Thousands of people are gathering in the Russian city of Volgograd to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the end of one of the most crucial battles of World War II.

The Battle of Stalingrad saw more than 2 million Soviet and German soldiers desperately fighting in the snow and mud for six months.

The Germans eventually surrendered in a battle that not only changed the course of the war but helped forge Russians' sense of who they were and who they continue to be.