocharov said.
"And then we decide where to bury them - on which side of the Rossoshka Memorial Cemetery."
That grim memorial lies a 40-minute drive from the city and is a chilling sight.
At the cemetery, two sprawling fields, whose horizons are blurred by winter fog, are filled with mostly unidentified remains with Soviet soldiers to one side and their Nazi and Axis foes to the other.
Numerous plota are covered with freshly dug yellow sand from burials held just weeks or minths ago. They form small hills above the frozen ground.
"For us, this is daily work," the governor says.
Dim echoes of the 1942-1943 horrors returned to Volgograd in 2013 as the city fell victim to a string of terror attacks linked to North Caucasus militants who killed 39 people.
A bombing that targeted a city bus claimed seven lives on Oct. 21. Worse was to come when the main railroad station was hit on Dec. 29 and a trolley bus the subsequent day.
But Volgograd Mayor Andrei Kosolapov said the strikes ultimately made the city safer by spurring the security services into action.
Kosolapov said police dogs sniff every bus and train car for potential explosive devices daily. Metal detectors are ubiquitous.
"Plus, we have installed and are continuing to install video camera where - online - we can monitor every single street."
"We have enormous experience in averting terror atacks."
The soccer arena itself rests on the bank of the Volga and bears a striking resemblance to the futuristic Bird's Nest Stadium at the heart of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing.
Chief engineer Viktor Baturo walks around the stadium with pride because all the works has effectively been done. A few licks of paint and completion of the edge of the dome protecting fans from the rain is all that remains to be done.
The stadium cost US$270 million - the exact budget allotted by Russian Prsident Vladimir Putin.
Dmitry Zaks
Agence France Presse/Volgograd
Then Russia erected a light-as-air stadium for the 2018 World Cup that rises from the ground around which two million people died over 200 days in the Battle of Stalingrad - the tragic turning point of World War II.
"Every milimeter of this soil is soaked in blood," Volgograd Governor Andrei Bocharov said in an interview.
"There is not a single family living here today - not a single one - that has not lost someone."
Bocharov and the million people who live in the city now known as Volgograd hope the fans from all over the world who descend on the scene of one of history's darkest episodes will nrighten their haunted lives.
The city of Stalingrad was re-named in 1961 afrer the Volga River that stretches along its banks.
The cult of personality built around Joseph Stalin was being dismantled and the city itself resurrected from the rubble left by carpet bombing and street combat that traumatized much of Europe.
Volgograd is still rising - as are the human remains and munitions from 75 years ago.
Construction of the 45,000 seat Volgograd Arena began in November 2014. Immediately, the remains of two bodies and 20 unexploded shells were discovered.
It did not come as surprise: nearly every new building project in the city brings the discovery of World War II munitions and human bones.
"We first try to figure out their identity. This is not easy because a lot of time has passed. But at least we try to identify whether they belong to the Red Army or the Nazis," Bocharov said.
"And then we decide where to bury them - on which side of the Rossoshka Memorial Cemetery."
That grim memorial lies a 40-minute drive from the city and is a chilling sight.
At the cemetery, two sprawling fields, whose horizons are blurred by winter fog, are filled with mostly unidentified remains with Soviet soldiers to one side and their Nazi and Axis foes to the other.
Numerous plota are covered with freshly dug yellow sand from burials held just weeks or minths ago. They form small hills above the frozen ground.
"For us, this is daily work," the governor says.
Dim echoes of the 1942-1943 horrors returned to Volgograd in 2013 as the city fell victim to a string of terror attacks linked to North Caucasus militants who killed 39 people.
A bombing that targeted a city bus claimed seven lives on Oct. 21. Worse was to come when the main railroad station was hit on Dec. 29 and a trolley bus the subsequent day.
But Volgograd Mayor Andrei Kosolapov said the strikes ultimately made the city safer by spurring the security services into action.
Kosolapov said police dogs sniff every bus and train car for potential explosive devices daily. Metal detectors are ubiquitous.
"Plus, we have installed and are continuing to install video camera where - online - we can monitor every single street."
"We have enormous experience in averting terror atacks."
The soccer arena itself rests on the bank of the Volga and bears a striking resemblance to the futuristic Bird's Nest Stadium at the heart of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing.
Chief engineer Viktor Baturo walks around the stadium with pride because all the works has effectively been done. A few licks of paint and completion of the edge of the dome protecting fans from the rain is all that remains to be done.
The stadium cost US$270 million - the exact budget allotted by Russian Prsident Vladimir Putin.
Dmitry Zaks
Agence France Presse/Volgograd
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