RUSSIA

Location - Eastern Europe/North Asia; Capital - Moscow; Population - 143 million; Currency - Russian Rouble MORE RUSSIA

Yekaterinburg is only a few kilometres inside Asia and also marks the beginning (or end) of Siberia - February 2011.

50 Russian Roubles

After the Romanov family - including Tsar Nicholas II - were murdered in Yekaterinburg in 1918, their bodies were taken 16km north east to Ganina Yama

The site is home to several monasteries (by the way, it was -31°C when I took these photos) - Ganina Yama

The viewing platform that overlooks the mineshaft in which the bodies were dumped - Ganina Yama

The Monastery of the Holy Martyrs has been built at Ganina Yama to honour the Romanovs

Only 17km from Yekaterinburg is the Europe/Asia border, marked by this monument right next to a dual carriageway

Behind the Europe/Asia monument is a small section of forest

I didn't quite get why these empty wine bottles were 'stored' in a fence - Europe/Asia border

The view of Yekaterinburg train station from my hotel room

This is another Europe/Asia monument, next to the Trans-Siberian railway 40km west of Yekaterinburg

More wooden houses on the 40hr train ride from Yekaterinburg to St Petersburg

Again I arrived at a Russian city at a silly time, and was out on the streets of St Petersburg (Nevsky Prospekt) before dawn

Nevsky Prospekt is the main shopping street, and home to several churches and the Kazan Cathedral - St Petersburg

Also on Nevsky Prospekt is a statue of former empress of Russia Catherine the Great - St Petersburg

Walking down a tree-lined avenue in Admiralty Gardens - St Petersburg

Walking through Admiralty Gardens brings you to Decembrists' Square and a statue of legendary Peter the Great - St Petersburg

The Admiralty is, surprise suprise, next to the Admiralty Gardens - St Petersburg

Cross the road from the Admiralty to visit the Winter Palace of the Tsars, which houses the State Hermitage Museum - St Petersburg

The Winter Palace looks out on to Dvortsovaya Ploshchad - St Petersburg

The extremely grand Winter Palace, former home to the Russian royal family, contains one of the world's finest art collections - St Petersburg

In the centre of Dvortsovaya Ploshchad is the Alexander Column, named after Emperor Alexander I, ruler of Russia in the early 19th century - St Petersburg

I slipped my way over an icy Dvortsovaya Ploshchad to the Winter Palace entrance - St Petersburg

The Jordan Staircase greets visitors to the State Hermitage Museum - St Petersburg

Wander through room after room of opulence in the Hermitage - St Petersburg

The Hermitage exhibits paintings by Picasso, Gaugin, Matisse, Renoir, Monet, Rembrandt etc.
This is a van Gogh, part of the controversial 'trophy art' collection appropriated from Nazi Germany after WWII - St Petersburg

From the Hermitage there's some good views of Dvortsovaya Ploshchad, Alexander Column and the semi-circular General Staff Building - St Petersburg

The former Mikhailovsky Palace now houses the Russian Museum, which contains Russian art - St Petersburg

Frozen into the Neva River - St Petersburg

As far as I know Peter the Great's log cabin is inside this building.
The cabin was built in 1703 to enable Peter to keep an eye on the construction of the nearby Peter & Paul Fortress - St Petersburg

Across the Neva River to the Peter & Paul Fortress - St Petersburg

Within the grounds of the Peter & Paul Fortress is the SS Peter & Paul Cathedral - St Petersburg

The cathedral is the resting place of the Romanov monarchs, including the murdered Tsar Nicholas II and his family (pictured - see previous Yekaterinburg and Ganina Yama photos for explanation) - St Petersburg

The tombs of Catherine the Great and Peter the Great at the SS Peter & Paul Cathedral - St Petersburg

The 'secret passage' at the Peter & Paul Fortress - St Petersburg

The Peter & Paul Fortress was originally built in 1703 as a defence against the Swedish, but it's main use up to the 1917 Russian Revolution was as a political prison. Bolshevik revolutionary Leon Trotsky was confined to this prison cell in 1906 - St Petersburg

And Lenin's brother Aleksandr Ulyanov was imprisoned here in 1887. He was hanged on 8 May 1887 - St Petersburg

Outside the Peter & Paul Fortress is the Decembrists' Monument, built on the spot where 5 leaders of the Decembrist revolt were executed in 1826 - St Petersburg

I think this ship hosts conferences and/or parties - St Petersburg

On the eastern point of Vasilevsky Island are two Rostral Columns, used as navigational aids in the 1800s - St Petersburg

It looks like an icebreaker has forged its way up the Neva River - St Petersburg

Looking very similar to St Basil's Cathedral in Moscow, the Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood is beautiful at night - St Petersburg

On my way to visit Yusupov Palace - St Petersburg

But damn it was closed for renovation. Yusupov Palace was the place where 'mad monk' Rasputin was poisoned in 1916 - St Petersburg

The majestic golden-domed St Isaac's Cathedral - St Petersburg

Climb the 262 steps of St Isaac's Cathedral and check out the city - St Petersburg

The golden spire of SS Peter & Paul Cathedral is visible from the cathedral - St Petersburg

You can also get a good look at the Winter Palace and Alexander Column - St Petersburg

A distant Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood - St Petersburg

Website and content Copyright © 2008-2011 Mark Wilkinson. All rights reserved.

LINKS

www.visitrussia.org.uk - Russia National Tourist Office

www.realrussia.co.uk - UK/Russia based company - visa support and train tickets

www.seat61.com - Seat 61's page on train travel in Russia, and www.seat61.com it's page on the Trans-Siberian

www.waytorussia.net

www.eng.rzd.ru - Russian Railways website, and more info here www.poezda.net

I am not responsible for the content of external websites.