Saint Petersburg Day Two

Friday, September 12, 2008
Saint Petersburg Day Two

09/11/2008 Our second day in Saint Petersburg started with a ride on the subway, built in 1955. The Russian subway stations reflect an effort by Khrushchev to share the beautiful things so common to the wealthy with the common people. He had focused on the industrial development of Russia and wanted the workers to share in Russia beauty as they moved to and from the factories. Each station platform is elaborately decorated in marble or steel sculptures, they are very clean and bright, and they are the deepest in the world.


We descended on a very fast escalator all standing to the right so that those in a hurry could pass us on the left. To our left was another escalator ascending from the depths of the platform, as we approached the bottom I saw a mass of humanity funneling to the single ascending escalator. I immediately observed that there was no one over the age of 40, the mass was a combination of brown, beige, and black; no bright colors, all white faces, all pressing forward to fulfill their dream, but no one over 40.
We then went to Peterhof, the summer palace, named for the first Emperor Peter the Great, built in 1710, located 20 miles outside of the city, consuming 2500 acres. The palace is a display of extreme opulence making the Lenin Revolution totally understandable. The well manicured grounds contain 157 magnificent fountains, 20 smaller palaces and other pavilions and 7 parks all for the use of the chosen few. Lunch consisted of borsch, a salad of unknown makings, chicken in a cream sauce, champagne, and of course Vodka. We were then off to St Isaac’s Cathedral, the pictures tell the story. The Russians make the most beautiful churches in the world. The people may have lived in poverty and at the edge of death but they had magnificent churches and palaces. We finished our day at the Yusupov Palace built in 1760 by the wealthiest family in Russia at the time. It real claim to fame is that it was the site of the assassination of the mystic Rasputin. If you’re interested I refer you to wickapiedia.

Saint Petersburg is a must see and a city that I want to see more of. I'll do that when I come back to see more of Russia. On the top of my list to see in Saint Petersburg on my next trip is Catherine Palace and the Amber Room.
I'd like to share a few observations. I've been in over a dozen major cities around the world in the past 18 months, including Beijing, New York, Barcelona, Athens, Berlin, Florence, Atlanta, and Chicago. In these cities as I took pictures I had to avoid sky cranes building new buildings, in Saint Petersburg I had to avoid trolley car and electric wires. In the harbors of other cities I saw pleasure craft, none in Saint Petersburg. I think of China and I see red, yellow, green and blue. I think of Saint Petersburg and I see brown, black, beige, and olive; only the Palaces are yellow and white. In Beijing, Athens, Barcelona and New York the elderly were seen celebrating their life, in Saint Petersburg the elderly were absent.
Sixteen years ago Russia changed, it appears that only those that were 24 or younger in 1991 are actively participating in the change. As an investor I’ll put my money on China and the US.