ST PETERSBURG – SOME IMPRESSIONS . Review on Writing Reviews on MouthShut

SANKT PETERSBURG – SOME IMPRESSIONS

By

Vinay Singh

Everyone tourist to St. Petersburg visits the Winter Palace(Hermitage), which is said to be the largest museum in the World; the Peter and Paul Fortress, which has the graves of most of the czars; the Russian Museum; St Isaac's Cathedral, the third largest church in the World, after St. Peter’s in the Vatican and St. Paul’s in London; the Kazan Cathedral; the Nevsky Prospekt, the city’s Broadway and many other prominent landmarks that dot the city. However, there are many other marvels that some tourists miss out on, due to lack of time. Some of these are the Peskarovsky Memorial Cemetery the Metro, the bridges that open at night, the bathhouses, the Kirov Ballet and Vasilevskyi Island.

No one can remain unmoved after a visit to the Peskarovsky Cemetery. During World War II the Germans besieged the city. Confident of victory, Hitler had even planned a victory parade, for which invitations had been sent out. The siege lasted several months, but the city’s inhabitants refused to give up. Gradually, they ran short of food and firewood, and thousands died each day from cold and hunger. Most of them were buried together in large pits in with only the numbers being recorded each day. Today, it is a place of pilgrimage for every Russian, and a memorial to their courage and fortitude. Newly married couples make it a point to visit the memorial, which also has several exhibits. The most poignant is the diary of a young girl. Though not as famous as that of Anne Frank, it brings tears to one’s eyes. The little girl has dutifully recorded the death of each member of her family, ending with “Now, there is no one left.”

The Metro in St. Petersburg is truly a marvel. Work on the Metro began soon after the end of the Second World War, even though the city had been almost totally devastated from German bombs and shells.  Having seen the effect of the atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Russians knew that in any future war, they might be targets of similar weapons. Instead of making underground nuclear shelters in every locality, they decided to make one for the entire city. Tourists often wonder why it takes almost five minutes on the escalator to reach the platform from the top. It is because the Metro in St. Petersburg is almost 100 metres deep.   After the tunnels had been dug, lines were laid in less than half of the total area underground. The rest of the space became a natural underground shelter, in which the city’s population of 6 million could stay during a nuclear attack. Ingenious, isn’t it?

I would advise everyone to travel on a Russian train. Each coach has a dezurni, (duty person), who checks the tickets, makes the beds, locks the toilet when the train is stationary, looks after the air conditioning, and even gives you a cup of tea in the morning.  Talking about trains, they run like clockwork, and most long distance trains have no stops en route. For instance, the 500 Km. journey from Moscow to St. Petersburg does not have a single stop.  There is a story about how this came about. When the line was being planned, all the nobles whose estates fell between the two cities began exercising pressure on the engineer who was to construct the line. In exasperation he went to the czar and asked him to give a decision on the alignment of the line. The czar picked up a ruler and a pencil, and drew a straight line joining the two cities. Of course, it was not the best alignment, crossing rivers where they were widest, and going over ridges that could have been avoided. But that is how the line was laid, since no body had the gumption to question the czar.

Another marvel that few tourists get to see – it can be seen only after midnight – are the bridges that open in the middle. St. Petersburg is a busy port, and ships have to travel upstream along the Neva to dock. To facilitate their movement, all bridges across the river open up in the middle, and are lifted up, being hinged at the end son the riverbank. The opening commences at about 1.30 am, and finishes at 5 a.m. During the rest of the day and night, the bridge carries normal vehicular traffic, including trams. Unwary tourists are often left on the wrong side of the bridge after a late night at a nightclub or disco. They have no choice but cool their hills until the bridge closes in the early hours of the morning, since the Metro also closes at 1 a.m., opening only at 5 a.m., the intervening four hours being used for washing the stations and maintenance of the escalators and other machinery.

When I visited St. Petersburg for the first time in 1987, it was one of the safest cities in the World, and crime was virtually unknown. Capitalism has brought with it many ills, such as crime and poverty. The mafia is very active, and now has a finger in every pie. When I visited the city for the second time in 1994, I was shocked by the change. Pickpockets could be found in every bus, and chain snatching, had also begun. During the last ten years, the situation has only worsened. The mafia gets information about a rich tourist right from the time of his arrival, when his suitcase is being scanned by Customs at the airport. His taxi is then followed, and if he is   not robbed on the way, his suitcase is broken open in his hotel room when he is away.  However, this should not deter the genuine tourist, provided he follows a few golden rules, such as never carrying too much cash or wearing jewellery, not leaving cash or valuables in hotel rooms, and always travelling in groups of three or four. It is advisable to carry old suitcases or bags, rather than expensive ones. Suitcases should be of hard material, rather than soft, which can be ripped open with a knife. Expensive cameras, cell phones, walkmans and ipods are major attractions, and should be kept either hidden in deep pockets or secured by straps. One should never enter a nightclub or disco alone, especially when it is late. Of course, this does not apply to bigger establishments and those in five star hotels.