St. Petersburg's tumultuous history means that this beautiful city, now an essential part of Russia Tour, has experienced two world wars, the most prolonged military siege in history, severe repression and censorship, and relative freedom less than four decades. Despite all of that, it still stood up after each fall. The period of freedom known as the Thaw took place during the leadership of Nikita Khrushchev. During this historical period, Leningrad witnessed strange new events, such as the de-Stalinization. Many political prisoners were released, some people who had exiled during the Stalin era were allowed to return, and many artists were allowed to work again. Although this relative freedom pleased many citizens of Leningrad, with the removal of Nikita Khrushchev from the Soviet leadership and the replacement of Leonid Brezhnev, Russia and Leningrad experienced a severe economic and social recession, the effects of which are still understandable today. One of the best places to get acquainted with the historical period of Nikita Khrushchev on tour to St. Petersburg is the Museum of Political History, which tourists can visit during their travel to Russia.
When Leonid Brezhnev came to power, all the relative freedoms Nikita Khrushchev had brought to the Russian people, and especially to artists, were revoked. Everything returned to a period of Joseph Stalin's severe repression and censorship. Leonid Brezhnev's leadership was a time of economic and social stagnation in Russia and forced many Russian artists to emigrate voluntarily or be deported. The recession, which paralyzed the Russian industry, led the Russian people to resort to smuggled goods. Domestic producers also produced their products secretly and in underground workshops and made them available to the public. Many of the products found in the market were also second-hand and stolen products that returned to the store windows. Although this shadow economy was highly unauthorized and severe sentences were imposed on criminals; it was almost impossible to prevent participation in this cycle due to its proximity. Of course, smuggled goods were not the only illegal products used by the Russian people. Under the Soviet government's strict control over mass media, the Russian people also turned to gain access to information and literature through samizdat and self-published uncensored literature. However, people could only obtain these samizdat and literary writing for a short time, and each person should read them within 24 hours and passed them to the next person. Although the production and use of these products were severely illegal, and the producers and those arrested with these products in hand were severely punished, this was the only way to obtain uncensored information for the Russian people. Although Leonid Brezhnev's foreign policy was very positive for Russia, the domestic conditions, including economic, social, and cultural terms, were not good at all, and almost no one was satisfied with them. One of the consequences of Russia's domestic problems was its stagnation in industry and its lagging behind the West. With a closer look at those situations, you can see a vast gap between Russia and the West at that time. That had caused great dissatisfaction among the people and various sections of society during Brezhnev's leadership. The Museum of Political History is still one of the best places for travelers of Russia tour to obtain facts and useful information about those periods of Russian history through their travel to St. Petersburg.
One particular group that was most dissatisfied with the situation was the artists, who were severely censored and disallowed to work freely and creatively. From the beginning of Stalin's leadership to the end of Brezhnev's leadership, artists were only allowed to work in the artistic field of Stalinism, which was a reflection of the success of the working class in Russia. That drastically reduced the creativity of artists, causing many artists to emigrate legally or illegally from Russia. One of the most active arts outside Russia was Russian ballet, which earned many foreign policy privileges for Russia. Still, many ballet artists escaped from their bodyguards and sought asylum abroad. Many artists were also deported from Russia during this period, one of them being Joseph Brodsky. He was repeatedly exiled from Russia and returned to Russia on charges of being a social parasite. Brodsky, whose only crime was writing poetry, was deported to the United States for the last time, where he won the Nobel Prize in Literature. You can visit the Anna Akhmatova Literary and Memorial Museum in St. Petersburg for more information about this poet. Joseph Brodsky was a close friend of this great Soviet poet.
Another artistic community of St. Petersburg that was heavily censored and monitored at the time was musicians. Specifically, rock music, which was Western music, was influenced by this but continued to operate underground. That prompted the Soviet government to set up a designated venue for the music to better monitor these individuals. That led to the historical establishment of the Leningrad Rock Club, which could have its charms for tourists interested in this style of music in Russia tour programs. Even though the poems of the artists who performed in this club were severely reviewed and censored, the cry for social freedom was still emanating from these artists' hearts. Unfortunately, you can not visit the historical Leningrad Rock Club during your travel to St. Petersburg.
Although Brezhnev's era was a time of severe literary censorship, it's the birthday of two of the top literary and cultural tourist attractions on tour to Russia. The Fyodor Dostoevsky Memorial Museum, one of the most famous Russian writers, was established in 1971 in his former private apartment. This literary and memorial museum was established by the Dostoevsky family and friends of the Russian writer, translator, and journalist. Many tourists travel to St. Petersburg throughout the year to visit the museum. The museum also organizes many literary and cultural events each year on the birthday of this great Russian writer, which attracts a large number of tourists from all over the world to St. Petersburg tour. You can also visit this fantastic literary museum in St. Petersburg during your travel to Russia.
Another cultural museum established in St. Petersburg during the Brezhnev era and has become one of the cultural tourist attractions on tour to Russia was the museum of the famous composer Rimsky-Korsakov. Rimsky-Korsakov was one of the strangest Russian composers, having been a member of Group Five, one of Russia's most famous classical music groups. The renowned Russian artist is very popular, and the Rimsky-Korsakov Memorial Museum annually attracts many tourists from the St. Petersburg tour. You can also visit this extraordinary museum during the tour to St. Petersburg and get acquainted with this great Russian composer's personal and professional life. This memorial museum locates in the artist's former apartment in St. Petersburg.
St. Petersburg's history is full of surprises for people who plan to visit St. Petersburg during their tour to Russia. That's why we at the Star Travel Group had decided to give useful information about each era of St. Petersburg's history so you as the traveler would enjoy more of your trip to St. Petersburg. You can also learn about other parts of St. Petersburg on our weblog.
