Art, Graves Sites, and More Soviet stuff!

After some blinys (think Russian pancakes) for breakfast I headed to the Russian Museum for another heavy dose of art. Whereas the Hermitage specializes in European art, the Russian museum specializes in. . .you guessed it! Russian art. The early rooms focus on icon art by greats like Andrei Rublev while the latter rooms end with artists who painted according to the Socialist Realist convention (although the museum didn't point that out. . .I get the sense that Stalinism has not been officially repudiated in art even still. And yet, even with the last few rooms being a bore from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, I feel like this is one of my favorite art museums. It was much easier to navigate and less crowded that the Hermitage. Further, It was great getting to see works like Ilya Repin's Barge Haulers (a sly jab at the Tsarist regime in the late 19th century that passed the censors), Isaak Levitan's Lake, portraits by the court painter Karl Brullov, Malevich's infamous Black Square from the early 20th century (it is simply a black square on canvas) and Goncharova's cyclist with its cubist motion.

    Repin's Barge Haullers

 

    Levitan

    Goncharova' Cyclist

I got out of the museum in the early afternoon then proceeded to the metro where I got off at Alexander Nevsky station across the street from. . .you guess it again Alexander Nevsky Cemetery and Cathedral. The cemetery holds some of Russia's artistic greats: Dostoevsky, Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Mussorgsky and so on. The atmosphere in the cemetery was serene and peaceful. Large shade trees above provided plenty of shelter from the sun. Each plot typically had hedges and/or flowers around it. There were several fountains around with benches to rest and relax for a bit. 

    Dostoevsky's Grave Site at Nevsky Cemetery 

Following the cemetery, I walked a short distance to the Nevsky Cathedral, which I will describe in a moment. But first, a little history. Nevsky was a medieval leader of the city of Novgorod in northern Russia. He most famously defeated Teutonic Knights near the Neva river earning him near saint-like status for protecting Orthodox Christianity and the cool title of Nevsky. Peter, who also famously defeated Western invaders, utilized Nevsky's historical fame for himself and had a cathedral built near the approximate spot of the famous battle in the medieval era. Now, back to the cathedral. When I entered the cathedral there was some kind of service going on. Lucky for me, Russian Orthodox services are come and go affairs and I could simply watch from a distance and observe. I saw much chanting, monotone reading from scripture and individuals crossing themselves. 

Not having had my fill of walking I decided to walk a long distance north alongside the Neva embankment to the Smolniy area. There I saw the Smolniy Institute, which housed the Aug. 1917 Provisional Government and where the Bolsheviks gained the upper hand over their Menshevik and Socialist Revolutionary rivals. Outside the institute stood an impressive array of Soviet statuary: a statue of Lenin, busts of Marx and Engels facing off across the main road to the Institute, and a columned structure with the famous phrase "пролетарий всёх стран соидителось!” (Workers of all countries unite!). Not too far from here also stands a statue of Felix Dzherzhinsky, who was head of the ruthless Cheka (the precursor to the KGB) during the revolutionary years. Why is this statue still standing?

For dinner I tried to find a well-reviewed Georgian restaurant called "Kavkaz" but could not find it. I walked another long distance back to my home street where I found a different Georgian restaurant and had lamb shashlik. It was yummy. Tomorrow, I plan on relaxing a bit in the morning and then at 2pm taking a excursion bus to Tsarskoe Selo.