Category: St Petersburg

Sphinxes on the Neva

Standing on University Embankment on  the right bank of the Great Neva river,  among some of the oldest buildings of Saint Petersburg, tourists, particularly those passing on the river in boats, are often surprised to encounter two large Egyptian sphinxes.  Napoleon’s Egyptian campaign at the turn of the Nineteenth century stimulated an interest in all […]

‘I dreamed I dwelt in marble halls’*

Recently, ‘Peterskaya Uslada’ (Petersburg Delight) posted pictures on Twitter of the extraordinary marble hall that can be found in the Palace that was owned from 1830 onward by the Kushelev-Bezborodko family (see image above). Although the interior was remodelled in the middle of the 19th century by the son of the first owner, Count Nikolay […]

Cholera hits St Petersburg in 1831

  Nicholas 1 confronts rioters during the Cholera Epidemic of 1830-31 As seems appropriate in these times of pandemic, I am currently researching the cholera epidemic that hit Russia in 1830 to 1831.  The reason for my interest is that my new work in progress, The Legacy,  is set in these years, and therefore the impact […]