June 1-2, 2014 St. Petersburg, Russia More thoughts

There is so much to see and learn about in Russia. The history is rich and varied. St. Petersburg has been the home to Tsars and their courts, occupied by Nazis during World War II, ruled by Communists after WWII, and is now embracing capitalism and many of the same problems other countries are experiencing.

St. Petersburg, founded in 1703, is home to 5 million residents. It is built on 42 islands and has 300 bridges connecting them, making it the “Venice of the North.” It has had four different names since its beginning – St. Petersburg, Petrograd, Leningrad, and again, St. Petersburg. St. Petersburg was the capital of Russia until Soviet times when it was moved to Moscow.

Alexander II abolished serfdom in the 1860s and he was assassinated by terrorists shortly after that – similarly to Abraham Lincoln when he signed the Emancipation Proclamation in the USA. After the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, all of the palaces became property of the state and the Czar and his family were exiled to Siberia. In 1919 the entire family was killed and in recent years, their identities were confirmed through DNA testing. Much of the art that belonged to the Czar’s family was moved to the Hermitage which was turned into a museum.

During WWII, St. Petersburg suffered through 900+ days of siege. Many of the buildings were heavily damaged, but they have been working hard to restore them. In the Church of the Spilled Blood, there are over 7600 square meters of mosaics!

Fun stuff:

Count Stroganoff was a real person in St. Petersburg and he was injured in battle, losing use of one of his hands. His chef created a dish which had cut up pieces of meat and was served at the Stroganoff Palace. There is now a restaurant in the same location which specializes in stroganoff.

Co-ed common schools did not appear in St. Petersburg until after WWII. Education is probably one of the biggest concerns of most citizens.

The income tax rate is 13% flat rate. Civil wedding ceremonies are much more common than church weddings. After the weddings, brides & groom and their wedding party visit many of the beautiful palace grounds for photos. We saw a couple brides today!


Bicycling is not at all popular in St. Petersburg. The drivers are aggressive and there are no bike lanes. The weather is usually harsh or wet, so that discourages bicycling, as well. They do have a good metro/subway system, so many people use public transportation.

During the Communist ruled Soviet regime, citizens were given apartments – usually one or two rooms. With the fall of Communism in 1991, they were able to keep those apartments, sell them, or pass them on to their children or grandchildren. Moscow is the only city in Russia where it is more expensive to live than St. Petersburg.


American fast food restaurants appear in SPB.


Even in Russia, people dress their dogs in silly clothes.



Russia has large oil supplies, so the price of gas is relatively inexpensive compared to much of Europe. There are approximately 35 Russian rubles to 1 USD, so it is less than $1/liter – making 1 gallon of gas about $3.50 USD.