Saint Petersburg, Russia

I always had a fascination of someday traveling to Russia that started in my high school days. With my minute knowledge, plus narratives learned from all sorts of media, on October 2015 my curiosity paved the way to finally travel to the “Largest country in the world” by land area, a super power, home to some of the most inspiring and brilliant races in the world.

Russia, a former Soviet Union Country, now with its official name the “Russian Federation”, is  covering more than one-eight of the Earth’s inhabited land area.

My first stop was Pulkovo Airport in the country’s second-largest city Saint Petersburg that was founded by Tsar Peter the Great on 27th May 1703, then the capital of Imperial Russia. In 1914, its name was changed to Petrograd and in 1924 to Leningrad. Then in 1991 it was renamed Saint Petersburg.

Alexander  Column and Winter Palace

The Alexander Column is also known as Alexandrian Column is named after Emperor Alexander I of Russia, who reigned from 1801–25. This famous Column is the focal point of Palace Square in Saint Petersburg. At the top of the column is a statue of an angel holding a cross. The monument was raised after the Russian victory in the war with Napoleon.

 

Being in this great city the most likely first-time tourist would visit is the State Hermitage which is a massive museum complex dedicated to art, culture and antiquities. It is one of the largest and oldest museums in the world.