Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
262
Impressions
Amid thickets of exotic shrubs, a fountain threw up a column of fresh and sparkling
water; its spray, illumined by innumerable wax lights, shone like the dust of diamonds
and refreshed the air, always kept in agitation by the movement of the dance. It
seemed like the palace of the fairies: all ideas of limits disappeared.
—French ambassador Marquis de Custine, about
a ball at the Mikhailovsky Palace in 1839
In sharp contrast to the reverent, almost decadent monuments in the center of town
is
Piskarevo Park and Memorial Cemetery
(Prospekt Nepokorionnikh)
, open
daily sunrise to sunset. The mass graves in this vast and somber park hold the bodies of
about half a million people who died during the 900-day Nazi siege of Leningrad during
World War II. Most were civilians who died of cold, starvation, and disease. St. Peters-
burg residents, nearly all of whom have a relative who perished during the blockade,
come here regularly to lay flowers and remember. It's far from the center and most tour-
ist sights, but several tours include a stop here. The long central alley leads to a Soviet-
style statue of a grieving woman representing the Motherland, and the rest of the graves
are uniform and extend far into the park. An exhibit of photographs and documents
related to the siege is housed in a pavilion; for a fuller story, visit the St. Petersburg His-
tory Museum's blockade exhibit (see description earlier in this chapter). It's far from
public transport, so take a taxi if you're on your own. Allow 2 hours with transport time.
14
7
LITERARY ST. PETERSBURG
Anna Akhmatova Museum
One of St. Petersburg's most eloquent and pro-
lific chroniclers, Akhmatova watched her city survive revolution, civil war, political ter-
ror, and world war. From the 1920s to the 1950s, she lived in this apartment in the
“Fountain House” (Fontanny Dom), a former palace with a history as troubled as her
own. The four-room museum is rich in detail despite its small size, and English-language
printouts in each room provide the depth and context you need to make this a worth-
while visit. The audioguide provides more ambience but not much more information.
The museum is hard to find: Enter through the arch on Liteiny Prospekt and head for
the small park; turn left and head to the apartment entrance at the southwest corner of
the park. Akhmatova struggled here to write freely under the budding Soviet state while
avoiding arrest. From here she prepared the care packages she sent to her son when he
was imprisoned for political reasons, some of which are on display. Her tangled love
triangle with Nikolai Punin and his wife played itself out here, with all three sharing the
apartment at one point. The most vivid part of the museum is the photo album through
which visitors can leaf, showing Akhmatova and her family growing up through the
turbulence of early-20th-century Russia. The building, which once belonged to the fam-
ily of Count Sheremetev, was transferred to the state after the revolution. It became an
Arctic research institute, and though some residents were allowed to continue living here,
they could enter only with special ID cards. Akhmatova's is shown here, with the
renowned poet's profession listed simply as “resident.” Allow an hour for the visit.
