PETERSBURG (1)

(Saint) Petersburg is beyond description. Built on a swamp from 1703, it was Europe's first planned city. Peter the Great was determined to haul Russia kicking and screaming out of the Asiatic middle ages and into 'modern' Europe. Having reconquered the swamp from the Swedes, he built first a fortress to defend it and then a new capital for his empire, looking symbolically westward over the Gulf of Finland. The capital remained here until the 1920's when the communist government, frightened of a German invasion (their fears proved justified in 1941), moved back to Moscow. So many died in the construction of Petersburg that it is said to be built on dead men's bones...



The city stands in classical magnificence about the river Neva and a number of other waterways and canals. Waterfront boulevards, ornate bridges, churches and cathedrals, parks and palaces, monuments to its intense three hundred year history - a week's visit is nothing...

The atmosphere is different to that of Moscow - more bustling but less stressed; more cultured and fashionable. The streets and public areas are light and spacious. There are no high rise, and hardly any 20th century buildings in the centre. The policy since 1945, when the repair of war damage began, has been consistent: "If it can be restored, restore it". Many new structures stand behind old facades, but the impression from the street is extraordinarily homogeneous.

Although one expects imperial magnificence in the palaces of the tsars, there are a host of palaces and houses of the nobility and wealthy society of the pre-revolutionary city fitted out to a level of luxury which the house-fronts, while often ornate, hardly suggest. We attended a "Divertissement" in the palace of the Yusupovs - admittedly one of the wealthiest families of the country - and found that the sober classical front concealed an interior to equal the Winter palace, albeit on a smaller scale. The concert was in the gilded 200-seat private theatre, complete with box for imperial visits. A mezzo-soprano and a baritone sang operatic arias, and then in the second part three couples danced classical ballet scenes. From the palace we went to the station for our train, the Red Arrow, back to Moscow - it was a suitable farewell to Petersburg.

The Yusupov palace is famous as the site of Rasputin's murder in December 1916, with Yusupov himself among the three noble murderers. It was hoped that imperial rule would be saved by eliminating this baleful influence over tsaritsa Alexandra, but Rasputin's own prophecy that the imperial family would fall if he were killed was swiftly and amply fulfilled. We avoided the 'Rasputin murder tour'...

The tour we did take was a "Peter's Original Walking Tour" - and it must be said that it was original! Our guide appeared a minute or two late, extremely casual, and asked what we wanted to see - which of course is an unanswerable question! We gave him a free hand. The unfavourable initial impression began to be corrected almost immediately by the degree of knowledge and intelligence displayed by Nikolai, who turned out to have a PhD in psychology. Aged 12 at the collapse of the Soviet union, his understanding of his country's recent past - and therefore of its present - was rather different from that of people from earlier generations with whom we have talked, but it was certainly interesting to hear his views, although his cynicism was hardly encouraging. The tour took us through inner courtyards, markets and back streets, with few of the conventional 'sights', but he spoke with the authority of 5 generations living in the city. His great grand-parents and grand-parents lived through the defining events of 20th century Petersburg: the Revolution and the Siege of Leningrad. One sight we did see was the house where Dostoievsky died - suitable for a psychologist... We ended up under the shadow of the "Cathedral on Spilled Blood" (built on the spot where Alexander II was killed by an assassin's bomb in 1881) among what were once the stables of the Winter Palace, drinking beer in the sunshine on an imported sandy beach! It was a fitting end to the tour.

We also took a more conventional boat trip along the Neva which gave an opportunity for some evening light photos of the 'Venice of the North'. Apart from that we walked miles on our own along the streets, down the canals, and round museums!

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(San) Petersburgo sobrepasa la descripcion. Construida en un pantanal a partir de 1703, fue la primera ciudad planificada de Europa. Pedro el Grande tenia la firme intencion de sacar a Rusia - a reganadientes - de la epoca medieval asiatica y hacerla un pais 'moderno' y Europea. Despues de reconquisatr el pantanal, tomado por los Suecos, construyo primero una fuerte para su defensa, y a continuacion un nuevo capital para su imperio, orientado simbolicamente hacia el Oeste y el Golfo Finlandes. El capital se mantuvo aqui hasta los anos 1920, cuando el gobierno comunista, ante el temor de una invasion alemana (lo que efectivamente se produjo en 1941) volvio a Moscu. Morieron tantos hombres en la construccion de Petersburgo que dicen que esta cimentado sobre los huesos...

La ciudad se yergue, en su esplendor clasico, alrededor del rio Neva y varios canales. Una semana no basta para conocer sus bulevares y malecones, sus puentes ornados, sus iglesias y catedrales, parques y palacios, y los monumentos de sus 300 anos de historia intensa...

El atmosfera no es el mismo de Moscu: es mas movido, pero menos estresado; de mas cultura y modernidad. Las calles y los espacios publicos son claros y amplios. Hay pocas construcciones del siglo veinte en el centro, y ninguna torre. La politica desde 1945, cuando empezaron a reparar los danos de la guerra, ha sido constante: "Si se puede restaurar, que se restaure". Muchas fachadas antiguas esconden estructuras nuevas, y la impresion desde la calle es la de una homogeneidad sorprendente.

Aunque se espera una magnificencia imperial en los palacios de los tsares, hay gran cantidad de palacios y casas de la sociedad noble y/o adinerada de la ciudad pre-revolucionaria, terminados a un nivel de lujo que las fachadas de los mismos, si bien ornadas, no sugieren. Fuimos a un "Divertissement" en el palacio de la familia Yusupov - de veras una de las mas ricas del pais - y nos encontramos con que su fachada sobria y clasica esconde un interior que iguala el del Palacio de Invierno, en escala menor, por supuesto. El concierto se realizo en un teatro privado dorado, para 200 personas, con palco para visitas imperiales. Una mezzo-soprano y un baritono cantaron arias de opera, y, en la segunda parte, tres parejas bailaron escenas de ballet clasico. Del palacio fuimos directo a la estacion para tomar el tren - la Flecha Roja - a Moscu. Una despedida perfecta de Petersburgo.

El palacio Yusupov es celebre por ser el sitio del asesinato de Rasputin en diciembre del 1916, el mismo Yusupov siendo uno de los tres asesinos nobles. Se espero salvar el gobierno imperial al eliminar esta influencia nefasta sobre la tsaritsa Alexandra, pero la profecia del mismo Rasputin, que la familia imperial caeria en el caso de su muerte, se cumplio rapida y completamente. Evitamos el 'Tur del asesinato de Rasputin'...

Un tur que hicimos era "Peter's Original Walking Tour" - hay que decir que fue realmente original! Nuestro guia aparecio, con algunos minutos de atraso, muy casual, y nos pregunto sobre lo que queriamos ver - la pregunta sin respuesta! La impresion inicial desfavorable se empezo a corregir luego con el grado de conocimiento e intelligencia de Nikolai, quien resulto ser doctorado en psicologia. Tenia 12 anos cuando cayo el gobierno sovietico, entonces su manera de entender el pasado reciente de su pais - y por lo tanto su presente - era distinta de la de personas mayores con las cuales hemos conversado, pero era muy interesante. El tur paso por patios interiores, mercados y pasajes, con pocos hitos convencionales; pero el hablo con la autoridad de cinco generaciones de residencia en la ciudad. Sus bis-abuelos y abuelos habian vivido los eventos clave de Petersburgo del siglo 20: la Revolucion y el Sitio de Leningrad. Un hito que vimos era la casa donde murio Dostoievsky - muy apropiado para un psicologo... Terminamos bajo la sombra de la "Catedral sobre Sangre Derramada" (construida en el lugar donde Alejandro II fue matado por la bomba de un asesino en 1881) entre edificios que habian sido los establos del Palacio de Invierno, tomando cerveza bajo el sol sobre una playa de arena importada! Una buena manera de terminar el tur.

Tomamos un tur mas convencional en lancha por los canales y el rio Neva, lo que nos dio la oportunidad de sacar unas fotos vespertinas de esta 'Venecia del norte'. Aparte eso, caminamos muchos kilometros solos en las calles, las orillas de los canales y los museos!