“That’s what all visitors notice, and it is our joy and pride”

Through times of smooth sailing and choppy waters, what has towered head and shoulders above the rest are the stately palatial abodes of St. Petersburg. “That’s what all visitors notice, and it is our joy and pride,” gushed a thoroughly pleased Gennadi. Political perils and fiscal failings haven’t dulled the gleam of its regalia in the least bit but just as the chill starts to gnaw away at my skin, so too does the realization start to make itself felt on the periphery of my awareness… all is not well in this fairytale setting. Just as the snow pecking at the ground around me is pristine, so too is the history of this breathtaking land tainted by its flirtations with the dark side of mankind. A litany of hostilities and uprisings against tsarist subjugation means that the residents of St Petersburg have been inveterate revolutionaries. The early 19th century (1825 to be specific) bore witness to a posse of aristocratic officials taking it upon themselves to cast off the shackles, and was quickly followed by full-fl edged and organized movements by 1917, this one proving the straw that broke the back of the Romanov dynasty. The corollary of this constant sparring was not merely in St. Petersburg making way for Moscow as the capital city, but that the very foundation of the Soviet Union was shaken by those stirred into action.

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Source:- IIPM Editorial

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