It's early morning in Volgograd, a city resting on the right bank of the Volga River. Eighty years ago, it bore a different name: Stalingrad. Today, the city is both a symbol of immense human sacrifice and a testament to resilience.

The Battle of Stalingrad, regarded by some as the most lethal battle in human history, raged here from July 1942 to February 1943. Irina Skorchenko, a curator at the Museum of the Battle of Stalingrad, recalls the staggering scale. 

"During certain periods of this grand battle, up to two million people, 2,000 tanks, 2,000 aircraft and up to 26,000 guns and mortars participated on both sides," Skorchenko says. "The combat operations took place over an area of more than 100,000 square kilometers."

More than two million lives were lost in the struggle that ultimately ended with a crucial German defeat, commonly regarded as the turning point in the European theater of World War II.

During those desperate months the Volga River was the city's lifeline. Ammunition, weapons, provisions, and soldiers were all ferried across in small boats, often at the cost of many lives. Back then, because of a lack of sailors, 14-year-old Aleksandr Eremin was put in command of one such vessel. He is now 95 and still vividly recalls the horrors.

"We went to land in Stalingrad's Tatianka settlement," Eremin told CGTN. "My father stopped the ship's engines. We heard children crying. The black smoke is coming, and over the smoke there's gunfire. Black smoke is lifting, and we've seen a boat is coming. No rows, old people inside, children are crying… Two of them try to pedal with their hands. One is holding on one side of the boat, and another from the other."

Mamayev Kurgan is a strategic hill that dominates Volgograd. During the battle, it changed hands countless times. Hundreds of thousands perished there. Today, the site is home to The Motherland Calls, one of the world's tallest statues, visited daily by thousands who come to pay tribute. Some of the best views of the Volga River are from right there.

Volgograd was almost completely destroyed during the war. But it would rise from the ashes.

"Immediately after the Battle of Stalingrad, in fact two months later, the government had already adopted a resolution on the restoration of Stalingrad," explains Pyotr Oleynikov, director of the Volgograd Architecture Museum. "By spring 1943, architects were already designing the city's rebirth."

That determination laid the foundation for the thriving city seen today. For young entrepreneurs like Artyom Avdeyev, founder of technology company Stereotech, Volgograd's legacy is not only one of tragedy but also of opportunity. 

"That period tells us that strength of spirit is very important in the development of any story," said Avdeyev. "We see great prospects for the city. There are excellent educational institutions here. There is a good environment to develop our business and industry," he says.

Avdeyev's firm produces advanced 5D printers capable of creating objects of extraordinary strength and complexity. His success reflects a broader trend: Volgograd is once again a city of builders, looking to the future while carrying forward the memory of its past.