From Russia, with Disdain

Из России, с презрением

DOB Oct 07,1952 He just turned 60!Born in the Soviet Russian city of Leningrad (now St Petersburg), Vladimir Putin studied law and joined the KGB after graduating from university.Served as KGB agent in East Germany 1985-90Elected President in 2000 and 2004In 2008 Putin becomes Prime Minister after Dmitry Medvedev's landslide win in March Presidential ElectionIn March 2012 Wins a 3rd term as President

When your guide stops you from buying in a museum souvenir shop, it means that she will bring you to another place where she is paid her 10-20% interest on your account. You do better at the open markets, but watch out for “gypsies” and pickpockets!

Baltic Amber

Fabulous Faberge

Lotte Lenya

50 Shades of Red—from pink to burgundy are hot with many Russian women

The Yusupov Palace

St. Isaac's Cathedral. “St. Isaac's Cathedral was once the main church of St. Petersburg and the Russian Empire's largest church. It was built in 1818-58 by French-born architect Auguste Montferrand. One hundred and eighty years later the gilded dome of St. Isaac's still dominates the skyline of St. Petersburg. The facades are decorated with sculptures and massive granite columns (made of single pieces of red granite), while the interiors dazzle the eye with mosaic icons, paintings and columns made of malachite and lapis lazuli. A large stained glass of the resurrected Christ, located inside the main altar, is truly fascinating.

. The church, designed to accommodate 14,000 standing worshipers, was closed in the early 1930s and reopened as a museum. Nowadays, church services are held here only on major occasions

Church on Spilled Blood - built between 1883 and 1907

Winter Palace of the Hermitage - main residence of Tsars after the 1760s

To create this extraordinary chamber, Rastrelli used the panels of amber mosaic originally destined for an Amber Cabinet at Konigsberg Castle and presented to Peter the Great by Friedrich-Wilhelm I of Prussia, and surrounded them with gilded carving, mirrors, more amber panels created by Florentine and Russian craftsman (comprising a total of 450kg of amber), and further mosaics of Ural and Caucasus gemstones. The room was completed in 1770. Due to the fragility of the materials used, a caretaker was employed constantly to maintain and repair the decorations, and major restoration was undertaken three times in the 19th century. The room was used to house a substantial collection of amber-work and Chinese porcelain. In 1941, when German troops took Tsarskoe Selo, the Amber Room was dismantled in 36 hours, and shipped to Konigsberg in a tawdry pretense at historical fidelity. As the Nazi war machine crumbled, the panels were crated up and moved out of danger, but their eventual fate is unknown.