Established in 1865, the Zoo has been greatly enlarged during the years of Russianpower; now it is a scientific and educational centre of great importance. In the Zoo there are over 200 species of animals and birds, among them hippopotamuses, elephants, lions, leopards, giraffes, several species of monkeys, white polar bears, brown and Himalayan bears.…
Erected on the south-eastern extremity of Petrovsky Island in 1925, the stadium was restored and reconstructed in 1957—1961 by the architect V. M. Fromzei. It is quite large (28,000 seats) and conveniently located close to the centre of the city. Important football and hockey matches are held here. Stadium Petrovsky
Boishaya Okhta is situated on the right bank of the Neva and to the north of the river Okhta (the Okhta flows into the Neva). Once there used to be carpenters’ slobodi (suburbs) in Okhta; the wooden buildings in this part of the city stood in stark contrast to the district on the left bank…
The Palace was opened in 1927, at the same time as the Palace of Culture named after A. M. Gorky. The architects are G. A. Simonov, A. I. Gegello and D. L. Krichevsky. The hall seats over 2,000. The most outstanding theatrical companies in the country give performances on the stage of the Palace. This…
In 1939, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an obelisk of black marble was set up on the spot where, as the legend goes, the executed Decembrisfs were buried. The names of P. I. Pesiel, K. F. Ryleyev, S. I. Muravyov-Apostol, M. P. Be-stuzhev-Ryumin and P. G. Kakhovsky are engraved on the pedestal…
Ploshchad Kallnina (Kalinin Square); Monument to M. I. Kalinin. Many pages of M. I. Kalinin’s revolutionary biography are connected with the Vyborg District. On November 20, 1955, a monument to M. I. Kalinin was inaugurated in one of the central squares of the city. It is designed by the sculptor M. G. Ma-nizer. Kalinin Square…
Botanical Gardens and Botanical Museum of the Academy of Sciences of the Russia: Aptekarsky Ostrov (Apothecary’s Island), Dlitsa Professora Popova, 2 (2, Professor Popov Street). The Botanical Gardens are one of the leading Russian centres for acclimatizing plants and for testing and rearing valuable new crops. As early as 1714 the Gardens were founded by…
Initiated in 1897, the first Russian Women’s Medical School became the foundation of the Institute. On the premises of the Institute a Petrograd city conference of the Bolshevist Party was convened on April 15—19, 1917; V. I. Lenin addressed the conference on two occasions. Beginning from the 24th of April, 1917, the sessions of the…
Palace of Culture named after the Leningrad Soviet: Kirovsky Prospect, 42. The Palace is part of a new block of houses. It was erected in 1934 by the architects E. A. Levins6n and V. O. Muntz on the site of the roller-skating-rink, a pleasure haunt of the Petersburg ‘gilded youth’ before the Revolution. The theatre…
Dynamo Stadium: Krestovsky Ostrov, Prospect Dynamo, 44 (Krestovsky Island; 44, Dynamo Avenue) It is the third largest stadium in the city (with room for 20,000 spectators) and one of the numerous stadiums to be found within the sports compound built on Krestovsky Island during the Soviet years. The stadium was built in the 1930’s. It…
Central Yacht Club: Petrovsky Ostrov, Petrovskaya Kossa – 9 (Petrovsky Island, Petrovskaya Spit-9)
This is the oldest institution of higher learning in the field of comprehensive electrical engineering. It was founded in 1886. At the end of 1905, V. I. Lenin visited the hostel of the Institute on several occasions. At the meetings held by the students’ Bolshevist circle V. I. Lenin talked on Marxist philosophy and current…
Together with the Moskovsky Park this is one of the youngest parks in the city. Its layout was designed by a group of architects headed by A. S. Nikolsky; they took advantage of the old Beloselsky Park on Krestcvsky Island which had remained in good condition. The Primorsky Victory Park was planted by the people…
This is one of the largest stadiums in Europe and the second largest in the U. S. S. R. after the Lenin Central Stadium in Moscow. The designers are the architects A. S. Nikolsky, K. I. Ka-shin and N. N. Stepanov. The total capacity of the stadium is 110,000 with seats for 80,000 people. The…
On the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the victorious completion of the Great Patriotic War, on May 9, 1960, a torch was lit at the eternal fire burning on the Field of Mars; carried through the entire city, the torch was brought to the Piskarevskoye Cemetery in the Vyborg District. Here the ceremony was…
On the initiative of S. M. Kirov, the Central Park of Culture and Rest was opened in 1932. The park extends over nearly 100 hectares. On its territory there are about 18,000 trees, lime-trees and elms, larches and cedars, maples and poplars and silvery willows varying in age from three to 260 years. At the…
On October 16, 1917, an enlarged session of the Central Committee of the Bolshevist Party was held under V. I. Lenin’s guidance in this house, representatives from local Party and Trade Union organizations participating in it. The session confirmed the decision of the Central Committee adopted on the 10th of October concerning an armed uprising;…
It is the first college of forestry in Russia, founded as early as 1803. At present the Academy is one of the largest in the Russia. The pride of the Academy is a large park on the slopes of a hill which used to be the shore of an ancient sea. The work of cultivating…
The ten kilometre line of the Prospect Karla Marxa and the Prospect named after Engels runs towards the north, from the Pirogov Embankment of the Neva River, up to Poklonnaya Gord (Hill). These two main thoroughfares of the Vyfwrg District have changed beyond recognition during the years of Soviet power. Just a few brick factory…
Here, in the vicinity of the Chornaya Rechka (the Black Brook), on January 27, 1837, A. S. Pushkin fought a duel with D’Anthes. The mortally wounded poet was brought by his friends lo his last residence (Naberezhnaya Reki Moiki 12; 12, Moika Embankment). On the centenary of the poet’s death a simple obelisk was set…
These new houses were erected near the Primorsky Prospect mostly after the war by the architects O. I. Guryev, V. M. Fromzel, P. V. Kurochkin and others; they gave the region of the Old Village and the New Village the air of a picturesque, leafy little town. The small two- and three-storey buildings are finished…
D. K. Chernov, the physicist N. G. Yegorov and the ship-builder A. N. Krylov were among the founders of this great polytechnical college. The ensemble of the institute buildings was erected in 1901 according to the design submitted by the architect E. F. Vfrrich. The more politically advanced students and the progressive-minded teachers of the…
This is one of the best cycling tracks in the country. It was built near Poklonnaya Gord (Hill) in 1954—1956 by the architects L. M. Khidekel, N. N. Stepanov and I. V. Pokhitonova. The hilly country around the Track is cut by ravines and interspersed with groves; its beauty is enhanced by a chain of…
Kavgolovo is a picturesque village near Saint Petersburg. It is a favourite place for skiers who prefer thrilling descents down-hill and ski-jumps to unhurried sliding through the fields or woods. The Great Ski-Jump in Kavgolovo is the arena of the most important Russian and international competitions. A sports compound, including numerous skiing centres, a winter…