Cost: 380 Rubles for Foreign Students (though the price is literally half if you're Russian)
Rating: Five out of Five
This palace was absolutely stunning. At first, it seemed like the cost was a bit steep (I mean, ANYTHING is expensive compared to free; and normally, our student IDs would get us free access to pretty much everything and anything we go to). Also, due to timing issues, we ended up missing a fantastic exhibit, and are going to have to return at some later date in order to see it. However, not only because of how beautiful it is, but because of the history of the place, I would highly, highly recommend visiting this palace.
Why?
Because this is the place that they tried to kill Grigory Rasputin.
Now, you might not be a Russia-nerd like me (or have had as much of a childhood obsession with the movie Anastasia as I did), but this museum has an exhibit open exclusively discussing the death of Grigory Rasputin. (Ergo why Princess and I are returning sometime in the near future.)
Prince Yusopov belonged to one of the richest families in all of Russia, a family richer than even the tsar's. (They owned numerous castles in both St. Petersburg and Moscow, including this one on the bank of the Naberezhnaya River.) Yusopov married the niece of the tsar at the time, Tsar Nicholas II. However, the thing that made him the most famous is the fact that he was the one who decided that Rasputin must be killed.
The version of this story that I heard this morning varied somewhat from the version that I heard when I was taking European History in high school, but the main details remained the same: Prince Yusopov invited Rasputin to have tea at his palace. The tea (or wine, depending on your version) and cakes that were served, however, were all laced with arsenic; and yet, after consuming massive amounts of the stuff, Rasputin seemed to be totally unfazed. Out of desperation, Yusopov and his accomplices stabbed Rasputin multiple times; and yet, the cleric continued to live on, limping out of the courtyard. (In the version I heard in high school, Rasputin even opened his eyes when they were trying to make sure he was dead, wagged one finger, declared, "You naughty, naughty boy", and began strangling Prince Yusopov. Entertaining, but I don't know if it's true.) Finally, they shot him, grabbed him up, took him out to a bridge (yeah, that bridge that I pointed out in Bruce and the Bruces-- man, gotta love history), and tossed him into the water, only for it to be discovered later that only the Russian winter could kill him. (Rasputin's body was found clawing its way out of the river, until he got frozen in.)
Obviously, I am highly enthused about this museum exhibit. However, seeing as I did NOT get to see this exhibit, I still highly recommend the rest of the museum, anyway.
*Note: All of the pictures from this museum can be seen in the album "Sennaya Ploschad Day".
Every single room is based on a different theme; so, this is how you can have rooms as different as these:
I took pictures of practically everything, just because there were so many beautiful things-- statues, vases, paintings, chandeliers. It was utterly fantastic. So, even if it cost a bit more-- hey, you only live once, right? (Or slightly longer than once, if you're Rasputin.)
Rating: Five out of Five
This palace was absolutely stunning. At first, it seemed like the cost was a bit steep (I mean, ANYTHING is expensive compared to free; and normally, our student IDs would get us free access to pretty much everything and anything we go to). Also, due to timing issues, we ended up missing a fantastic exhibit, and are going to have to return at some later date in order to see it. However, not only because of how beautiful it is, but because of the history of the place, I would highly, highly recommend visiting this palace.
Why?
Because this is the place that they tried to kill Grigory Rasputin.
Now, you might not be a Russia-nerd like me (or have had as much of a childhood obsession with the movie Anastasia as I did), but this museum has an exhibit open exclusively discussing the death of Grigory Rasputin. (Ergo why Princess and I are returning sometime in the near future.)
Prince Yusopov belonged to one of the richest families in all of Russia, a family richer than even the tsar's. (They owned numerous castles in both St. Petersburg and Moscow, including this one on the bank of the Naberezhnaya River.) Yusopov married the niece of the tsar at the time, Tsar Nicholas II. However, the thing that made him the most famous is the fact that he was the one who decided that Rasputin must be killed.
The version of this story that I heard this morning varied somewhat from the version that I heard when I was taking European History in high school, but the main details remained the same: Prince Yusopov invited Rasputin to have tea at his palace. The tea (or wine, depending on your version) and cakes that were served, however, were all laced with arsenic; and yet, after consuming massive amounts of the stuff, Rasputin seemed to be totally unfazed. Out of desperation, Yusopov and his accomplices stabbed Rasputin multiple times; and yet, the cleric continued to live on, limping out of the courtyard. (In the version I heard in high school, Rasputin even opened his eyes when they were trying to make sure he was dead, wagged one finger, declared, "You naughty, naughty boy", and began strangling Prince Yusopov. Entertaining, but I don't know if it's true.) Finally, they shot him, grabbed him up, took him out to a bridge (yeah, that bridge that I pointed out in Bruce and the Bruces-- man, gotta love history), and tossed him into the water, only for it to be discovered later that only the Russian winter could kill him. (Rasputin's body was found clawing its way out of the river, until he got frozen in.)
Obviously, I am highly enthused about this museum exhibit. However, seeing as I did NOT get to see this exhibit, I still highly recommend the rest of the museum, anyway.
*Note: All of the pictures from this museum can be seen in the album "Sennaya Ploschad Day".
Every single room is based on a different theme; so, this is how you can have rooms as different as these:
 |
| What I'm calling "The Blue Room" |
 |
| Concert Hall |
 |
| Home Theater |
 |
| What I'm calling "the Drawing Room" |
 |
| The Moorish Room |
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