Water Ways of the Czars 8/26 - 9/6/2007

A photo diary of a cruise from St. Petersburg to Moscow, 2007
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St. Petersburg

Starting point of tour of Russia

34 images

Palace of Catherine the Great

Opulence beyond belief. Gold work: 100 kg used outside for gilding; 200 kg inside. (The total 300 kg is equivalent to 660 pounds.)

14 images

The Hermitage — Getaway of Catherine the Great

The Hermitage is now a museum, stuffed with art treasures.

47 images

Peter Hof - Peter the Great's Country Home

A fabulous palatial estate, maintained by one thousand serfs. Gravity fed fountains, which, in turn, were fed by springs at 100 ft. elevation - via wooden…

21 images

Kizhi Island

Located near the Arctic Circle on Lake Onega - further north than St. Petersburg - Kizhi Island is a State Museum of Cultural History with national treasures…

39 images

Water Ways of the Czars

Travel from St. Petersburg to Moscow was by boat - 1,600 km, with a side trip of 150 km (one-way) to Kizhi Island. Images include scenes on the boat and along…

48 images

Goritsy

Goritsy - 1/2 way through the trip. Goritsy is the location of a famous monastery. You DID NOT want to be on the czar's bad list: you could end up as a monk or…

8 images

Ouglich (Uglich)

A regular sort of place. Wait 'till you get to Ouglich (Uglich) to buy souvenirs - best prices and well stocked.

6 images

Yaroslavl — a Relatively prosperous City

Last stop on the waterway from St. Petersburg to Moscow, Yaroslavl is a thriving city, celebrating its 1010th anniversary in 2007 — a prosperous city.

29 images

Moscow - the Capital of Russia

A large city - very congested. Sadly, we spent more time in the bus going to-and-fro than actually seeing sights. What we saw was quite interesting - St.…

77 images

Moscow Circus

15 images

Moscow Metro (Subway)

The Metro is lavishly decorated to illustrate Soviet "prosperity." It was also designed as a deep, bomb shelter in case of nuclear war.

29 images

Businesses in Russia

Commercial establishments along the way, from tourist traps to sidewalk vendors.

32 images

Propaganda - Wartime Posters

Reproductions of war-time posters - these speak for themselves.

5 images

People of Russia

My impression of Russian people: stoic, unsmiling, usually would not meet your gaze.

58 images

Edits - examples

Examples of before and after edits.

14 images

Images symbolic of Russia. From upper left: Pushkin in Pushkin Square, Moscow Double headed eagle on the duomo bldg. Star made of crushed rubies on top of one of many spires surrounding the Kremlin. Gigantic sculpture of ship - symbolic of Russia's naval prowess -in river across from the Kremlin. Statue in front of Moscow's port on the Volga. Russian flag. Hammer and sickle on front of a government building,