Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
the man. After fleeing a second time he again arrived here from Finland, this time dis-
guised as a railway fireman, and the locomotive he rode in is displayed on the plat-
form. It's not really the same station, as it was rebuilt in the 1970s in the drabbest pos-
sible Soviet style. However, its historic significance remains. Walk out onto the
square that still bears Lenin's name and you'll see a marvellous statue of the man
himself at the far end.
HIST
HISTORIC
ORICAL B
AL BUILDING
UILDING
KRESTY PRISON
1.30pm & 3pm Sat & Sun year-round, plus 4.30pm Sat & Sun May-Oct; Ploshchad Lenina)
Kresty is St Petersburg's main holding prison; if you're busted here, Kresty's where
they take you to await whatever it is that awaits you. You wouldn't want to find out;
conditions are much better now than when the prison was at its most crowded, but it is
still hardly a pleasant place.
Kresty is the oldest working prison in Russia, built in 1892. Tours visit the holding
areas, the grounds and a small museum. This definitely constitutes a unique day out in
the city. You will have the chance to see the six-bunk cells and the frightening
solitary-confinement closets. Inmates are on-site - working, walking or peeking out at
you through slats in their cells. Visitors are told not to interact with them. The little
museum has exhibitions on past residents (including Trotsky and the entire Provision-
al Government from 1917), as well as art made by prisoners with lots of time on their
hands.
Each tour can accommodate up to 25 people, so it's worth arriving early and claim-
ing your spot in the queue (your passport must be shown on entry). Tours are in Rus-
sian only, although several tour operators organise excursions in English (
CLICK
HERE
).
HIST
HISTORIC
ORICAL SITE
AL SITE
SITE OF PUSHKIN'S DUEL
(
Место дуэли Пушкина
; Kolomyazhsky pr; Chyornaya Rechka)
This is a point of lit-
erary pilgrimage for lovers of Russia's poetic genius, Alexander Pushkin, who was
killed in a duel with the Frenchman Georges d'Anthès on 8 February 1837. The story
has developed a certain mythology around it in the past two centuries:
CLICK HERE
for details. A marble monument now stands on the place where Pushkin was shot and
there are always fresh flowers here.
