A white-haired woman walked slowly to the cemetery with a bunch of roses in her hand. She climbed a few steps and laid roses at the foot of a statue of the Motherland, portrayed as a grieving woman, at the Piskarevsky Memorial commemorating the Leningrad defenders who died during Nazi Germany's two and a half years siege in the city.

As St. Petersburg prepares 60th anniversary of the victory of the Great Patriotic War, the 83-year-old Evgeni Vecheslavovna, a war veteran awarded with five hero medals, was among those at the cemetery to pay tribute to the people killed by Nazi forces during the WWII.

Ms. Vecheslavovna told Xinhua that everybody should remember those who were killed by Nazi forces. "We have many thanks to them because we are alive today."

Ms. Vecheslavovna, a soldier in a logistics unit in the wartime period, said she did not hate the Germans now, as it is not the fault of the ordinary German people.

On the German government's apology for the wartime aggression, she said: "We think their apology is sincere and we have fully accepted it. Our president (Vladimir Putin) now is engaged in developing good relations with Germany. We understand each other."

Ms. Vecheslavovna said she was invited to visit Germany years ago and visited the Nazi death camps. "I talked with young German people there and they do not like the Nazis either. They have deep hatred for (Adolf) Hitler.

She regarded the 60th anniversary of the Great Patriotic War asof a significant event for her life, adding that because war veterans are getting fewer and fewer now.

She said she was often invited by schools near her residence to give lectures on the history of Leningrad defense and stories about the Soviet people fighting against Nazis. Ms. Vecheslavovna said the students were deeply moved by her stories and showed their sympathy for her horror experiences during the wartime and the 900-day siege of Leningrad.

"They wept when they heard the story, I think it is a good education to them", she added.

Ms. Vecheslavovna said for over two and a half years the Nazis kept Leningrad under siege, preventing any movement of people, many people died of cold and starvation during the blockade. However, the people in Leningrad did not give in.

President Vladimir Putin last Tuesday delivered an address to school children in the run up to the May 9 celebrations. "Today's schoolchildren are the last generation who have the chance to speak with the participants in the Great Patriotic War."

The president advised them to "talk to the veterans, ask them questions, and do not forget to thank them for all they have done for us."

Near the entrance of Piskarevsky Memorial, there is an eternal flame, where everyone stops and observes a minute's silence in mourning for all those who lost their lives during the siege. About half a million of them, including 420,000 civilians, were buried in the cemetery's 186 mass graves. The cemetery is the largest one in the world, created in the years of war.

Over 26.6 million Soviet people were killed in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, the war of the Soviet Union against Nazi Germany, showed official statistics.

After the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991, residents of the Leningrad voted to rename the city as St. Petersburg.