Revolution - Sightseeing in St. Petersburg - In Your Pocket city guide - essential travel guides to cities in Russia

Often referred to as ‘Lenin’s secret flat’ this museum was established by the Communists in 1937. Lenin actually only lived here for 3 days in July 1917 while he and the other Bolsheviks thought of a better place to hide. It’s a plain and cold place sparsely furnished with paintings of Lenin in heroic poses and his voice (coming from an old gramophone) swirls around the rooms. It’s actually more famous for being the home of Stalin’s wife Nadezhda Alliuev and thus has a very eerie atmosphere. [...]

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Ul. 10-ya Sovietskaya 17, flat 20

tel. (+7) 812 271 25 79

10.00 - 18.00, closed Wed, Sun. Metro station:

Ploschad Vosstaniya

Communist ceiling mosaic

To see one of the city’s best examples of communist “art”, and one of the least noticed, head to Moscow Station, go to the main entrance hall and look up. The colourful ceiling mosaic makes you feel as if you are lying on your back in a sunlit square, looking at the sky. Its uniqu [...]

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Moskovsky station

Metro station:

Pl. Vosstaniya

Elizarov/Lenin Apartment Museum

This beautifully preserved 5 room apartment was the home of Lenin’s sister and her husband Elizarov. Lenin and his wife lived here too from April to July 1917. This is the place to get close to the everyday things that Lenin used, such as his chess set, bed, toothbrush and even the wheelchair (specially brought to the museum from Moscow in 1927) in which he spent his last dying days. Atmospheric stuff. [...]

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52 Ulitsa Lenina, flat 24

tel. (+7) 812 235 37 78

Open 10:00 -18:00. Closed Wed and Sun. Metro station:

Petrogradskaya

Exhibit: ‘1917-1985 Soviet Epoch: Between Utopia and Reality’

A fascinating and important exhibition. 6 halls hold more than 1000 exhibits from museum, state and private archives. Possessions and documents explain the formation of the State system and political battles for power. There is a huge amount of photography documenting the century. Remnants of collectivization, reconstructions of houses 1930-50, excerpts from films, posters and much more, demonstrate the struggle for survival by everyday people. There are sections devoted to GULAG prisoners with unique documents concerning dissident arrest. This is a must-see for anyone interested in factors that drove Russia to Revolution twice in one century. Broad information that also pays attention to individual life. The ticket price includes visits to the other halls, such as exhibit “The left, where is the right side?” where there are vintage printing presses and hand-written letters from soldiers. All exhibitions have information in English and the souvenir shop is very inexpensive. More informative than any history lesson we have experienced! [...]

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The State Museum of Political History of Russia, Baron Brandt Mansion, Kuybysheva ul. 2-4

tel. (+7) 812 233 70 52

Open 10:00 - 18:00,
Thu Closed.Closed every last Mon of the month. Metro station:

Pl. Lenina

Kirov museum

See with your own eyes how a Communist leader lived. Sergey Kirov, murdered in 1934, was the popular leader of the Leningrad Communist Party. His flat is a palace compared to the miserable communal flats that most people had to put up with. Stacked with books, working papers and personal belongings [...]

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Kamennoostrovsky pr. 26/28

tel. (+7) 812 346 02 89

fax. 346 02 89

Open 11:00 - 18:00. Closed Wed. Last entrance 30 minutes before closing.
Metro station:

Petrogradskaya

Lenin at Finlyandsky station

There’s quite a bit of Soviet legend attached to this station. It was here that Lenin returned from exile in April, 1917, in a sealed carriage drawn by a train that was a gift from Finland. The train is displayed here in a glass pavilion. Out front, there was a majestic statue of Lenin pointi [...]

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Pl. Lenina

Metro station:

Pl. Lenina

Lenin Memorial Museum

Following the success of the October revolution Lenin and his wife moved into this former girl’s school along with the first provisional government in the final months of 1917, before Moscow became the new capital. Now the seat of the city administration, tours are held only for groups and by prior booking. On a tour you’ll see Lenin’s office and living quarters, the majestic assembly hall, a small exhibition about the revolution, and some inspiring socialist realist paintings and statues. [...]

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Smonly Institute, 3 Pl. Proletarskoy Diktatury

tel. (+7) 812 576 74 61

Open 10:00 - 17:00,
Sat Closed,
Sun Closed.Tours for groups from 10 people, by arrangement only.
Metro station:

Chernyshevskaya

Lenin statues

There used to be dozens of them, but now there are only a few left. The Botanical Gardens on Petrograd Island have a serene image of Lenin on their grounds. In front of the City Administration Headquarters at Smolny, you can also find statues of Lenin, Marx and Engels. Ploschad Lenina of course has [...]

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PS, Professora Popova ul., Moskovskaya pl.

Metro station:

Petrogradskaya, Moskovskaya

Soviet city

Soviet city-planners were given free rein between the metro stops of Narvskaya and Avtovo in the city’s South- West. While not very cheery, this area has some fascinating things to see, including a school built in the shape of a hammer and a sickle (Stachek pr. 5.) There is even a giant mural on the front of Narvskaya metro, which says: “Proletarians of all countries, unite!” What happened, we wonder, to the rest of such images? There is a statue of Kirov on Kirovsky ploschad, and there are plenty of strange Soviet symbols to decipher on surrounding buildings. [...]

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Pl. Stachek, Stachek pr. and Kirovskaya pl.

Metro station:

Narvskaya, Avtovo

Stalin’s metro

St. Petersburg’s metro may not be as impressive as its Moscow counterpart, but some stations offer enough communist glamour to justify a short joyride. Conveniently, the most impressive stops are on the “red” line (line 1) where Avtovo, Narvskaya and Kirovsky Zavod metro stops eac [...]

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