On arrival in St Petersburg, I was told that the city has 6,000 palaces. At first, I did not believe it. Four days later, when I completed a round of the city, I felt that perhaps more would have been built, if the Tsars were not removed and the nobles were not exiled after the 1917 Bolshevik revolution, which took place in this city. There are 200 huge palaces on the banks of the Neva river in the city centre itself. St. Petersburg became famous for the longest siege in the world, by Adolf Hitler for 908 days, during the World War II (1939-45).

Peter was only 10 years old when he was crowned as Tsar in 1682. After coming of age, he ruled over Russia upto 1725. Later, he was titled Peter the Great. He felt the need for modernizing Russia, and started building the planned city of St. Petersburg, abutting the Baltic sea and nearer to Europe in 1703. He then shifted his capital from Moscow to St. Petersburg.

St. Petersburg is built on 100 islands joined by 700 bridges. It spreads on both sides of the Neva river. Our hotel was conveniently situated at the point where the city’s main thoroughfare, the five kilometres long Prince Alexander Nevsky prospect, meets the Neva river.

One of the main attractions of St. Petersburg is the famous Hermitage Museum, housed in a part of the huge baroque syle blue and white Winter Palace, on the banks of the Neva river. Built by the Swiss-Italian architect Rostrelli. From 1754 onwards it remained the residence of the Tsars, till 1917. It is one of the largest and most respected art museums in the world, with 3 million exhibits. The museum’s main collection was built up by Tsarina Catherine the Great. This section of the Hermitage was opened to the public in 1852. Its holding of French art, especially of Impressionist paintings, is exceptionally rich. I was exhilarated to see the original paintings of so many artists at the same place. These included the works of Claude Monet, Paul Cezane, Auguste Renoir, Francoise Goya, Rembrandt and many others. Two of Leonardo da Vinci’s and one of Michalengelo’s paintings are the museum’s proud possessions. Going up the ornamental Jordan staircase and roaming around the myriad galleries, I marvelled at the exquisite interior decoration and the opulent wealth of art objects.

In the middle of the square and in front of the Hermitage, stands the gargantuan Victory Column, which commemorates the famous 1812 campaign against Napoleon Bonaparte. The Hermitage theatre is in a part of the palace. It holds ballet and opera shows of very high standard. I saw Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake here.

Not very far from the Winter Palace is the huge and majestic Nikolayevsky Palace, where folk dance shows are held every night. They follow the practice of welcoming guests from the main gate to the hall door. Men and women in period costumes and blowing trumpets, perform the welcoming ceremony as our gayans and bayans do in Assam. The folk dancers appeared very matured to me and perfect in their art. They had supple bodies. Their facial and muscle movements were superb. The music, both vocal and instrumental, was splendid. During the long interval, a cocktail party was thrown in the upstairs foyer below the huge chandelier. Besides champagne, wines and other soft drinks, a variety of snacks and fruits were served in tastefully decorated tables. Hostesses with flowing white gowns, embroidered tiaras and matching white gloves welcomed the guests.

The churches and cathedrals, damaged by the Communists, have been repaired and restored after 1991. The most venerated place of worship in St. Petersburg is the magnificent St. Isaac’s Cathedral, located in the Isaac square. One of the finest monuments built in the 19th century, this Cathedral has a huge golden cupola, which is claimed to be the fourth largest in the world. The Cathedral is richly endowed with monolithic columns, paintings, mosaics, sculptures, marbles and semi-precious stones. The other important churches include the St. Peter and Paul Cathedral (inside a former prison), with its landmark needle-thin spire and the weather vane on top, in the form of an angel with a cross. I also saw the Cathedral on the Spilt Blood. This was built in imitation of the Basilica of Moscow. It stands at the spot where Tsar Alexander II was blown to pieces by Anarchists in 1881 in protest against the Tsar’s failure to expedite reform.

Peter the Great’s inseparable drinking companion – Prince Menshikov built his own beautiful palace in the Dutch style, and lavishly endowed it with imported Delft porcelain. Another tourist attraction on the Neva river is the Admiralty building, which now houses a Naval Academy. On a memorable boat ride on the Neva river, I saw the battleship Aurora which had fired the warning shots at 9.40 PM for the Bolsheviks to start their revolution at midnight of October 25-26, 1917. Nearby, two Egyptian sphinxs, stolen from the Karnak temple, stand on either side of the steps going down to the river.

Outside St. Petersburg, I visited Peterhof, about 30 kilometers to the West, where the stunning complex, designed by top architects and built by more than 5000 workmen, is a sprawling mini city with palaces, grottoes, parks, fabulous fountains and ornamental gardens. From its pier, small barges and hydrofoils ply to the city and to Finland, which is just 100 kilometers away. A pretty palace in the vicinity has been spruced up and is used by Putin for holding summit meetings.

About 35 kilometers to the South of St. Petersburg is the town of Tsarskoye Selo or Tsar’s village, where Tsarina Catherine the Great’s Summer Palace is located. The surrounding pavilions, the manicured gardens, the cascading fountains and the statues are really splendid. The great Russian poet Aleksander Pushkin studied in the elite Lyceum (school), next to the palace. That is why the locality is called Pushkin town.

The places to see in St. Petersburg are so many that one visit cannot include them all. It is truly a city of art and culture.

(The writer was Chief Secretary, Assam, during 1990-95).

HN Das