In the footsteps of historical figures

The history of Saint Petersburg is connected with the names of rulers, writers, architects, and statesmen. Their decisions, ideas, and creativity shaped the city's appearance, its culture, and its significance in the history of the country.

Портрет екатерины 1

Catherine I: how a former laundress became the mistress of the empire

Catherine I: biography of Marta Skavronskaya, meeting with Peter the Great, 'campaign wife', coronation, affair with Willim Mons, palace coups, and history of the Catherine Palace in Pushkin.

Вид на Мраморный дворец

The Marble Palace – Catherine II's most personal gift to her favorite

Marble Palace in St. Petersburg: gift from Catherine II to Grigory Orlov, 32 types of marble, Orlov and White Halls, Konstantin owners, and a branch of the Russian Museum.

Петербург Достоевского

Dostoevsky's Petersburg: the image of the city in the novel 'Crime and Punishment'

Dostoevsky's Petersburg: the city as an accomplice, the stuffiness of July 1865, the yellow color, Raskolnikov's closet, real houses of the characters, and a route through literary Petersburg.

Екатерина 2 и Платон Зубов

Catherine II and Platon Zubov: the last romance of the Great Empress

Platon Zubov – Catherine II's last favorite: how a 22-year-old guardsman conquered the empress, received dozens of positions, millions from the treasury, and how his life ended after Catherine's death.

Портрет Екатерины 2

Favourites of Catherine 2: how the empress ruled the country and the men

Favourites of Catherine 2: how many there really were, how the selection worked, Orlov and Potemkin, 'favour' at court, secret romances, and the Catherine Palace in Tsarskoye Selo.

Вид на Старый эрмитаж

The Large Hermitage in St. Petersburg – the building where Catherine 2's private collections became a great museum

The Old Hermitage in St. Petersburg: history of construction under Catherine 2, architecture of Yuri Felten, halls of Leonardo da Vinci and Titian, the Soviet Staircase, and world-class collections.

Домик Петра 1 — самый старый дом Санкт-Петербурга

Peter the Great's Cabin – the oldest house in Saint Petersburg

Peter the Great's Cabin – the oldest house in Saint Petersburg. History of the 'Original Palace', architecture, museum today, interesting facts and atmosphere of the place.

Музей-дача А. С. Пушкина в Царском селе

A.S. Pushkin's Museum-Dacha: inspiration and comfort of a family summer

Imagine a cozy wooden house with columns and a mezzanine, where the spirit of Russian literature still lingers in the air. This is the famous Kitaeva dacha in Tsarskoye Selo, which witnessed the happiest period in the g…

Царскосельский лицей в Пушкине

Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum and its pupils

A trip to St. Petersburg is impossible to imagine without the city of Pushkin (Tsarskoye Selo). Among the splendor of palaces here is the Imperial Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum, founded in 1811. This is a place with special ene…

Saint Petersburg was created and developed thanks to specific people. Peter I founded the city and determined its strategic direction, Catherine II strengthened cultural and architectural development, writers and artists shaped the intellectual image of the city.

Historical figures left behind not only decisions and reforms but also real addresses – palaces, buildings, streets, monuments. Through their biographies, one can trace the key stages of Petersburg's development.

The city remains a space where history is read through personalities. Studying their destinies helps to better understand the architecture, culture, and political significance of Saint Petersburg.