St. Petersburg is a hellava thing

Tsarskoye Selo - the Summer Palace

Visitors to St. Petersburg follow a well-worn path through the city and it’s environs: the Winter Palace and the Hermitage, arguably the biggest and grandest museum in the world, Petrodvorets, a “Versailles by the Sea” with jaw-dropping fountains and water cascades everywhere, Tsarskoye Selo, the Summer Palace and home to the Amber Room; and the city sights: St. Isaac’s Cathedral, Cathedral of the Spilt Blood, and so on.  Indeed a stunning “well-traveled path” and it was hard to not say to each other often, about everything on this path, “that’s a helluva thing”.

Hidden Corner at
the Hermitage

We avoided the tourist buses.  Even this time of year, the shoulder season, they were filled with people with twenty years even on us!  We went on our own, frequently alone, but often in the company of a St. Petersburg native with passion for their city and a uniquely Russian perspective.

We’ve read the tour guides, researched Trip Advisor, educated ourselves on the Imperial history. We’ve heard the criticism, largely western, on the opulence in St. Petersburg as a way to explain the many revolutions. What we didn’t know was the perspective of a cross-section of Russians about this city, through the October 1917 revolution, the

at the Hermitage

deaths of the last tsar, his family and most faithful servants, through the early revolutionary days and the Stalinist 1930’s, horrible WWII that took a massive toll on St. Petersburg (Leningrad, at the time), the Cold War, Glasnost and Perestroika, the collapse of the Communist Party in the early 1990’s, and the emergence of a market economy. The 20^th Century was really the century of challenge and change for St. Petersburg.   This “well-worn path” of spectacular architecture survived through it all. Thrived, some say, during a period of otherwise incredible hardship throughout Russia.

Lyudmila led us through the maze of rooms, collections, and large tourist groups in the Hermitage and the Winter Palace museum. This place has arguably the most impressive art collection in assuredly the most impressive museum building in the world. This was the palace envisioned By Peter the Great and expanded by Catherine the Great in the early 18^th century.  It seems like all revolutions begin in the square outside its gates and one was close during our visit.  Chris was scolded in Russian by a tour guide, her umbrella and flag held high so her throng of garlic and Ben Gay smelling 80-somethings could see her diminutive presence.  Apparently, Chris was lingering too long in front of a Monet and “he’s

just any old room at Tsarskoye Selo

too big for standing there so long!”, as she barged in with her gallery.  “I don’t even know how to respond to that” – Lyudmila.  Lyudmila likes the quiet passages of St. Petersburg – the back alleys, the buildings that you can walk through to get a momentary sanctuary from the rains and wind and cold, and even the quiet places within the “well-worn path” in the Hermitage.  Sure, the summer is too short, the winter gets longer just when you think it’s over, but she loves her city and can’t imagine being anywhere else.  

Maria joined us for the Summer Palace, Tsarskoye Selo.  Also a vintage of the early 18^th

Just any old Fountain at Peterhof

Century.  Tsarskoye Selo was in Nazi-occupied St. Petersburg (the main city was held by the Russians but blockaded and under siege for 900 days).  Tsarskoye Selo was looted by the Germans.  Gold leaf frescos, the Amber Room, century old paintings by the masters – all left as piles of bricks.  There is a suspicion that the palaces at Tsarskoye Selo were bombarded by the Russians to prevent the Nazis from using this consecrated place as a military HQ.

Following World War II the restoration of these glorious buildings picked up speed from the work that began after the 1917 revolution.  Many Russians believe that the opulence of the Imperial period demonstrated the strength, superiority and

dominance of Russia. Whether it’s the gold and amber-lined walls of a sitting room in Tsarskoye Selo or a bare-chested Prime Minister riding a horse bare-back, most Russians like their leaders strong, their heritage rich and displayed loudly.  Stalin and his advisors saw this as a rallying cry for a badly wounded post-war Russia and took on an impressive restoration that equals (maybe exceeds) the original construction (hey, who doesn’t hate a “re-mo”).    It kept up through the Cold War despite Russian leaders requiring everyone to grow food in collectives – “just in case, you know”. It continued

In the Dome at St. Isaac's
Catherdral

through the waning days of the socialist republic but stalled out during Perestroika – the time of incredible economic hardship for the Russian economy.  Gorbachev – largely admired in the west for his policies of openness and rebuilding - left a poor legacy among some Russians as weakening that strong sense of national pride in a strong and rich heritage and future. The restoration continues today giving the illusion of Imperial elegance with cheaper contemporary material that gives the original perhaps even more brilliance. “It’s a good and well-respected profession” fueled by demand from the nouveaux riche in this new market economy who want the Imperial Elegance within their own homes. 

St. Petersburg is a hellava thing