A. S. Pushkin Academic Theatre. Its history is a vivid illustration of the growth of old Russian and modern Russiandramatic art. On August 31, 1832, the Aleksandrinsky Theatre (as it was called before the Revolution) gave its first performance. It was M. V. Kryukovsky’s historical drama Prince Pozharsky. The building of the theatre, wonderfully harmonious…
DetailsThe State Public Library named after M. E. Saltykoy-Shchedrin is one of the largest book repositories and a world-known bibliography-research centre. It contains over 13,000,000 catalogued items, three times more than in pre-revolutionary years. Nearly 4,000 people come to the library every day in order to draw out more than 12,000 books, magazines, newspapers and…
DetailsThe monument to M. I Glinka, the great Russian composer and founder of our national opera and symphonic. art, was erected in 1906 according to the design of the sculptor P. P. Bach.
Monument to N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov in Teatralnaya Ploshchad (Theatre Square). In 1952, near the building of the conservatoire where the outstanding Russian composer taught his students, a monument to N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov was unveiled; this memorial was designed by the sculptor V. Y. Bogolyubov and V. I. Ingal This is the oldest Russian conservatoire; it…
DetailsThis is one of the oldest theatres in Saint Petersburg; its stage history is organically associated with the development of Russian musical, vocal and choreographic art. On October 2, 1860, the patriotic opera Ivan Susanin by M. I. Glinka was staged in the building designed by the well-known theatre architect A. K. Kavos and built…
DetailsBy the decree of the RussianGovernment, a Biological station was established here in accordance with I. P. Pavlov’s plan. The great physiologist worked for many years in this scientific research centre —the Capital of Conditioned Reflexes. In 1951, close to the building of the Institute, a monument to I. P. Pavlov was set up: a…
DetailsNumerous rivers, canals, bridges and embankments lend the city a charm all of its own. Here is one of the 600 bridges — the Bank Bridge over the Griboyedov Canal. From this wharf steamers sail down the Neva to the Central Park of Culture and Rest named after S. M. Kirov, as well as up…
DetailsThe world-khown historical building of the Smolny is the symbol of Lenigrad (in USSR) — the city of three revolutions, the cradle of the Great October Revolution. There are two memorial plaques on the portico of the main entrance; the inscriptions on them read: ‘Here, in the Smolny, were the headquarters of the armed uprising…
DetailsThe collection of the museum includes about 4,000 items; they show the chief landmarks in Suvorov’s life and the development of his military genius. The museum has gathered valuable archive materials and various thophies captured by the Russian army under the command of Suvorov. The building of the museum was erected in 1904 in accordance…
DetailsThe museum was set up in 1946. N. A. Nekrasov, the great Russian people’s poet, lived in this apartment for 20 years — from 1857 to the last day of his life; he died here in 1877. The same building housed the editorial office of the magazine Sovremennik edited by N. A. Nekrasov and, at…
DetailsThis is the first theatre for children in the RUSSIA It was established in 1921 on the initiative of the well-khown art-director A. A. Bryantzev.- The opening performance was given on February 22, 1922, when The Hunchback Horse, a stage version of P. P. Yershov’s fairy tale, was presented to the public. During the years…
DetailsThe Comedy Theatre was set up in 1929. In the 1930’s it staged works by West European classics, including plays by Shakespeare, Lope de Vega, Sheridan. During recent years the repertoire of the theatre has included plays by Russian and Russianclassics, as well as by contemporary foreign playwrights. N. P. Akimov, People’s Artists of the…
DetailsThis building formerly housed the Mikhailovsky Manege; it was erected in 1798—1801 to V. F. Brenna’s design and remodelled in 1824 by the architect C. I. Rossi. It was in this building that on April 15, 1917 V. I. Lenin addressed a meeting of the soldiers of an armoured division. And later, on the 1st…
DetailsBy the order of Paul I a castle was designed by the architect V. I. Bazhenov, with V. F. Brenna participating, and erected for him in 1797 — 1800; the castle was surrounded by moats spanned by draw-bridges. Its owner lived here for only a short time. On March 11, 1801, Paul I was strangled…
DetailsThe extremely rich collections of the main Ethnography Museum of the country show different features of the life and culture of the peoples of the RussianUnion. The exhibitions are displayed in a building especially erected for the museum in 1910 by the architect V. F. Svinyin. Various authentic articles acquaint the visitor with the occupations,…
DetailsThis is one of the oldest Petersburg gardens; it was laid out with the participation of the architect C. I. Rossi at the beginning of the 19th century. The Mikhailovsky Garden forms part of the architectural ensemble of the Field of Mars. The park railings, the bridge and the garden pavilion with the elegant landing-stage…
DetailsThe Saint Petersburg Philhar mania is the oldest concert sponsoring society in the country. At the close of the 19th century the Russian Musical Society gave numerous concerts here; outstanding performers appeared before audiences in the Grand Hall, among them the pianist Anton Rubinstein; P. I. Tchaikovsky conducted his Sixth Symphony there. The Symphony Orchestra…
DetailsThe bronze Puhkin in the Square of Arts is grreeting the city sung by him and the “generation, young and new”. This is one of the latest monuments in Saint Petersburg set up in 1957 during the celebration of the 250th anniversary of Saint Petersburg. The monument is the creation of the sculptor M. K.…
DetailsThe State Russian Museum shares with the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow the fame of the richest treasure-house of national art. The museum was opened in 1898. Exposed to view here are paintings, sculptures, drawings as well as works of folk-art and applied arts; extending over the period from the 10th century up to the…
DetailsIn 1833, in the building erected by the architect A. P. Bryullov (the fagade was designed by C. Rossi), a theatre was opened where French and Italian actors staged musical comedies and vaudevilles for an exclusive aristocratic set. A new creative life began at the theatre in 1918, when a new kind of theatre-goer heard…
DetailsInteresting All-Union and international competitions between the leading chess players are often held at the club. The Saint Petersburg chess-school has the steady reputation of being one of the most skilled in our country. M. M. Botvinnik, the world chess champion, is one of the founders of the Saint Petersburg chess-school. The club saw many…
DetailsThe Kazan Cathedral looks striking in the Dright rays of the rising sun. The museum was founded in 1932. The exhibits acquaint the visitor with the history of religion and the progress of the materialist and atheist outlook which is opposed to it. The collections of the museum are formed of memorial objects and documents…
DetailsPetersburg. View of St. Isaac’s Cathedral and Senate Square. Lithograph. A. Duran. 1845 The cathedral is an outstanding monument of the architecture of the first half of the 19th century. 440,000 builders worked on it over a period of forty years, from 1818 to 1858. The author of the original design was A. Montferrand; the…
DetailsFounded in- 1877 as the Post-and-Telegraph Museum, it dealt with collecting all kinds of rarities and curiosities. Only after 1917 did the museum become a real cultural and educational institution. Its exhibits are housed in the former palace of a nobleman built in the 18th century. Among the unique exhibits of the Historical Section are…
DetailsThe huge five-domed cathedral (85 metres high) of the Smolny Nunnery is the centre of an architectural ensemble built in 1748—1764 to the design of the architect V. V. Rastrelli, an outstanding master of the baroque style. In 1832—1835 the architect V. P. Stasov completed the construction and the fittings of the cathedral.
DetailsThe building is a memorial of the history of the Great October Socialist Revolution. Here, on April 4, 1917, V. I. Lenin expounded his famous April Theses. On May 31, at the Petrograd Conference of Factory Committees that took place in the palace, Vladimir Ilyich delivered a speech on the problem of workers’ control over…
DetailsThe station is named after the writer N. G. Chernyshevsky, the great philosopher of the Russian Revolutionary Democrats, and is situated on the prospect bearing his name. The design of the station is unpretentious but modern. The plain interior of the entrance-hall (architects A. S. Getsky and V. P. Shuvalova) contrasts with its striking facade…
DetailsThis park, the first in St. Petersburg, called the Summer Garden, was laid out in 1704. The architectural and sculptural ensemble in and around the garden is one of the most treasured memorials of Russian culture of the early 18th century. The Summer Garden contains a very old and unique collection of park sculptures. It…
DetailsThe monument by the sculptor M. I. Kozldvsky represents the great general as Mars, the ancient Romans’ god of war. The basreliefs on the pedestal picturing Glory and Peace were modelled by F. G. Gordeyev. The monument was placed on the drive to Kirov bridge in 1818. The Monument to Suvorov opens the vista of…
DetailsSwan Canal (canal Swan) – Canal in St. Petersburg. Joins the River Neva Irek Sink. Swan Canal between the Summer Garden (Summer Garden Island) and the Field of Mars (1st Admiralty Island).
A. S. Pushkin lived in this house from October 1836 to the day of his death on January 29, 1837. The rooms of the museum contain many of the things that belonged to the poet — his writing-table, desk, inkstand and pen, his portraits painted by famous contemporary artists during Pushkin’s life and after his…
DetailsThe plaque on the facade indicates that from March 5 to July 5, 1917, the editorial office of the Bolshevist newspaper Pravda was housed in this building. On April 4, 1917, the day after his return to Petersburg from exile, V. I. Lenin called at the editorial office. From that day right up to July…
DetailsThe State Hermitage is a rich treasure house of world culture and art. It is the greatest history and’ arts museum in the RUSSIA — a museum of world significance. The collections of the museum began to accumulate as far back as the 18th century, when they were considered the personal property of the tsar’s…
DetailsThis is the central square of Saint Petersburg and one of the most beautiful squares in the world. The scene of traditional festive demonstrations and rallies, the square witnessed great historical events in Russia. It was here that on Januarv 9, 1905, by order of the tsar a peaceful working people’s demonstration, which was marching…
DetailsThe silhouette of the Admiralty, engraved on the medal For the Defence of Saint Petersburg, is a symbol of the hero-city, the port-city. The setting up of the Admiralty was closely connected with the foundation of the Russian Navy and took place in the early years of the construction of the city. The then shipyard…
DetailsAdmiring the Bronze Horseman This famous work of the sculptor E. M. Falconet is one of the jems of world art. (The head of the rider was created by Marie-Anne CoIIot, the sculptor’s assistant, and the snake was modelled by F. G. Gordeyev, another of Falconet’s assistants). A monolithic slab for the pedestal (called Thunder…
DetailsThis square, Senatskaya Ploshchad, was given the name of the Decembrists because on that memorable day, December 14, 1825, this square was the scene of the first open armed uprising of the revolutionary young noblemen, afterwards known as the Decembrists, who proclaimed the abolition of serfdom and autocracy. The architectural ensemble of the square is…
DetailsThe complex of former warehouses for the storing and drying of ship-building timber, called New Holland, is a fine monument of industrial architecture of the 18th century. It was designed and built by S. I. Chevakinsky and J. B. Vallin-Delamothe in 1765—1780. The splendid monumental portal and arch are of particular interest. New Holland Island…
DetailsThe exhibition of the museum is housed in an old mansion. It reflects the history of the city from the time of its foundation up to the present day. There is a special section called Socialist Saint Petersburg that contains some interesting documents and exhibits revealing the great socialist changes effected in Saint Petersburg during…
DetailsThe stela stands not far from Lieutenant Schmidt Bridge (former Nikolayevsky Bridge), just opposite the place where on October 25, 1917, the revolutionary cruiser Aurora heralded the victory of the Socialist Revolution by firing a salvo. The obelisk was designed by the architect A. I. Qegello and put up in 1939.
In 1806 two column-shaped lighthouses adorned with rostrums (sculptural replicas of ships’ prows) were built on the Spit of Vasilyevsky Island. The columns were designed by the architect Thomas de Thomon. The mighty figures, seated at the foot of the columns, personify Russia’s trade routes — the Neva, the Volkhov, the Volga and the Dnieper.…
DetailsFounded in 1714, the Museum of Natural History was transferred to this building in 1727. The building of the Kunstkamera, where the museum came to be housed, was erected in 1718— 1734 by the architects G. I. Mattarnovi, G. Kiaveri and M. G. Zemtsov. In the 1740’s the structure was remodelled under the supervision of…
DetailsThe museum was founded in 1709 by Peter I’s edict ordering the formation of a Model-Kdmora (Model Chamber) in the building of the Admiralty. Nowadays its collections are housed in the former Fondovaya Birzha (Stock Exchange). The Exchange building is the centre of a majestic architectural ensemble on the Strelka (Spit) of Vasilyevsky Island, created…
DetailsThe exhibition of the museum, which was founded in 1899, shows the development of Russian literature beginning with the most ancient masterpiece — Slovo o Polku fgoreve (The Lay of Igor’s Host). Special sections of the exhibition are devoted to the work of A. N. Radishchev, M. Y. Lermontov, N. V. Gogol, I. S. Turgenev,…
DetailsThis is one of the earliest buildings in the city designed in the strict classical style by the architect D. Quarenghi. It was erected in 1783—1789. In the entrance-hall a coloured mosaic picture of The Battle of Poltava, the original of which had been sketched by M V. Lomonosov in 1762— 1764, was put up…
DetailsThe University was founded in 1819. It is one of the most important educational and scientific centres in our country. The building of the University, a fine specimen of 18th century architecture, was erected bv Domenico Trezzini in 1722— 1742 to house Peter I’s Twelve Colleges. The scientific schools headed by the mathematician P. L.…
DetailsThis Academy of the Three Noblest Arts (painting, sculpture and architecture) was founded in Petersburg in 1757. In 1764—1788 the splendid building, which has been preserved in its original state up to the present day, was constructed according to the design of the architects A. F. Kokorinov and J. B. Vallin-Delamothe. During the 200 years…
DetailsThe museum was created in 1949 to commemorate the centenary of the scientist’s birth. For eighteen years I. P. Pavlov lived in this flat; he died here in 1936. His study and the drawing room have been preserved intact. Many of our country’s prominent scientists lived in the house, and memorial plaques on the fagade…
DetailsOpened in 1959, it is one of the city’s first sports grounds with an artificial ice skating-rink. Figure skating enthusiasts are now able to train the whole year round.
This is the world’s oldest college of mining, founded in 1773. The building of the Institute is an outstanding example of early 19th century architecture. It is an inspired creation of the architect A. N. Voronikhin and the sculptors S. S. Pimenov and V. I. Demut-Malinovsky. In 1808 two sculpture groups — Heracles fighting Antaeus…
DetailsEvery Saint Petersburger is well acquainted with the peculiar sky-line of the eight-storey tower of this huge building. This monumental edifice was built in 1937 according to the design of the architects N. A. Trotsky and S. N. Kazak. There are many spac.ous halls in the Palace: a theatre seating 1,300, a dancing-hall, a cinema…
DetailsThe building of new houses and the planting of trees and bushes in this district have been effected on a large scale since the end of the war. Construction work is particularly intensive in Gavanskaya Street, Nalichnaya Street and Nalichny Pereulok On both sides of the Bolshoi Prospect trees and shrubs have been planted; there…
DetailsA fortress, a gaol and a museum — these three words comprise the history of one of the most remarkable memorials of the struggle which the Russian people waged to regain their ancient lands along the Neva River. It is also a monument to the heroic life and struggle of several generations of Russian revolutionaries.…
DetailsThis is the point of departure for ships plying the Saint Petersburg — Petrodvorets, Saint Petersburg — Kronstadt and Saint Petersburg — Zelenogorsk lines and crossing the Gulf of Finland.
One of the best monuments to the founder of the Communist Party and the RussianState, if symbolizes the remarkable revolutionary history of the city. The memorial was designed by the sculptor S. A. Yevseyev and the architects V. A. Shchuko and V. G. Qelfreich. It was inaugurated on November 7, 1926 to commemorate one of…
DetailsThe Finland railway line was opened in 1862 and the old buiIding of the station was erected in 1870. The station and the square in front of it are closelv associated with the remarkable historic and revolutionary event — the unforgettable welcome given by the revolutionary Petrograd to Vladimir Ilyich Lenin who came back to…
DetailsThe cottage of the founder of the city was the first dwelling house in Petersburg. It was erected in May 1703, and has been kept in its original state up to the present day. In 1784 a stone shelter was built over the cottage to protect it from decay. The permanent exhibition in the cottage…
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