As an organization that sends thousands of students abroad each year, CEA has captured a list of local secrets - a collection of discoveries from our students, resident staff, as well as other locals - that make this city unique. We hope you will find the information helpful and, at the every least, an interesting read.
Russkaya Rybalka (Russian Fishing)
There are many restaurants offering fish menus in St. Petersburg, but Russkaya Rybalka (Russian Fishing) is unique, since you have to catch your own dinner!
The setting on Krestovsky Island on the Gulf of Finland is idyllic - a charming wooden hut overlooking a lake packed with sturgeon and trout. Experienced chefs will smoke or bake your catch on hot coals as you watch. If you don’t like fish there are plenty of tasty Russian specialities on the menu. Russian President Vladimir Putin has been spotted fishing/dining with French President Jacques Chirac at Russkaya Rybalka!
From Cold War to Warm Food
Missed the Soviet era? Don’t worry. Soviet-themed establishments such as Café CCCP and Propaganda Café will whisk you right back to the days of the Cold War and the KGB with authentic, Soviet-era décor and ambiance, as you dine on local Russian specialties or typical Western dishes. Food has greatly improved since the days of chronic shortages before the collapse of the Soviet Union. A wide range of food products are readily available and restaurants in the city range from fast food kiosks to world-class eateries.
It's all in a name – From St. Petersburg to Petrogad to Leningrad to St. Petersburg
At the beginning of World War I, the Germanic form of the city’s name, St. Petersburg, was changed to the more Russian-sounding Petrograd. The city was renamed Leningrad following the death of Lenin in 1924. After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, in a historical city referendum, voters chose to restore the city's name back to St. Petersburg.
Ra-Ra-Rasputin
According to Boney M’s hit record of the seventies, Grigori Rasputin was the lover of the Russian Tsarina Alexandra. The “mad monk” dominated the final years of imperial Russia and the reign of Nicholas II. Despite his scandalous behavior he had an incredible influence over the imperial family. Rasputin's debauchery and decadence eventually led to his downfall. You will re-live the final hours of this eccentric monk's life and follow the trail from his apartment in Gorokhovaya St. to Yusupov Palace on the Moika Embankment where he was assassinated by Russian noblemen, who feared that his debauchery would weaken the monarchy.
The Cruiser Aurora
The cruiser Aurora was built in the shipyards of St. Petersburg at the end of the 19th century and played a major role in the war with Japan in 1904-05. On the night of October 25 1917, she fired the shot that signaled the start of the Bolshevik Revolution. During WWII, her massive guns were dismantled and used to defend the city during the 900-day Seige of Leningrad. On 30 September 1941, she was damaged by bombing and sunk in the harbor. Refloated and restored, today the Aurora is harbored on the river Neva and has been turned into a free museum.
Nevsky Prospekt
The most famous of the city's grand boulevards is Nevsky Prospect immortalized by Russian author Nikolai Gogol, who lived at number 17, who writes of Nevsky Prospect that "the devil himself lights the street lamps to show everything in a false light." According to Gogol, Nevsky Prospect, "deceives at all hours, … but especially when night descends on it in a thick mass, throwing into relief the white and pale walls of the houses when the whole town is transformed into noise and brilliance."
Nevsky is the main thoroughfare of downtown St. Petersburg, running east-west through the center of the city for 3 miles. Nevsky is a good reference point if you get lost and need to find your bearings. It is always easy to find on the map since it runs east-west through the center for 3 miles or so.
