On a quick spin of St Petersburg

US President George W. Bush set off sightseeing the moment he touched down at his Russian counterpart’s hometown of St Petersburg on Saturday.

His arrival coincided with the former imperial city’s 299th anniversary. Bush and Vladimir Putin approached the ‘‘Mother Russia’’ monument behind an honour guard carrying a wreath in Piskaryovskoye memorial cemetery for the 600,000 who died in the German siege during World War II.

Solemn music played through loudspeakers as they walked past green mounds — common graves each marked with a year from the almost 900-day siege. ‘‘(Bush) was jolted by the number of people buried in one place,’’ memorial deputy director Liliya Markova said. In the evening, Bush and Putin will attend a somewhat macabre version of Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker before embarking on a twilight boat ride.