Karosta is a former Russian Imperial and Soviet naval base on the Baltic Sea , which today is a neighbourhood in Liepāja , Latvia .
147-537: The naval base was originally constructed in 1890-1906 for Tsar Alexander III of Russia , and named Порт Императора Александра III . Built on the bare coast it consisted of a large man-made harbour including a large breakwater and inland submarine base. During Latvian independence after World War I , the base was called Kara osta ( War Port in Latvian ), later shortened to Karaosta and Karosta ( Кароста in Russian). It
294-407: A Scandinavian lifestyle of relative modesty. Alexander rejected foreign influence, German influence in particular, thus the adoption of local national principles was deprecated in all spheres of official activity, with a view to realizing his ideal of a Russia homogeneous in language, administration and religion. These ideas conflicted with those of his father, who had German sympathies despite being
441-446: A baby" when Dagmar gave birth to their first child, Nicholas. He was much more lenient with his children than most European monarchs, and he told their tutors, "I do not need porcelain, I want normal healthy Russian children." General Cherevin believed that the clever George was "the favourite of both parents". Alexander enjoyed a more informal relationship with his youngest son Michael and doted on his youngest daughter, Olga. Alexander
588-551: A camp bed with a straw mattress. While the state rooms occupied the northern and eastern wings of the palace and the private rooms of the Imperial Family occupied the western wing, the four corners of the building contained the smaller rooms, which were the apartments of lesser members of the Imperial Family, often being of two floors. This is one of the reasons that the palace can appear a confusing assortment of great halls or salons with no obvious purpose located in odd corners of
735-503: A colossal scale—the present Winter Palace. The expedited completion of the palace became a matter of honour to the Empress, who regarded the palace as a symbol of national prestige. Work on the building continued throughout the year, even in the severest months of the winter. The deprivation to both the Russian people and the army caused by the ongoing Seven Years' War were not permitted to hinder
882-451: A committee?" He was worried that Nicholas had no experiences with women and arranged for the Polish ballerina Mathilde Kschessinskaya to become his son's mistress. Even at the end of his life, he considered Nicholas a child and told him, "I can't imagine you as a fiancé – how strange and unusual!" Each summer his parents-in-law, King Christian IX and Queen Louise , held family reunions at
1029-507: A conscientious and unobtrusive manner. After many mistakes and disappointments, the army reached Constantinople and the Treaty of San Stefano was signed, but much that had been obtained by that important document had to be sacrificed at the Congress of Berlin . Bismarck failed to do what was expected of him by the Russian emperor. In return for the Russian support which had enabled him to create
1176-401: A considerable number died daily, but the victims were instantly replaced by other champions brought forward to perish." The work was supervised by Pyotr Kleinmichel , who had already gained a reputation for ruthlessness when serving in the military settlements under Arakcheev . The rebuilding of the palace took advantage of the latest construction techniques of the industrial age. The roof
1323-449: A heavy use of gilt . The smaller and more private rooms of the palace were altered and decorated in various 19th-century contemporary styles by Alexander Briullov according to whims and fashion of their intended occupants, ranging from Gothic to rococo. The Tsarevna's crimson boudoir (23) , in the private Imperial apartments , was a faithful reproduction of the rococo style, which Catherine II and her architects started to eliminate from
1470-501: A man who stood above all others, but who carried a monstrous burden and who every minute had to fear for his life and the lives of those closest to him. In later years I came into contact with the Emperor on several occasions, and I felt not the slightest bit timid. In more ordinary cases Tsar Alexander III could be at once kind, simple, and even almost homely. In 1909, a bronze equestrian statue of Alexander III sculpted by Paolo Troubetzkoy
1617-668: A million peasants. Work continued on the Winter Palace right up until the time of the Empress' death in 1796. Catherine the Great was succeeded by her son Paul I . In the first days of his reign, the new Tsar (reported by the British Ambassador to be "not in his senses" ) augmented the number of troops stationed at the Winter Palace, positioning sentry boxes every few metres around the building. Eventually, paranoid for his security and disliking anything connected with his mother, he spurned
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#17328546153971764-481: A modern palace like his fellow sovereigns. However, unlike some of his successors, Peter I never aspired to rival Versailles. The first Winter Palace was a modest building of two main floors under a slate roof. It seems that Peter soon tired of the first palace, for in 1721 the second version of the Winter Palace was built under the direction of architect Georg Mattarnovy . Mattarnovy's palace, though still very modest compared to royal palaces in other European capitals,
1911-427: A palace for the czar (reportedly only used once), an impressive Russian Orthodox Naval Cathedral , as well as underground bunkers and abandoned storehouses. Soviet-era buildings include many rows of block housing. At its height Karosta was home to over 20,000 people. Karosta military prison has now been converted into a museum (open May - September) and it is possible to spend the night in the guardhouse, processed as
2058-778: A patriot; Alexander II often used the German language in his private relations, occasionally ridiculed the Slavophiles and based his foreign policy on the Prussian alliance. Some differences between father and son had first appeared during the Franco-Prussian War , when Alexander II supported the cabinet of Berlin while the Tsesarevich made no effort to conceal his sympathies for the French. These sentiments would resurface during 1875–1879, when
2205-463: A playful and kind Goliath among all the romping children." On 29 October [ O.S. 17 October] 1888 the Imperial train derailed in an accident at Borki . At the moment of the crash, the imperial family was in the dining car. Its roof collapsed, and Alexander held its remains on his shoulders as the children fled outdoors. The onset of Alexander's kidney failure was later attributed to
2352-607: A policy of Westernization and expansion that was to transform the Tsardom of Russia into the Russian Empire and a major European power. This policy was manifested in bricks and mortar by the creation of a new city, Saint Petersburg, in 1703. The culture and design of the new city was intended as a conscious rejection of traditional Byzantine -influenced Russian architecture , such as the then-fashionable Naryshkin Baroque , in favour of
2499-531: A prisoner would have been. In 2008 Ivory Tower Pictures produced a television documentary called Karosta: Life After the USSR directed by Peter King. 56°33′0″N 21°0′20″E / 56.55000°N 21.00556°E / 56.55000; 21.00556 Alexander III of Russia Alexander III (Russian: Александр III Александрович Романов , romanized : Aleksandr III Aleksandrovich Romanov ; 10 March 1845 – 1 November 1894)
2646-565: A private palace within a park, such as that of the French kings at Versailles . The architectural theme continues throughout the interior of the palace. The first floor, being the piano nobile , is distinguished by windows taller than those of the floors above and below. Each window is divided from its neighbour by a pilaster . The repetitive monotony of the long elevations is broken only by symmetrically placed slightly projecting bays, many with their own small portico . This theme has been constant during all subsequent rebuilding and alterations to
2793-518: A symbol of the October Revolution . The emperors constructed their palaces on a monumental scale that aimed to reflect the might and power of Imperial Russia . From the palace, the tsars ruled over 22,800,000 square kilometers (8,800,000 sq mi) (almost 1/6 of the Earth's landmass) and 125 million subjects by the end of the 19th century. Several architects participated in designing
2940-543: A water hose on the visiting King Oscar II of Sweden . Alexander had an extremely poor relationship with his brother Grand Duke Vladimir . At a restaurant, Vladimir had brawled with the French actor Lucien Guitry when the latter kissed his wife, Duchess Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin . The prefect of St. Petersburg needed to escort Vladimir out of the restaurant. Alexander was so furious that he temporarily exiled Vladimir and his wife and threatened to exile them permanently to Siberia. When Alexander and his family survived
3087-423: Is 500 ft (150 m) long and 100 ft (30 m) high. The ground floor contained mostly bureaucratic and domestic offices, while the second floor was given over to apartments for senior courtiers and high-ranking officials. The principal rooms and living quarters of the Imperial Family are on the first floor, the piano nobile. The great state rooms, used by the court, are arranged in two enfilades , from
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#17328546153973234-503: Is Baroque. The exterior has remained as finished during the reign of Empress Elizabeth . The principal façades, those facing the Palace Square and the Neva river, have always been accessible and visible to the public. Only the lateral façades are hidden behind granite walls, concealing a garden created during the reign of Nicholas II . The building was conceived as a town palace, rather than
3381-420: Is definite" but assured him that "your rights will be safeguarded." Alexander was furious over his father's decision to marry Catherine a month after his mother's death, which he believed "forever ruined all the dear good memories of family life." His father threatened to disinherit him if he left court out of protest against the marriage. He privately denounced Catherine as "the outsider" and complained that she
3528-712: Is today a neighbourhood in the northern outskirts of Liepāja in Latvia , occupying a third of the area of the city. Today, Karosta is a popular place for tourists and artists, who are attracted to its historical sights, such as the scenic seascapes with partially blasted fortresses on the Baltic shore. The K@2 Artists center was established in 2000 and acts as a frame for many cultural activities by local and foreign artists who come to Karosta for art projects and to get inspiration from Karosta’s nature, buildings, ruins, and people. The army headquarters include czar-era mansions used by admirals,
3675-658: The Angara embankment. Winter Palace The Winter Palace is a palace in Saint Petersburg that served as the official residence of the House of Romanov , previous emperors, from 1732 to 1917. The palace and its precincts now house the Hermitage Museum . The floor area is 233,345 square metres (it has been calculated that the palace contains 1,886 doors, 1,945 windows, 1,500 rooms and 117 staircases). The total area of
3822-608: The Anichkov Palace , not the Winter Palace. Alexander resented having to take refuge at Gatchina. Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich remembered hearing the tsar say, "To think that after having faced the guns of the Turks I must retreat now before these skunks." In the 1860s, Alexander fell in love with his mother's lady-in-waiting, Princess Maria Elimovna Meshcherskaya . Dismayed to learn that Prince zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn had proposed to her in early 1866, he told his parents that he
3969-562: The Borki train disaster in 1888, Alexander joked, "I can imagine how disappointed Vladimir is going to be when he learns that we all stayed alive!" This tension was reflected in the rivalry between Maria Feodorovna and Vladimir's wife Marie Pavlovna. Alexander had better relationships with his other brothers Alexei (who he made rear admiral and then grand admiral of the Russian Navy), Sergei (who he made governor of Moscow) and Paul . Despite
4116-547: The Column of Alexander during the reign of Nicholas I in Rossi's newly designed Palace Square . For a long time the Winter Palace was the tallest edifice in the city. In 1844, Nicholas I gave the orders to the effect that private houses should be at least 1 sazhen (2.13 m) lower than the Winter Palace. This rule was effective until 1905. The Winter Palace is said to contain 1,500 rooms, 1,786 doors and 1,945 windows. The principal façade
4263-611: The Eastern question excited Russian society. At first, the Tsesarevich was more Slavophile than the Russian government. However, his phlegmatic nature restrained him from many exaggerations, and any popular illusions he may have imbibed were dispelled by personal observation in Bulgaria where he commanded the left wing of the invading army. Never consulted on political questions, Alexander confined himself to military duties and fulfilled them in
4410-694: The German Empire , it was thought that he would help Russia to solve the Eastern question in accordance with Russian interests, but to the surprise and indignation of the cabinet of Saint Petersburg he confined himself to acting the part of "honest broker" at the Congress, and shortly afterwards contracted an alliance with Austria-Hungary for the purpose of counteracting Russian designs in Eastern Europe . The Tsesarevich could refer to these results as confirmation of
4557-657: The Grand Church of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg , Alexander wed Dagmar, who converted to Orthodox Christianity and took the name Maria Feodorovna . The union proved a happy one to the end; unlike many of his predecessors since Peter I, there was no adultery in his marriage. The couple spent their wedding night at the Tsarevich's private dacha known as "My Property". Alexander and his father became estranged due to their different political views. In 1870, Alexander II supported Prussia in
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4704-590: The Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church in Russia. Pobedonostsev instilled into the young man's mind the belief that zeal for Russian Orthodox thought was an essential factor of Russian patriotism to be cultivated by every right-minded emperor. While he was heir apparent from 1865 to 1881 Alexander did not play a prominent part in public affairs, but allowed it to become known that he had ideas which did not coincide with
4851-582: The Pale of Settlement ) and restricted the occupations in which they could engage. Encouraged by its successful assassination of Alexander II, the Narodnaya Volya movement began planning the murder of Alexander III. The Okhrana uncovered the plot and five of the conspirators, including Aleksandr Ulyanov , the older brother of Vladimir Lenin , were captured and hanged in May 1887. The general negative consensus about
4998-690: The Peter and Paul Fortress , with his funeral being attended by numerous foreign relatives, including King Christian IX of Denmark, the Prince and Princess of Wales, and Duke of York , and Duke and Duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, and his daughter-in-law to be, Alix of Hesse, and her brother, Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig of Hesse . In disposition, Alexander bore little resemblance to his soft-hearted, liberal father, and still less to his refined, philosophic, sentimental, chivalrous, yet cunning great-uncle Emperor Alexander I . Although an enthusiastic amateur musician and patron of
5145-537: The Tsarevna , the arrangement of the rooms makes more sense. Similarly the vast White Hall, so far from the other grand halls, was in fact the principal hall of the Tsarevich 's and Tsarevna's apartments. Thus the Winter Palace can be viewed as a series of small palaces within one large palace, with the largest and grandest rooms being public while the residents lived in suites of varying sizes, allocated according to rank. As
5292-602: The United Kingdom (see Panjdeh incident ), and he never allowed the bellicose partisans of a forward policy to get out of hand. His reign cannot be regarded as an eventful period of Russian history ; but under his hard rule the country made considerable progress. Alexander and his wife regularly spent their summers at Langinkoski manor along the Kymi River near Kotka on the Finnish coast, where their children were immersed in
5439-418: The ballet , Alexander was seen as lacking refinement and elegance. Indeed, he rather relished the idea of being of the same rough texture as some of his subjects. His straightforward, abrupt manner savoured sometimes of gruffness, while his direct style of expression matched his rough-hewn, immobile features and somewhat sluggish movements. His education was not such as to soften these peculiarities. Alexander
5586-616: The British press, and Chekhov directed anti-cholera precautions in several villages. Alexander had the political goal of Russification, which involved homogenizing the language and religion of Russia's people. He implemented changes such as teaching only the Russian language in Russian schools in Germany, Poland, and Finland . He also patronized Eastern Orthodoxy and dissolved German, Polish, and Swedish cultural and religious institutions. Alexander
5733-538: The Danish royal palaces of Fredensborg and Bernstorff , bringing Alexander, Maria and their children to Denmark. His sister-in-law, the Princess of Wales , would come from Great Britain with some of her children, and his brother-in-law and cousin-in-law, King George I of Greece , his wife, Queen Olga , who was a first cousin of Alexander and a Romanov Grand Duchess by birth, came with their children from Athens. In contrast to
5880-745: The Empress on her return to Saint Petersburg took up residence at the neighbouring Apraksin Palace. In 1732, the Tsaritsa commissioned the Italian architect Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli to completely rebuild and extend the Apraksin Palace, incorporating other neighbouring houses. Thus, the core of the fourth and final Winter Palace is not the palace of Peter the Great, but the palace of Admiral General Fyodor Matveyevich Apraksin . The Empress Anna, though unpopular and considered "dull, coarse, fat, harsh and spiteful",
6027-647: The Franco-Prussian War, which angered the younger Alexander. Influenced by his Danish wife Dagmar, Alexander criticized the "shortsighted government" for helping the "Prussian pigs". Alexander resented his father for having a long-standing relationship with Princess Catherine Dolgorukova (with whom he had several illegitimate children) while his mother, the Empress , was suffering from chronic ill-health. Two days after Empress Marie died, his father told him, "I shall live as I wish, and my union with Princess Dolgorukova
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6174-414: The German frontier. With regard to Bulgaria he exercised similar self-control. The efforts of Prince Alexander and afterwards of Stambolov to destroy Russian influence in the principality roused his indignation, but he vetoed all proposals to intervene by force of arms. In Central Asian affairs he followed the traditional policy of gradually extending Russian domination without provoking conflict with
6321-510: The Gotzkowsky collection was a source of personal pride to Catherine. It had been put together by Gotzkowsky for Catherine's adversary, Frederick the Great of Prussia who, as a result of his wars with Russia, could not afford to pay for it. This collection included some great Flemish and Dutch works, most notably Frans Hals ' Portrait of a Man with a Glove . In 1769, the Bruhl collection brought to
6468-441: The Great , came to be chiefly associated with the Winter Palace. In 1762, following a coup d'état, in which her husband was murdered, Catherine paraded her seven-year-old son, Paul , on the Winter Palace's balcony to an excited crowd below. She was not presenting her son as the new and rightful ruler of Russia, however; that honour she was usurping herself. Catherine's patronage of the architects Starov and Giacomo Quarenghi saw
6615-414: The Great's Large Hermitage (15) was vastly expanded and transformed into a purpose-built public art gallery. In 1839, German architect Leo von Klenze drew up the plans and their execution was overseen by Vasily Stasov , assisted by Alexander Briullov and Nikolai Yefimov . With so many architects involved there were inevitably many conflicts over the design and its execution throughout the 1840s, with
6762-593: The Hermitage—the name by which the entire complex, including the Winter Palace, was to become known 150 years later. Catherine had been impressed by the French architect Jean-Baptiste Vallin de la Mothe , who designed the Imperial Academy of Arts (also in Saint Petersburg) and commissioned him to add a new wing to the Winter Palace. This was intended as a place of retreat from the formalities and ceremonies of
6909-471: The Malachite Drawing Room to the church through the state rooms. The Imperial Family were not the only residents of the palace; below the metal framework in the attics lived an army of servants. So vast were the servants' quarters that a former servant and his family, unbeknownst to the palace authorities, moved into the roof of the palace. They were only discovered by the smell of the manure from
7056-466: The Orthodox Church. On the day of his assassination, Alexander II signed an ukaz setting up consultative commissions to advise the monarch. On ascending to the throne, however, Alexander III took Pobedonostsev's advice and cancelled the policy before its publication. He made it clear that his autocracy would not be limited. All of Alexander III's internal reforms aimed to reverse the liberalization from his father's reign. The new Emperor believed that
7203-431: The Russian people were already burdened by taxes to pay for the war. The final cost was 2,500,000 rubles. By 1759, shortly before Elizabeth's death, a Winter Palace truly worthy of the name was nearing completion. It was Empress Elizabeth who selected the German princess, Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst, as a bride for her nephew and successor, Peter III . The marriage was not a success, but it was this princess who, as Catherine
7350-556: The Tsar having frequently to act as moderator. Eventually, after eleven years of building and architectural conflict, the first art museum in Russia, the Imperial Hermitage Museum, opened on 5 February 1852. The trebeated facades of the building were inspired by Schinkelesque architecture . It was erected in grey marble round three courtyards and the complex is noted for the asymmetrical planning of its wings and floors. By order of
7497-528: The Tsar's days were numbered, various imperial relatives began to descend on Livadia. Clergyman John of Kronstadt paid a visit and administered Communion to the Tsar. On 21 October, Alexander received Nicholas's fiancée, Princess Alix of Hesse-Darmstadt , who had come from her native Darmstadt to receive the Tsar's blessing. Despite being exceedingly weak, Alexander insisted on receiving Alix in full dress uniform, an event that left him exhausted. Soon after, his health began to deteriorate more rapidly. He died in
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#17328546153977644-415: The Tsar, visitors to the museum were required to wear evening dress , even in the morning. The Tsar also decreed that grey top hats were "Jewish" and dress coats "revolutionary". Having negotiated the dress code, what the public saw was a huge array of art, but only a fraction of the Imperial collection, as the Winter Palace and other Imperial palaces remained closed to the viewing public. The Winter Palace
7791-618: The Tsarina, as well as his own ambassadors. Though Alexander was indignant at the conduct of German chancellor Otto von Bismarck towards Russia, he avoided an open rupture with Germany—even reviving the League of Three Emperors for a period of time and in 1887, signed the Reinsurance Treaty with the Germans. However, in 1890, the expiration of the treaty coincided with the dismissal of Bismarck by
7938-451: The Tsars, who continued collecting, albeit not on the scale of Catherine the Great. In 1850, the collection of Cristoforo Barbarigo was acquired. This collection from Republic of Venice brought into the Winter Palace further works by Titian, in addition to many 16th-century Renaissance works of art. Nicholas I, conscious of the great art galleries in other European capitals, saw that Catherine
8085-480: The United Kingdom and King George I of Greece . Great solicitude was devoted to the education of Nicholas as tsesarevich , whereas Alexander received only the training of an ordinary Grand Duke of that period. This included acquaintance with French , English and German , and military drill . Alexander became tsesarevich upon Nicholas's sudden death in 1865. He had been very close to his older brother, and he
8232-488: The Winter Palace completely and built Saint Michael's Castle as his Saint Petersburg residence, on the site of his birthplace. The Tsar announced that he wished to die on the spot he was born. He was murdered there three weeks after taking up residence in 1801. Paul I was succeeded by his 24-year-old son, Alexander I , who ruled Russia during the chaotic period of the Napoleonic Wars . Following Napoleon's defeat in 1815,
8379-566: The Winter Palace is 14.2 hectares. Situated between Palace Embankment and Palace Square , adjacent to the site of Peter the Great 's original Winter Palace, the present and fourth Winter Palace was built and altered almost continuously between the late 1730s and 1837, when it was severely damaged by fire and immediately rebuilt. The storming of the palace in 1917, as depicted in Soviet art and in Sergei Eisenstein 's 1928 film October , became
8526-692: The Winter Palace only for formal and state occasions. Following the February Revolution of 1917, the palace operated for a short time as the seat of the Russian Provisional Government , ultimately led by Alexander Kerensky . Later that same year a detachment of Red Guard soldiers and sailors stormed the palace—a defining moment in the birth of the Soviet state, overthrowing the Provisional Government. Upon returning from his Grand Embassy in 1698, Peter I of Russia embarked on
8673-552: The Winter Palace two further works by Rembrandt, Portrait of a Scholar and Portrait of an Old Man in Red . While some aspects of this manic collecting could have been a manifestation of Catherine's desire for a recognition of her intellectual concepts, there was also a more fundamental motivation: necessity. Just twenty years earlier, so scarce were the furnishings of the Imperial palaces that bedsteads, mirrors, tables and chairs had to be conveyed between Moscow and Saint Petersburg each time
8820-600: The Winter Palace—most notably the Italian Bartolomeo Rastrelli (1700–1771)—in what became known as the Elizabethan Baroque style. The green-and-white palace has the overall shape of an elongated rectangle, and its principal façade is 215 metres (705 ft) long and 30 m (98 ft) high. Following a serious fire, the palace's rebuilding of 1837 left the exterior unchanged, but large parts of
8967-482: The ambiance of a summer's day. Guests on ceremonial and state occasions would follow a set processional route, arriving at the palace courtyard through the central arch of the south façade, and then entering the palace through the state entrance (sometimes called the Ambassadors' Entrance) (8) . They would then proceed through the colonnaded Jordan Hall before mounting the gilded Imperial staircase (8) , from where
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#17328546153979114-507: The antipathy that Alexander had towards his stepmother, Catherine Dolgorukov, he nevertheless allowed her to remain in the Winter Palace for some time after his father's assassination and to retain keepsakes such Alexander II's blood-soaked uniform and his reading glasses. Even though he disliked their mother, Alexander was kind to his half-siblings. His youngest half-sister Princess Catherine Alexandrovna Yurievskaya remembered when he would play with her and her siblings: "The Emperor... seemed
9261-480: The arms of his wife, and in the presence of his physician, Ernst Viktor von Leyden , at Maly Palace in Livadia on the afternoon of 1 November [ O.S. 20 October] 1894 at the age of 49, and was succeeded by his eldest son Tsesarevich Nicholas, who took the throne as Nicholas II . After leaving Livadia on 6 November and traveling to St. Petersburg by way of Moscow, his remains were interred on 18 November at
9408-515: The artworks purchased for the palaces arrived as parts of a job lot as the sovereign acquired whole ready-assembled collections. The Empress' ambassadors in Rome, Paris, Amsterdam and London were instructed to look out for and purchase thousands of priceless works of art on her behalf. Ironically, while Saint Petersburg high society and the extended Romanov family derided Russia's last Empress for furnishing her palaces "mail order" from Maples of London, she
9555-452: The blunt trauma suffered in this incident. In 1894, Alexander III became ill with terminal kidney disease ( nephritis ). His first cousin, Queen Olga of Greece , offered to let him stay at her villa Mon Repos , on the island of Corfu , in the hope that it might improve the Tsar's condition. By the time that they reached Crimea , they stayed at the Maly Palace in Livadia , as Alexander was too weak to travel any farther. Recognizing that
9702-416: The carriage and no amount of pleading from his wife could convince him to get back in. An account from the memoirs of the artist Alexander Benois gives one impression of Alexander III: After a performance of the ballet Tsar Kandavl at the Mariinsky Theatre , I first caught sight of the Emperor. I was struck by the size of the man, and although cumbersome and heavy, he was still a mighty figure. There
9849-476: The city of Saint Petersburg was still far from being the centre of western culture and civilization that he had envisioned. Many of the aristocrats who had been compelled by the Tsar to inhabit Saint Petersburg left. Wolves roamed the squares at night while bands of discontented pressed serfs , imported to build the Tsar's new city and Baltic fleet , frequently rebelled. Peter I was succeeded by his widow, Catherine I, who reigned until her death in 1727. She in turn
9996-407: The city. A diplomat of the time, who described the city as "a heap of villages linked together, like some plantation in the West Indies", just a few years later called it "a wonder of the world, considering its magnificent palaces". Some of these new palaces in Peter's beloved Flemish Baroque style, such as the Kikin Hall and the Menshikov Palace , still stand. On Peter the Great's death in 1725,
10143-424: The classically inspired architecture prevailing in the great cities of Europe. The Tsar intended that his new city would be designed in a Flemish renaissance style, later known as Petrine Baroque , and this was the style he selected for his new palace in the city. The first Royal residence on the site had been a humble log cabin then known as the Domik Petra I , built in 1704, which faced the River Neva . In 1711, it
10290-434: The conflagration—"a vast bonfire with flames reaching the sky." The fire burned for several days, and destroyed most of the Winter Palace's interior. Seeming to ignore the size of the palace, the Tsar ordered that the rebuilding be completed within a year. The Marquis de Custine described the "unheard of efforts" that were necessary to facilitate this. "During the great frosts 6000 workmen were continually employed; of these
10437-433: The contents of the Winter Palace were further enhanced when Alexander I purchased the art collection of the former French Empress, Joséphine . This collection, some of it plundered loot given to her by her ex-husband Napoleon , contained amongst its many old masters Rembrandt's The Descent from the Cross and four sculptures by Antonio Canova . Alexander I was succeeded in 1825 by his brother Nicholas I . Tsar Nicholas
10584-475: The contents, depositing them in the snow in Palace Square. This was no mean feat, as the treasures of the Winter Palace were always heavy furniture and fragile ornaments rather than lighter paintings. To create a firebreak, the Tsar ordered the destruction of the three passages leading to the Hermitage, a fortunate act which saved the building and the huge art collection. The Russian poet Vasily Zhukovsky witnessed
10731-646: The court moved. As the palace filled with art, it overflowed into the Hermitage. So large did Catherine's art collection eventually become that it became necessary to commission the German-trained architect Yury Velten to build a second and larger extension to the palace, which eventually became known as the Old Hermitage (15) . Later, Catherine commissioned a third extension, the Hermitage Theatre , designed by Giacomo Quarenghi . This construction necessitated
10878-430: The court. Catherine christened it the Hermitage (14) , a name used by her predecessor Tsaritsa Elizabeth to describe her private rooms within the palace. The interior of the Hermitage wing was intended to be a simple contrast to that of the Winter Palace. Indeed, it is said that the concept of the Hermitage as a retreat was suggested to Catherine by that advocate of the simple life, Jean Jacques Rousseau . In reality, it
11025-460: The cow that they had also smuggled into the building with them to provide fresh milk. It seems this cow was not the only bovine in the attics; other cows were kept next to the room occupied by the Maids of Honour, in order to provide fresh milk for the kitchens. This practice was discontinued after the 1837 fire. After the death of Catherine the Great, the Hermitage had become a private treasure house of
11172-458: The creation of the Battle Galleries (19) , which occupy the central portion of the Palace Square façade. They were redesigned by Alexander Briullov to commemorate the Russian victories prior to 1812. Immediately adjacent to these galleries celebrating the French defeat, were rooms (18) where Maximilian, Duke of Leuchtenberg , Napoleon's step-grandson and the Tsar's son-in-law, lived during
11319-432: The daughter of a former Governor of Saint Petersburg, was well placed to learn information concerning happenings within the palace and through her connections learnt of repairs being carried out in the palace's basement. One of the group, a trained carpenter, was subsequently enrolled as one of the workmen. Every day he carried dynamite charges concealed amongst his tools, placing them beneath the private dining room. So great
11466-408: The death of Peter II in 1730 the throne passed to a niece of Peter I, Anna Ivanovna, Duchess of Courland . The new Empress cared more for Saint Petersburg than her immediate predecessors; she re-established the Imperial court at the Winter Palace, and in 1732 Saint Petersburg again officially replaced Moscow as Russia's capital, a position it was to hold until 1918. Ignoring the third Winter Palace,
11613-429: The demolition of Peter the Great's by now crumbling third Winter palace. The Empress' life within the Hermitage, surrounded by her art and friends, was simpler than in the adjacent Winter Palace; there, the Empress gave small intimate suppers. Servants were excluded from these suppers and a sign on the wall read "Sit down where you choose, and when you please without it being repeated to you a thousand times." Catherine
11760-582: The design, but it was approved because the Empress Dowager unexpectedly liked the monument. Following the Revolution of 1917, the statue remained in place as a symbol of tsarist autocracy until 1937 when it was placed in storage. In 1994, it was again put on public display, although in a different place – in front of the Marble Palace . Another pre-revolutionary memorial is located in the city of Irkutsk at
11907-546: The early days of his marriage. In 1833, de Montferrand was hired to redesign the eastern state rooms and create the Field Marshal's Hall and the Small Throne Room (9 & 10) . In 1837, a fire broke out. Its cause is unknown, but its spread is blamed on de Montferrand. The architect was being hurried by the Tsar for an early completion, so he used wooden materials where stone would have been better. Additionally, between
12054-474: The formal home of the Russian Tsars, the palace was the setting for profuse, frequent and lavish entertaining. The dining table could seat 1000 guests, while the state rooms could contain up to 10,000 people—all standing, as no chairs were provided. These rooms, halls and galleries were heated to such a temperature that while it was sub-zero outside, exotic plants bloomed within, while the brilliant lighting gave
12201-399: The hurriedly built wooden partition walls disused fireplaces were concealed; their chimneys, coupled with the narrow ventilation shafts, acted as flues for the fire, allowing it to spread undetected between the walls from room to room until it was too late to extinguish. Once detected, the fire continued to spread, but slowly enough that the palace guards and staff were able to rescue many of
12348-576: The interior were largely due to the influences of the architects employed by Catherine the Great in the last years of her life, Starov and Quarenghi , who began to alter much of the interior of the palace as designed by Rastrelli. Catherine always wanted the latest fashions, and during her reign the more severe neoclassical architectural influences, fashionable in Western Europe from the late 1760s, slowly crept towards Saint Petersburg. The neoclassical interiors were further emphasised and extended during
12495-537: The interior were redesigned in a variety of tastes and styles, leading the palace to be described as a "19th-century palace inspired by a model in Rococo style". In 1905, the Bloody Sunday events occurred when demonstrators marched toward the Winter Palace, but by this time the Imperial Family had chosen to live in the more secure and secluded Alexander Palace at Tsarskoe Selo (lit. "imperial village"), and returned to
12642-423: The late 16th century, accelerated and great classical palaces quickly replaced fortified castles throughout the more powerful European countries. One of the earliest and most notable examples was Louis XIV 's Versailles . Largely completed by 1710, Versailles—with its size and splendour—heightened rivalry amongst the sovereigns of Europe. Peter the Great of Russia, keen to promote all western concepts, wished to have
12789-431: The latter post). Journalists such as Mikhail Katkov supported the emperor's autocracy policies. The government was overwhelmed in dealing with the Russian famine of 1891–92 and the ensuing cholera epidemic, which caused 375,000 to 500,000 deaths, and some liberal activity was tolerated, and the zemstvos were recruited to help with relief. Among others, Leo Tolstoy helped with relief efforts on his estate and through
12936-593: The laudatory title of Tsar’-Mirotvorets enduring into 21st century historiography. His major foreign policy achievement was the Franco-Russian Alliance , a major shift in international relations that eventually embroiled Russia in World War I . His political legacy represented a direct challenge to the European cultural order set forth by German statesman Otto von Bismarck , intermingling Russian influences with
13083-410: The new German emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm II (for whom the Tsar had an immense dislike), and the unwillingness of Wilhelm II's government to renew the treaty. In response Alexander III then began cordial relations with France, eventually entering into an alliance with the French in 1892. Despite chilly relations with Berlin, the Tsar nevertheless confined himself to keeping a large number of troops near
13230-781: The nobility and peasantry and strengthed the Emperor's personal control. In such policies Alexander III followed the advice of Konstantin Pobedonostsev , who retained control of the Church in Russia through his long tenure as Procurator of the Holy Synod (from 1880 to 1905) and who became tutor to Alexander's son and heir, Nicholas. (Pobedonostsev appears as "Toporov" in Tolstoy's novel Resurrection .) Other conservative advisors included Count D. A. Tolstoy (minister of education, and later of internal affairs) and I. N. Durnovo (D. A. Tolstoy's successor in
13377-518: The organization Narodnaya Volya . As a result, Alexander ascended to the Russian imperial throne in the village of Nennal . He and Maria Feodorovna were officially crowned and anointed at the Assumption Cathedral in Moscow on 27 May 1883. Alexander's ascension to the throne was followed by an outbreak of anti-Jewish riots . Alexander III disliked the extravagance of the rest of his family. It
13524-452: The palace further enlarged and transformed. At this time an opera house which had existed in the southwestern wing of the palace was swept away to provide apartments for members of Catherine's family. In 1790, Quarenghi redesigned five of Rastrelli's state rooms to create the three vast halls of the Neva enfilade . Catherine was responsible for the three large adjoining palaces, known collectively as
13671-589: The palace less than 50 years earlier. One of the palace's most notable rooms was created as a result of the fire when the Jasper Room, which had been destroyed, was rebuilt as the Malachite Drawing Room , the principal reception room of the Tsaritsa's suite. The Tsar himself, for all the grandeur he created in his palaces, loved the greatest simplicity. His bedroom at the Winter Palace was spartan, with no ornaments save for some maps and an icon , and he slept on
13818-467: The palace. The fact that the Malachite Drawing Room is separated from the equally large Gold Drawing Room by a series of bedrooms and small cabinets initially seems unusual. However, when considered in the context that the Malachite Drawing Room was the principal reception room of the Empress' apartment while the Gold Drawing Room was the principal reception room of the apartment of her daughter-in-law,
13965-405: The palace. The only external changes have been in colour: at various times in its history the palace has been painted different shades. In the eighteenth century, the palace was painted straw yellow with white and gilded ornament. Under Nicholas I in 1837, it was painted a dull red, which it remained through the revolution and early Soviet period. Following the restoration work after World War II, it
14112-428: The principles of Orthodoxy, Autocracy, and Nationality , introduced by his grandfather Nicholas I , would quell revolutionary agitation and save Russia. Alexander weakened the power of the zemstvo (elective local administrative bodies) and placed the administration of peasant communes under the supervision of land-owning proprietors appointed by his government, "land captains" ( zemskiye nachalniki ). This weakened
14259-429: The principles of the existing government. On his deathbed, Nicholas allegedly expressed the wish that his fiancé, Princess Dagmar of Denmark, should marry Alexander. Alexander's parents encouraged the match. On 2 June 1866, Alexander went to Copenhagen to visit Dagmar. When they were looking at photographs of the deceased Nicholas, Alexander proposed to Dagmar. On 9 November [ O.S. 28 October] 1866 in
14406-419: The progress. 859,555 rubles had been allocated to the project, a sum raised by a tax on state-owned taverns. Though the labourers earned a monthly wage of just one ruble, the cost of the project exceeded the budget, so much so that work ceased due to lack of resources despite the Empress' obsessive desire for rapid completion. Ultimately, taxes were increased on salt and alcohol to fund the extra costs, although
14553-463: The reign of Catherine's grandson, Nicholas I. Quarenghi is credited with introducing the Neoclassical style to Saint Petersburg. His work, together with that of Karl Ivanovich Rossi and Auguste de Montferrand , gradually transformed Saint Petersburg into an "Empire Town". Montferrand not only created some of the palace's greatest neoclassical interiors, but also was responsible for the erection of
14700-456: The shifting balances of power . Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich was born on 10 March 1845 at the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg , Russian Empire , the second son and third child of Tsesarevich Alexander (Future Alexander II) and his first wife Maria Alexandrovna (née Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine ). He was born during the reign of his grandfather Nicholas I . Though he
14847-471: The so-called Benois Madonna , was later acquired in 1914. Alexander II was a constant target for assassination attempts, one of which occurred inside the Winter Palace itself. This attempt on the Tsar's life was organized by a group known as Narodnaya Volya (Will of the People) and led by an "unsmiling fanatic", Andrei Zhelyabov , and his mistress Sophia Perovskaya , who later became his wife. Perovskaya,
14994-631: The strict security observed in Russia, Alexander and Maria revelled in the relative freedom that they enjoyed in Denmark, Alexander once commenting to the Prince and Princess of Wales near the end of a visit that he envied them being able to return to a happy home in England, while he was returning to his Russian prison. In Denmark, he was able to enjoy joining his children, nephews and nieces, in muddy ponds looking for tadpoles, sneaking into his father-in-law's orchard to steal apples, and playing pranks, such as turning
15141-576: The top of the Jordan Staircase. The original Baroque suite of the Tsaritsa Elizabeth running west, fronting the Neva, was completely redesigned in 1790–93 by Giacomo Quarenghi. He transformed the original enfilade of five state rooms into a suite of three vast halls, decorated with faux marble columns, bas-reliefs and statuary. A second suite of state rooms running south to the Great Church
15288-734: The tradition, every Easter commissioning an egg for his wife Alexandra Feodorovna, and one for his mother Dagmar. When Dagmar nursed him in his final illness, Alexander told her, "Even before my death, I have known an angel." He died in Dagmar's arms, and his daughter Olga wrote that "my mother still held him in her arms" long after he died. Alexander had six children by Dagmar, five of whom survived into adulthood: Nicholas (b. 1868), George (b. 1871), Xenia (b. 1875), Michael (b. 1878) and Olga (b. 1882). He told Dagmar that "only with [our children] can I relax mentally, enjoy them and rejoice, looking at them." He wrote in his diary that he "was crying like
15435-439: The tsar ordered him to go straight to Denmark and propose to Princess Dagmar. The young Alexander wrote in his diary "Farewell, dear Dusenka." Despite his initial reluctance, Alexander grew fond of Dagmar, by the end of his life they loved each other deeply. A few weeks after their wedding, he wrote in his diary: "God grant that... I may love my darling wife more and more... I often feel that I am not worthy of her, but even if this
15582-536: The tsar's foreign policy follows the conclusions of the British Prime Minister Lord Salisbury in 1885: In foreign affairs Alexander III was a man of peace, but not at any price, and held that the best means of averting war is to be well-prepared for it. Diplomat Nikolay Girs , scion of a rich and powerful family, served as his Foreign Minister from 1882 to 1895 and established the peaceful policies for which Alexander has been given credit. Girs
15729-604: The two enfilades of state rooms spread out. The principal or Jordan Staircase, so-called because on the Feast of the Epiphany , the Tsar descended in state for the ceremony of the Blessing of the Waters, is one of the few parts of the palace to retain the original 18th century rococo style, although the massive grey granite columns were added in the mid-19th century. One of the most important rooms
15876-564: The two terminating pavilions of the new, and third, Winter Palace. The third palace, like the second, was in the Petrine Baroque style. In 1728, shortly after the third palace was completed, the Imperial Court left Saint Petersburg for Moscow, and the Winter Palace lost its status as the principal imperial residence. Moscow had once again been designated the capital city, a status which had been granted to Saint Petersburg in 1713. Following
16023-472: The views he had expressed during the Franco-Prussian War; he concluded that for Russia, the best thing was to recover as quickly as possible from her temporary exhaustion, and prepare for future contingencies by military and naval reorganization. In accordance with this conviction, he suggested that certain reforms should be introduced. Alexander III took initiatives to stimulate the development of trade and industry, as his father did before him. Russia's economy
16170-619: Was Emperor of Russia , King of Congress Poland and Grand Duke of Finland from 13 March 1881 until his death in 1894. He was highly reactionary in domestic affairs and reversed some of the liberal reforms of his father, Alexander II , a policy of "counter-reforms" (Russian: контрреформы ). Under the influence of Konstantin Pobedonostsev (1827–1907), he acted to maximize his autocratic powers . During his reign, Russia fought no major wars, and he came to be known as The Peacemaker (Russian: Миротворец , romanized : Mirotvorets , IPA: [mʲɪrɐˈtvorʲɪt͡s] ), with
16317-430: Was "designing and immature". After his father's assassination, he reflected that his father's marriage to Catherine had caused the tragedy: "All the scum burst out and swallowed all that was holy. The guardian angel flew away and everything turned to ashes, finally culminating in the dreadful incomprehensible 1 March." Defunct On 13 March 1881 (N.S.) Alexander's father, Alexander II , was assassinated by members of
16464-611: Was a closed military area and army town during the Soviet period, serving as a base for the Soviet Baltic Fleet . It was inaccessible to the civilians of neighbouring Liepāja . When the Soviet Union military left Latvia in 1994 after the restoration of Latvian independence, Karosta became largely uninhabited and most structures fell to ruin. In late 1990s, the area was troubled by high unemployment, street crime and drug problems. It
16611-460: Was advised that it would be difficult for him to be kept safe at the Winter Palace , and he relocated his family to the Gatchina Palace 30 kilometres (20 mi) south of St. Petersburg . The palace was surrounded by moats, watch towers, and trenches, and soldiers were on guard night and day. Under heavy guard, he would make occasional visits into St. Petersburg, but even then he would stay in
16758-469: Was against such a backdrop of magnificence and extravagance that she gave her first ball in the newly completed gallery at the Winter Palace, which, in the middle of the Russian winter, resembled an orange grove. This, the fourth version of the Winter Palace, was to be an ongoing project for the architect Rastrelli throughout the reign of the Empress Anna. The infant Tsar Ivan VI , succeeding Anna in 1740,
16905-487: Was also expensive for the Crown to pay so many grand dukes each year. Each one received an annual salary of 250,000 rubles, and grand duchesses received a dowry of a million when they married. He limited the title of grand duke and duchess to only children and male-line grandchildren of emperors. The rest would bear a princely title and the style of Serene Highness . He also forbade morganatic marriages , as well as those outside of
17052-440: Was also responsible for introducing the lasting affection for all things French to the Russian court. While she personally disliked France, her distaste did not extend to its culture and manners. French became the language of the court; Russian was relegated for use only when speaking to servants and inferiors. The Russian aristocracy was encouraged to embrace the philosophies of Molière , Racine and Corneille . The Winter Palace
17199-740: Was an architect of the Franco-Russian Alliance of 1891, which was later expanded into the Triple Entente with the addition of Great Britain. That alliance brought France out of diplomatic isolation, and moved Russia from the German orbit to a coalition with France, one that was strongly supported by French financial assistance to Russia's economic modernisation. Girs was in charge of a diplomacy that featured numerous negotiated settlements, treaties and conventions. These agreements defined Russian boundaries and restored equilibrium to dangerously unstable situations. The most dramatic success came in 1885 , settling long-standing tensions with Great Britain, which
17346-533: Was an official residence of the Russian sovereign from 1732 until 1917; however, it was their home for little more than 140 of those years. The last tsar to truly reside in the palace was Alexander II , who ruled from 1855 to 1881, when he was assassinated . During his reign there were more additions to the contents; acquisitions included the ancient and archaeological collection of the unfortunate Marchese di Cavelli in 1861 and Leonardo da Vinci 's Madonna and Child in 1865; Leonardo's second work of that same name,
17493-426: Was another large palace in itself, connected to the main palace by a series of covered walkways and heated courtyards in which flew rare exotic birds. Noted for its fine portico and attention to details of a delicate nature, it was richly furnished with an ever-growing art collection. The palace's art collection was assembled haphazardly in an eclectic manner, often with an eye to quantity rather than quality. Many of
17640-558: Was concerned that his heir-apparent, Nicholas, was too gentle and naive to become an effective Emperor. When Witte suggested that Nicholas participate in the Trans-Siberian Committee, Alexander said, "Have you ever tried to discuss anything of consequence with His Imperial Highness the Grand Duke? Don't tell me you never noticed the Grand Duke is ... an absolute child. His opinions are utterly childish. How could he preside over such
17787-532: Was created for Catherine II. Between 1787 and 1795, Quarenghi added a new eastern wing to this suite which contained the great throne room, known as St George's Hall (13) , which linked the Winter Palace to Catherine's less formal palace, the Hermitage, next door. This suite was altered in the 1820s when the Military Gallery (11) was created from a series of small rooms, to celebrate the defeat of Napoleon. This gallery, which had been conceived by Alexander I,
17934-572: Was delayed. As the family left the drawing room for the dining room the bomb exploded. So great was the explosion that it could be heard all over Saint Petersburg. The dining room was completely demolished and 11 members of the Finnish Guard in the Guard Room below were killed and a further 30 wounded. The incident represents one of the first uses of a time bomb for political purposes. On 4 March 1880, The New York Times reported "the dynamite used
18081-464: Was designed by Carlo Rossi and was built between June and November 1826 under Nicolas I; it was inaugurated on 25 October 1826. For the 1812 Gallery, the Tsar commissioned 332 portraits of the generals instrumental in the defeat of France. The artist was the Briton George Dawe , who received assistance from Alexander Polyakov and Wilhelm August Golicke . Nicholas I was also responsible for
18228-566: Was destined to be a strongly counter-reforming emperor, Alexander had little prospect of succeeding to the throne during the first two decades of his life, as he had an elder brother, Nicholas , who seemed of robust constitution. Even when Nicholas first displayed symptoms of delicate health, the notion that he might die young was never taken seriously, and he was betrothed to Princess Dagmar of Denmark , daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark and Queen Louise of Denmark , and whose siblings included King Frederik VIII of Denmark , Queen Alexandra of
18375-450: Was devastated. When he became tsar, he reflected that "no one had such an impact on my life as my dear brother and friend Nixa [Nicholas]" and lamented that "a terrible responsibility fell on my shoulders" when Nicholas died. As tsesarevich, Alexander began to study the principles of law and administration under Konstantin Pobedonostsev , then a professor of civil law at Moscow State University and later (from 1880) chief procurator of
18522-538: Was extremely strong. He tore packs of cards in half with his bare hands to entertain his children. When the Austrian ambassador threatened that Austria would mobilize two or three army corps against Russia, he twisted a silver fork into a knot and threw it onto the plate of the ambassador. He said, "That is what I am going to do to your two or three army corps." Unlike his extroverted wife , Alexander disliked social functions and avoided St. Petersburg. At palace balls, he
18669-471: Was fearful that Russian expansion to the south would be a threat to India. Girs was usually successful in restraining the aggressive inclinations of Tsar Alexander convincing him that the very survival of the Tsarist system depended on avoiding major wars. With a deep insight into the tsar's moods and views, Girs was usually able to shape the final decisions by outmaneuvering hostile journalists, ministers, and even
18816-631: Was following the practices of Catherine the Great, who, if not exactly by "mail order", certainly bought "sight unseen". In this way, between 1764 and 1781 Catherine the Great acquired six major collections: those of Johann Ernst Gotzkowsky ; Heinrich von Brühl ; Pierre Crozat ; Horace Walpole ; Sylvestre-Raphael Baudouin ; and finally in 1787, the John Lyde-Brown collection. These large assemblies of art included works by such masters as Rembrandt , Rubens , Titian , Raphael , Tiepolo , van Dyck and Reni . The acquisition of 225 paintings forming
18963-511: Was founded upon a swamp, with little sunlight, and it was said only cabbages and turnips would grow there. It was forbidden to fell trees for fuel, so hot water was permitted just once a week. Only Peter's second wife, Empress Catherine , pretended to enjoy life in the new city. As a result of pressed slave labour from all over the Empire, work on the city progressed quickly. It has been estimated that 200,000 people died in twenty years while building
19110-568: Was hostile to Jews, and his reign witnessed a sharp deterioration in their economic, social, and political condition. His policy was eagerly implemented by tsarist officials in the May Laws of 1882. These laws encouraged open anti-Jewish sentiment and dozens of pogroms across the western part of the empire. As a result, many Jews emigrated to Western Europe and the United States. The laws banned Jews from inhabiting rural areas and shtetls (even within
19257-399: Was impatient for the events to end. He would order each musician of the orchestra to leave and turn off the lights until the guests left. After an unpleasant childhood experience on a bad-tempered mount, he developed a lifelong fear of horses. His wife once convinced him to go on a carriage ride with her, but as he reluctantly entered the carriage, the ponies reared back. He immediately left
19404-406: Was indeed something of the muzhik [Russian peasant] about him. The look of his bright eyes made quite an impression on me. As he passed where I was standing, he raised his head for a second, and to this day I can remember what I felt as our eyes met. It was a look as cold as steel, in which there was something threatening, even frightening, and it struck me like a blow. The Tsar's gaze! The look of
19551-436: Was keen to introduce a more civilized and cultured air to her court. She designed new liveries for her servants and, on her orders, mead and vodka were replaced with champagne and Burgundy. She instructed the Russian nobility to replace their plain furniture with that of mahogany and ebony, while her own tastes in interior decoration ran to a dressing table of solid gold and an " easing stool " of silver, studded with rubies. It
19698-416: Was on two floors above a rusticated ground floor, with a central projection underneath a pediment supported by columns. It was here that Peter the Great died in 1725. The Winter Palace was not the only palace in the unfinished city, or even the most splendid, as Peter had ordered his nobles to construct stone built residences and to spend half the year there. This was an unpopular command; Saint Petersburg
19845-541: Was painted green with the ornament depicted in white, the standard Soviet color scheme for Baroque buildings. (The Stroganov Palace , for example, was also green and white in this period.) Internally, the palace appears as a combination of the Baroque and the Neoclassical. Little of Rastrelli's rococo interior design has survived; only the Jordan Staircase and the Grand Church remain in their original style. The changes to
19992-547: Was placed in Znamenskaya Square in front of the Moscow Rail Terminal in St. Petersburg . Both the horse and rider were sculpted in massive form, leading to the nickname of "hippopotamus". Troubetzkoy envisioned the statue as a caricature , jesting that he wished "to portray an animal atop another animal", and it was quite controversial at the time, with many, including the members of the Imperial Family, opposed to
20139-417: Was prepared to give up his rights of succession in order to marry his beloved "Dusenka". In 1866 after tsesarevich Nicholas's death, tsar Alexander II informed the new tsesarevich Alexander that Russia had come to a marriage agreement with the parents of Princess Dagmar of Denmark, who had been Nicholas' fiancée. Initially, the tsesarevich refused to travel to Copenhagen because he wanted to marry Maria. Enraged,
20286-491: Was soon deposed in a bloodless coup d'état by Grand Duchess Elizabeth , a daughter of Peter the Great. The new Empress Elizabeth, whose main residence was the Summer Palace , led the court at the Winter Palace to be described later by the Russian historian Vasily Klyuchevsky as a place of "gilded squalor". During the reign of Elizabeth, Rastrelli, still working to his original plan, devised an entirely new scheme in 1753, on
20433-553: Was still challenged by the Russian-Turkish war of 1877–1878, which created a deficit, so he imposed customs duties on imported goods. To further alleviate the budget deficit, he implemented increased frugality and accounting in state finances. Industrial development increased during his reign. Also during his reign, construction of the Trans Siberian Railway was started. Following his father's assassination, Alexander III
20580-464: Was succeeded by Peter I's grandson Peter II , who in 1727 had Mattarnovy's palace greatly enlarged by the architect Domenico Trezzini . Trezzini, who had designed the Summer Palace in 1711, was one of the greatest exponents of the Petrine Baroque style, now completely redesigned and expanded Mattarnovy's existing Winter Palace to such an extent that Mattarnovy's entire palace became merely one of
20727-550: Was supported by a metal framework, while the spans of ceilings in the great halls were supported by iron girders. Following the fire, the exterior, most of the principal state suites, the Jordan staircase and the Grand Church were restored to their original design and decoration by the architect Vasily Stasov . Some of the rooms, such as the second largest room in the Winter Palace, the Armorial Hall, became far more ornate, however, with
20874-463: Was the Palace's Grand Church (16) . Granted cathedral status, it was of greater religious significance than the chapels of most European royal palaces. It was here that Romanov weddings were usually celebrated with a rigid and unchanging tradition and protocol. Even the bride's dress, and the manner of donning it, was dictated by tradition. Dressed by the Empress, the bride and her procession would pass from
21021-470: Was the quantity of dynamite that the fact there was an intervening floor between the dining room and the basement was of no significance. Plans were made to detonate the bomb on the evening of 17 February [ O.S. 5 February] 1880, assassinating the Tsar and Imperial family as they dined. Fortunately for the Romanovs, a guest arriving from Berlin was delayed, and for the first time in years dinner
21168-409: Was to be responsible for the palace's present appearance and layout. He not only effected many changes to the interior of the palace but also was responsible for its complete rebuilding following the fire of 1837. As completed, the overriding exterior form of the Winter Palace's architecture, with its decoration in the form of statuary and opulent stucco work on the pediments above façades and windows,
21315-496: Was to serve as a model for numerous Russian palaces belonging to Catherine's aristocracy, all of them, like the Winter Palace itself, built by the slave labour of Russian serfs. The sophistication and manners observed inside the Winter Palace were greatly at odds with the grim reality of life outside its externally gilded walls. In 1767, as the Winter Palace grew in richness and splendour, the Empress published an edict extending Russian serfdom . During her reign she further enslaved over
21462-515: Was transported to the Petrovskaya Naberezhnaya, where it still stands. With the site cleared, the Tsar then embarked on the building of a larger house between 1711 and 1712. This house, today referred to as The First Winter Palace, was designed by Domenico Trezzini . The 18th century was a period of great development in European royal architecture, as the need for a fortified residence gradually lessened. This process, which had begun in
21609-423: Was true, I will do my best to be." When she left his side, he missed her bitterly and complained: "My sweet darling Minny, for five years we've never been apart and Gatchina is empty and sad without you." In 1885, he commissioned Peter Carl Fabergé to produce the first jeweled Easter eggs for her, and she was so delighted that Alexander gave her an egg every Easter. After Alexander died, his heir Nicholas doubled
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