One of the most famous museums in the world, the largest building is the Winter Palace, built for
Tsarina Elizabeth (daughter of Peter the Great, who founded St Petersburg) in 1754-62, and is a
wonderful example of Russian Baroque. It was the official residence of the Russian Tsars until 1917,
although the Imperial family rarely lived there after Alexander II was assassinated in 1881. During
this time it was used mainly to house the extensive art collections acquired by Elizabeth and then
Catherine II.

In 1917, the Palace was stormed by the Bolsheviks in the Russian Revolution. The façade facing the
River Neva, designed by Rastrelli, was bombarded by the cruiser Aurora during the October Revolution,
and the Palace was pillaged and devastated by the Bolsheviks. The Palace’s wine cellars fuelled the
subsequent weeks of looting and unrest in St Petersburg, in what’s been described as the “greatest
hangover in history”.