Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ernment took over the Winter Palace (which had been little used under the czars) and met in
the Malachite Room, overlooking the Neva River. Their last meeting was on November 7,
1917. That evening, communist forces loyal to Lenin and the Bolshevik Party seized power
of the city in a largely bloodless coup. (Although the Bolsheviks took over in November,
back then Russia still used the old Julian calendar—so technically it was an “October” Re-
volution.)
• Backtrack to the stairway, and take the doorway into room 193, the....
Field Marshals' Hall:
This hall was for portraits of Russia's military gener-
als—perhaps so that the ruling family could keep names and faces straight! After 1917, the
paintings were taken down and moved to other museums. In recent years, though, the ori-
ginal portraits from the 1830s have been returned to their places here.
• The next room (194) is the....
MemorialHallofPetertheGreat:
This hall pays homage to Peter the Great, who died
in 1725, a generation before the Winter Palace's construction. You see his portrait (with
Minerva, the goddess of wisdom) and a copy of his throne. Above, on the wall to either
side, are paintings commemorating his decisive victories over Sweden, at Lesnaya in 1708
and Poltava in 1709.
