The end may justify the means as long as there is something that justifies the end.
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"The end may justify the means as long as there is something that justifies the end." - Leon Trotsky
We started off today by visiting the most famous statue in Saint Petersburg - The Bronze Horseman. It is comparable to the Statue of Liberty and its representation of NYC. It is a monument of Peter the Great - the founder of Saint Petersburg, which was commissioned by Catherine the Great.
Inside Peter and Paul Cathedral, the burial place of most of Russia's royalty.
Overall today was a great day! I loved going to the fortress because as I said before, I'm a total geek when it comes to the Romanovs and their history. I had a wonderful time back at the school, as usual, seeing and working with the students.
Tonight I think everyone but another student and I went to the ballet. I'm not a huge fan of ballet so I decided to stay in and work on homework for the online class I am taking right now.
Tomorrow we are visiting Saint Isaac's Cathedral - the largest cathedral in Russia. Then we are attending the "Last Bell Parade" at the Grot school, celebrating the end of the school year. Then, we are heading to Peterhof, the palace of Peter the Great.
Our group at the Bronze Horseman.
The Church of the Spilt Blood - location of Alexander II's assassination. Construction lasted from 1883 until 1907. There is an interesting legend about his assassination. It goes like this:
A Parisian gypsy told Alexander II that there would be 6 attempts on his life, and on the 7th attempt, he would be killed. After the 6th attempt on his life, Alexander II laughed and said "See, after 6 attempts, I'm still alive." One Sunday, as he always did he went out to Mikhailovsky Manège for the military roll call. Ignacy Hryniewiecki was standing on the side of the road and when the tsar passed by, he threw a bomb at him. It landed at his feet and exploded, killing him. It is rumored that when the bomb landed at his feet, he said: "It is too early to thank God".
Peter and Paul Fortress, which contains the Peter and Paul Cathedral and the Trubetskoy Bastion Prison. The fortress was founded by Peter the Great in 1703. Even as the 20th century rolled around, it was still continued to be used as a prison by the tsarist government. It was originally built to defend the city against an attack from Sweden, as Russia was at war with them at the time. The Trubetskoy Bastion Prison located on the premises is most famous for its use during the Russian Revolution, hosting such prisoners as the brother of Lenin, Maxim Gorky, and Leon Trotsky.
Inside Peter and Paul Cathedral, the burial place of most of Russia's royalty.
The tomb of Peter I - the founder of Saint Petersburg
The tomb of the Romanovs - their remains were all placed here in 1998
The resting place of Maria Romanova and the famous Anastasia Romanova
The parents of Tsar Nicholas II - Nicholas I and Maria
Inside Trubetskoy Prison - typical prisoner labor outfit
A typical cell inside the prison
Maxim Gorky, a famous Soviet writer and political activist, was a prisoner here.
The famous Leon Trotsky was once throne in this prison.
From Wikipedia: Trotsky was a Marxist revolutionary and theorist, Soviet politician, and the founder and first leader of the Red Army. Trotsky initially supported the Menshevik Internationalists faction of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party. He joined the Bolsheviks immediately prior to the 1917 October Revolution, and eventually became a leader within the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (bolsheviks). He was one of the seven members of the first legendary Politburo, founded in 1917 in order to manage the Bolshevik Revolution: Lenin, Zinoviev, Kamenev, Trotsky, Stalin, Sokolnikov and Bubnov.
You can learn more about Trotsky here.
The cell of Trotsky.
Famous Prisoner Anna Vyrubova.
From Wikipedia: She was a lady-in-waiting, the best friend and confidante of Tsaritsa Alexandra Fyodorovna. Vyrubova was the longest-surviving figure in the intrigue involving Rasputin and the Imperial couple.
You can learn more about the prison here.
In the courtyard of Peter and Paul Fortress - it was a little cold!
After touring the fortress, we headed to the Grott school to create a "chain story" with the students. The idea of the "chain story" is that we each create one paragraph expression our thoughts/opinions/ideas/etc about the Getting Closer program. The paragraphs need to link together so that the story flows logically.
Liza's paragraph and part of mine. We added more to mine later.
Working hard on the chain story.
Kirill and Sergei reading Sergei's contribution to the story.
Chatting with the students.
Irina (our group leader), Kirill, and I.
Sergei and I
Sergei and I
Chatting with students and staff after working on the chain story.
Chatting with students and staff after working on the chain story.
Tonight I think everyone but another student and I went to the ballet. I'm not a huge fan of ballet so I decided to stay in and work on homework for the online class I am taking right now.
Tomorrow we are visiting Saint Isaac's Cathedral - the largest cathedral in Russia. Then we are attending the "Last Bell Parade" at the Grot school, celebrating the end of the school year. Then, we are heading to Peterhof, the palace of Peter the Great.
