Culture
Journalists Explore St. Petersburg's History and Ethiopian Ties
The Reporter · last week · Read the Full Story on The Reporter
AI SUMMARY
Journalists from ten countries toured St. Petersburg to explore its rich imperial history, architectural landmarks, and its cultural connections to Ethiopia through Alexander Pushkin.
- Journalists from Ethiopia, Tanzania, Botswana, Egypt, Lebanon, and four other countries traveled by train from Moscow to St. Petersburg for a city tour.
- St. Petersburg was founded in 1703 by Tsar Peter the Great on territory taken from Sweden during the Great Northern War.
- The imperial court relocated from Moscow to St. Petersburg in 1712, establishing it as the capital and a center of administration, diplomacy, and commerce for over two centuries.
- Tour guide Oksana Prokofyeva led the excursion, beginning at St. Isaac’s Cathedral which features granite columns weighing about 114 tons each and built between 1818 and 1858.
- The tour visited Senate Square, home to the Bronze Horseman monument of Peter the Great created by Étienne Maurice Falconet and unveiled in 1782.
- The itinerary included the Winter Palace, designed by Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli, which now forms part of the State Hermitage Museum complex.
- The Peter and Paul Fortress on Hare Island marked the birthplace of the city on May 27, 1703, and houses the Peter and Paul Cathedral where Russia's rulers are buried.
- The group visited the final residence of Alexander Pushkin on the Moika River, where he died in 1837 at the age of 37.
- Oksana highlighted Pushkin's maternal ancestry through Abram Petrovich Gannibal, whose African origins are linked to Ethiopia.
- Other stops on the tour included the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood, the Kunstkamera, and the cruiser Aurora.
- The tour demonstrated how St. Petersburg merges its historical imperial architecture and landmarks with a vibrant, modern contemporary urban life.
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