Part One: Images of Peter and his City

Bronze Horseman, facing west.
Monument to Peter the Great (1782), known popularly as "The Bronze Horseman." Erected by Catherine the Great in memory of Peter the Great, the monument was designed by the French sculptor Etienne-Maurice Falconet and was intended to symbolize Peter's conquest of an unruly nation.
Photo by William P. Tishler, 1999

Bronze Horseman, facing east.
The description on the base: "Petro Primo Catharina Secunda"(with a Russian translation on the other side) expressed Catherine's attitude toward her predecessor and her view of her own place in the line of great Russian rulers. Catherine, who, having gained her position through a palace coup, had no legal claim to the throne, was anxious to appear as Peter's rightful heir.
Photo by William P. Tishler, 1999

Shemiakin statue.
Controversial statue of Peter the Great (unveiled 1990) by the Russian-American sculptor Mikhail Shemiakin. In contrast to the heroic and dynamic Bronze Horseman image, this statue portrays a Peter sitting solidly in his place and exaggerates the features of his legendary physique, including his elongated, spidery fingers. Some see this statue as an image of the tsar out of public view. Having returned from some official function and removed his hat and wig, Peter sits down in his chair, exhausted and alone.
Photo by William P. Tishler, 1999

View of Peter and Paul Fortress.
Peter's efforts to reform and westernize Russia grew more extensive during the Great Northern War against Sweden (1700-1721), which lasted the greater part of his reign. His two main objectives were to break the power of Sweden, at that time the dominant country in north central Europe, and to open trade and contact directly with Europe via the Baltic Sea. Beginning in 1701, the Russians captured most of the territories of Estonia and Livonia along the Baltic shore and in 1703, Peter founded a city strategically located in the northeastern corner of the Baltic Sea at the mouth of the Neva River. To secure the approach to the Neva River, Peter started with the construction of the Peter and Paul Fortress.

Peter and Paul Cathedral.
The Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul (1712-33) was the first ecclesiastical structure in St. Petersburg. It became the burial church of Peter and his successors, replacing this function of the Cathedral of the Archangel St. Michael in Moscow. The cathedral as we see it today is changed from Tressini's original design, since it was damaged in 1756 and repaired under Catherine the Great with significant modifications. Nevertheless, we can see much of the original form. The cathedral shows a fair mixing of elements. The extremely tall spire borrows from the Dutch, the facade shows some influences of the Italian Baroque, while the dome and cupola at the crossing are Russian.
(1) Photo by William P. Tishler, 1999

Peter and Paul Cathedral, interior.
The interior of the cathedral certainly shows foreign influence, although the builders and painters of the iconostasis were Russians from Moscow. Hamilton says that "the interior was more like a Protestant 'temple' than an Orthodox Cathedral" (Art and Architecture 267), and this may be true of the wide windows which let in a great amount of light. On the other hand, the rich decoration is typical of the Italian Baroque. The interior even has a pulpit, which is not part of the traditional Orthodox church building.
Photo by William P. Tishler, 1999

Kunstkamera.
Peter's Cabinet of Curiosities, or the Kunstkamera (1718-25) was the first building in Russia designed specifically for scientific purposes. The symbolic significance of the Kunstkamera as a center of learning is expressed in the central tower, which culminates in a lantern and globe representing Peter's interest in science and its applications for a new age of exploration in Russia. The tower contained an observatory later used by Russia's first great scientist, Mikhail Lomonosov. The building now houses St. Petersburg's Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography.

Oranienbaum.
Prince Menshikov's country residence at Oranienbaum (1713-25) was located on the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland to the west of St. Petersburg. The main palace shows the combination of ostentation and domesticity that was present in many early buildings of the capital. The palace at the central part of the building is rather compact, while the low, semicircular wings that flank it convey a sense of monumentality.
Photo by William P. Tishler, 1999

Oranienbaum pavilion.
Each wing ends in an octagonal two-storied pavilion. Oranienbaum was the first of the larger Petersburg country palaces, and so it influenced later imperial and noble estates.
Photo by William P. Tishler, 1999

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