Moskovskiy vokzal

When I showed this picture to a woman who had been in Russia in the 1970s, she was astounded, because in her day the traditional statue wasn't there --- there was a statue of Lenin instead!

St Pete was built on a swamp in the late 1700s. That's right, it's younger than New York. Informally it's called Piter ("Peeter").

Slava met me at the station with a few of his friends and a little car, and took great pride in showing off the city to me, as he used to do for tourists for $$ many years ago. We drove across the Neva River past the Peter & Paul Fortress, and past the battleship Aurora, whose "strike marked the beginning of the Revolution". Although Moscow is the government capital now, remember that the Revolution actually started in St Pete.

St Petersburg, Russia -- September 1995