Blogs from Russia, Europe - page 331

Europe » Russia » Northwest » Moscow July 24th 1975

An Aeroflot flight brought us from Leningrad to Moscow. We stayed at an Intourist hotel. Sightseeing in Moscow focused on Red Square and the Kremlin. I'd always waned to see St. Basil's Cathedral since reading about it in a vintage National Geographic magazine. There was also a visit to the famous GUM (Gosudarstvennyi Universalnyy Magazin) store off Red Square. GUM was described in the West as a department store, but the structure, opened in 1893, was really more of what I would call a shopping arcade. In 1914 Baedeker called it the "Trading Rows" a translation of its name in pre-Soviet times. We saw Lenin's mausoleum on Red Square, for which there was a long queue. There were also visits to Moscow State University and to the VDNKh (Exhibition of Achievements of the National Economy). In ... read more

Petrodvorets - Peterhof

Europe » Russia » Northwest » Peterhof July 22nd 1975

Marine Canal

AndrewHL

Peterhof is the extensive estate of palaces, gardens and spectacular fountains as imagined by Peter the Great. In the Soviet era it was called Petrodvorets. It is always a must see on a visit to St. Petersburg. Along with many of the former imperial estates and palaces surrounding Leningrad, it had been destroyed during World War II and the Siege of Leningrad. While many other historic properties, including the Catherine Palace, were still in a state of restoration in 1975, Petrodvorets had been restored within the 30 years since the war. Then as now, Petrodvorets is reached via hydrofoils skimming along the Gulf of Finland. Our visit to St. Petersburg also included a journey to the suburb of Pushkin, once known as Tsarskoye Selo. Tsarskoye Selo had been home to several opulent eighteenth century palaces during ... read more

Leningrad

Europe » Russia » Northwest » Saint Petersburg July 20th 1975

Alexander Column

AndrewHL

We reached Finland Station and Leningrad at about 9:30 a.m.. Finland Station is famous for being the station through which Lenin returned to Russia from exile in 1916. After disembarking we walked the length of the train to the exit. A green electric locomotive was at the head end. Inside the station, the steam locomotive that powered Lenin's train was on display. Prominently on display outside was a statue of Lenin at the exit. "They have him everywhere" someone said. But I knew the whole story and was sure the statue was there to commemorate the role the station had played in the Revolution. We met our Intourist guide at the entrance to the station. Masha would keep close watch on us during our stay and made sure no one strayed. That as the way it ... read more

The Frontier at Luzhayka

Europe » Russia » Northwest » Vyborg July 19th 1975

Birch Forest

AndrewHL

Saturday evening was our train to Leningrad. A very adventurous way to enter the Soviet Union thought I! The train departed from Helsinki Station, designed by Eliel Saarinen, with its destination Finland Station in Leningrad. The Soviet Railways (SZD) train backed down to the platform, and very mysterious looking it was. The sleeping car had compartments for four passengers, each with two bunkbeds and a table at the window. A corridor ran down one side of the car. Along the corridor were round jump seats at the windows. The conductor sat at one end of the car and kept an eye on the corridor. After we had departed, he collected our passports and customs and currency declarations and took them back to his post. I thought about the stories I'd heard of the Russian floor wardens ... read more

Remembering the old days of the USSR

Europe » Russia May 24th 1974

St Basil's Cathedral in Red Square

Nomad Old Farts

We were up early for what was for me to be hopefully the highlight of the trip, our visit to the USSR, as the main reason I chose this particular Sundowner’s itinerary was because most of them bypassed the communist countries and made it straight from Athens to London. We made it the 30kms to the Romania-USSR border by around 8am. Discharge from Romania took around 30 minutes and was no hassle. However, we weren’t so lucky on the Russian Immigration side, although that was not unexpected. Each person was individually searched, with the two main items of interest of Customs being a check of money and searching for subversive literature. I could have given them some grief on both counts, what with my substantial collection of Asian banknotes and about 8 Newsweeks that had been ... read more

Brief history of Russia

Founded in the 12th century, the Principality of Muscovy, was able to emerge from over 200 years of Mongol domination (13th-15th centuries) and to gradually conquer and absorb surrounding principalities. In the early 17th century, a new Romanov Dynas...more history

Forum Topics for Russia

U.S. citizen obtaining ...Posts: 5

Moscow or Saint Petersb...Posts: 14

he most distant region ...Posts: 3

Kamchatka travelling su...Posts: 2

Holiday to Russia- Were...Posts: 18

pepper spray in russiaPosts: 2

Irkutsk/Lake Baikal Tim...Posts: 5

Trans-Mongolian StopsPosts: 6

St Petersburg for New Y...Posts: 11

That Dreaded Russian Vi...Posts: 9

Destination brand image...Posts: 3