Russia as all other countrries is living through one more Covid wave which we believe will cease soon. Some of the restrictions have been cancelled, some of them are milder now and we all hope the travel industry is back to normal life by late spring/earlysummer! This issue is devoted to one of the most beautiful cities of the world Saint Petersburg.

Sincerely,
Helen Isaeva

Guardian Angels of Saint Petersburg, trams on the fozen river, dates to avoid coming to the city this year

Guardian Angels of Saint Petersburg The city has got many secrest and legends. Perhaps one of most known is the 3 guardian angels. "Soaring Angel" at Peter and Pauls' fortress designed by Domenico Trezzini seems to soar above the city. The Angel on the Alexander Column at Palace square holds a cross in his left hand and symbolizes peace and tranquility. Its figure is not fixed in any way on 26 m column and is held only by its own weight. Angel over the Church of the Holy Great Martyr Catherine is on the temple located on Vasilyevsky island. The original one is on display in Smolny cathedral but the copy of it is installed on the dome of the temple.

While planning your guests' trip/event this year to St Petersburg will you please try to avoid the following dates: May 26-29 - UEFA Championship League Final as well as June 15-19 - Economic Forum - held off line for the first time this year after 2 year break. In most hotels these dates are black out.

In winter rivers and canals of the city are frozen. It’s interesting that from 1895 till 1910, a very unusual way of crossing the Neva during winter became popular. An electrified tramway over the ice was created. At the end of the 19th century, crossing the Neva by tram was very usual. In comparison to traveling by sleigh or by foot, this was considered one of the fastest ways of transport at that time. The first ice trams were converted from used horsecars and could reach a maximum speed of 20 kilometers per hour. Each carriage could transport 20 people at the same time. Carriages received power from overhead wires, stretched over wooden poles, frozen into the ice.

Peter the Great - the 350th birth anniversary of the greatest reformer of Russia!

2022 is a year of celebration of the 350th anniversary of the birth of Peter the Great who ruled Russia from 1696 till his death in 1725. He led a cultural revolution that replaced some of the traditionalist and medieval social and political systems with ones that were modern, scientific, Westernised and based on the Enlightenment. Peter's reforms had a lasting impact on Russia. St.Petersburg was founded in 1703 by Peter the Great. He was striving to build a European like city and he had succeeded. St.Petersburg is the most non-Russian city in Russia and the city will be the center of the 350th anniversary celebrations.

On January 14, the Hermitage held a grand opening ceremony for the permanent exhibition "Peter the Great Gallery”. The first rooms of the Peter the Great Gallery display numerous works of art, scientific instruments and tools from the palace collections of Peter the Great. Among the exhibits, in particular, is a saddle of Charles XII, a bone panikal made by Peter himself, and personal belongings from his study. The opening of the Gallery marked the beginning of a major project to celebrate the anniversary.

The monument to Peter the Great called the Bronze Horseman is one of the most recognizable landmarks of St.Petersburg. The monument was built by the order of the Empress Catherine the Great as a tribute to her famous predecessor on the Russian throne. This equestrian statue of Peter the Great, created by the famous French sculptor Etienne Maurice Falconet, depicts the most prominent reformer of the Russia state as a Roman hero. Taking pictures in front of this monument is a long-standing local tradition, especially on school or college graduation day or a wedding day.