Volgograd's main train station has been fully reopened after suffering a terrorist bombing last December, with a plaque at the main entrance commemorating those who died in the blast.
The bombing, which sent shockwaves through the community just days before the New Year's holiday on Dec. 29, killed 17 people and injured 40 more. Video of the explosion quickly went viral, with Russians and Westerners alike expressing horror at the damage wrought and lives lost.
The train station attack was followed almost immediately by a trolleybus bombing on Dec. 30, with the two attacks claiming a total of 34 lives.
On Wednesday, the train station and its reconstructed central vestibule began operating normally again — just in time for Victory Day holidays. The reopening featured ceremonies presided over by regional governor Andrei Bocharov and the Orthodox Church's Volgograd metropolitan, Interfax reported.
The station's interior, which includes a number of patriotic paintings, windows and chandeliers, was reconstructed using archival photographs of the building, which was deemed an architectural monument in 1997. The clock on the building's central tower was also repaired in the reconstruction.
The reconstruction required 162 million rubles ($4.56 million), the regional government's press service told Interfax.
See also:
Parents of Volgograd Train Station Bomber Pleaded for His Return
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