peterpaul_group_lg

No trip to St. Petersburg is complete without a trip to Peter & Paul Fortress. Peter and Paul Fortress is the oldest structure in St. Petersburg. Peter the Great decided to build a fort to protect the lands along the Neva River from a possible attack by the Swedish military. The fortress was founded on a small island in the Neva delta on May 27, 1703, and this date is officially recognized as the "birthday" of the city of St. Petersburg. The fortress was used as a political prison for the Tsar's enemies (Peter the Great watched as his guards tortured to death his own son, Alexii, in a cell at Peter & Paul...what a nice guy!) and later for the enemies of the Communists. The list of famous inmates included Dostoyevsky, Gorky, Trotsky, Alexander Ulyanov (Lenin's older brother), and members of the Provisional Government. Here is a group photo of Luke, myself, Miriam, Arshad, Sihl, Amir, and Chris (sitting)