Tag Archives: Decembrist uprising

Diplomat, scholar and author led turbulent life

Winding past the Cathedral on the Spilt Blood, Kazansky Cathedral, the Singer Building with Dom Knigi, towards Sennaya Ploschad and the Fontanka River is Griboedov Canal. Thanks to the magnificence of the buildings lining the canal, it is one of the most photographed waterways in St. Petersburg – and one of the least considered. The name however is a fitting…

Kingmakers, bodyguards and traitors: Peter’s Toy Army and the Fate of Russia

One of the favourite stories told about Peter the Great is how he used to play soldiers and created his own “toy army” his poteshnye voiska. The story is often told to reveal Peter’s ambition and his ability to organise his peers but the creation of this toy army is firmly rooted in the political rivalry of the late 17th…