ST. PETERSBURG

One of the main and most beautiful cities in Russia is St. Pe­tersburg. It is not as old as Moscow. It was founded by Peter the Great in 1703.

St. Petersburg is situated on the Neva river and is an important seaport. The area of St. Petersburg is about 600 square kilometres. The population is about 5 million people and it is growing rapidly.

The climate is changeable and not very pleasant, particularly in late autumn. The most beautiful time of the year is "the month of white nights" in June.

St. Petersburg is a big cultural centre of Russia. It is famous for architectural monuments and museums.

The people who live in St. Petersburg are fond and proud of their city. Their living conditions are improving. A lot of new houses with all modern conveniences have appeared during the last 15 years.

The transport system is developing. It has become easier to get about the city.

St. Petersburg is an important business centre with multi-storey hotels and offices. It is an important industrial centre, with a num­ber of plants and factories producing equipment and different con­sumer goods.

6. Sightseeing in Perm.

A walking excursion about Perm.

At last we have arrived to the last point of our excursion - Mamin Sibiryak public garden. This place is familiar to all Perm citizens and all Perm guests. It is a former cathedral square which now became the visiting card of our city. The main attraction of a square is the magnificent building of the Lord Transfiguration Monastery Cathedral. In 1932 the building was given to the picture gallery and now it occupies the premises of the cathedral. But according to the decision of the Russian Government all former churches should be given back to the Russian Church. And there is an intension to remove the Art Gallery to some other place and to give this cathedral back to the Perm parishioners. The Perm Picture Gallery is worth saying some more words about.

It is world famous for its unique wooden sculpture of Perm Gods of the 17-18^th and 19^th centuries. We are also proud of the icons of the Strogonovs school of icon painting. The Gallery has a big collection of Russian painting of the 18^th and 19^th centuries as well as the works of Russian painters of the 20^th century.

The place chosen for the main city square was the best one for this purpose. It is the highest spot on the bank of the river Kama seen from all places of the area. It has a wonderful view of the Kama river and the city below the hill. The constructions of the cathedral began in 1797. The stone for it was brought to the city from the ancient Pyskorsk monastery from the Solikamsk district. The construction lasted 35 years. A provincial architect Vasiliev began to erect the bell tower. But when the second floor was constructed the building crashed down because of the mistakes in the calculations. A famous Russian architect Sviazev was asked to finish its construction. Now the 64 meters spire of the cathedral admires us by its perfect from and classic style. Under the bell tower there was a summer cold church, while later on there was built a warm, winter one. The building had 2 iconostasis, the icons for which were done by the Stroganovs icons masters. Now one of the iconostasis is still preserved in the gallery but it needs considerable reconstruction.

The cathedral square had 2 more buildings. One of - them was a bishop's house. Now it is a local museum and opposite it there was a theological seminary also constructed by the architects Sviyazev and Kruglyashov. For a long time it housed the Higher Military school of Artilery.

In the center of the square you can see the bust of Mamin Sibiryak. The square bares his name. He is a famous Ural writer who was also a graduate of the former theological seminary, alongside with the inventor of radio Popov or Ural story teller Bazhov.

7. The ancient cities of Russia: St. Petersburg – Pskov – Novgorod – St. Petersburg.