The Trubetskoy Bastion - Peter and Paul - Saint Petersburg

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The Trubetskoy Bastion - Peter and Paul - Saint Petersburg

Peter the Great directed to build the Peter and Paul Fortress at the north bank of Neva River from the moment the city went under construction. Though the primary reason behind building this fortress was to give the Saint Petersburg enough time to be ready for the Swedish Empire’s counter-attack which that matter never happened. The other aid of the fortress was to be a political prison for the state's prisoners, the same place that Peter the Great's anarchist son imprisoned and executed.

 

The Trubetskoy Bastion - Peter and Paul - Saint Petersburg

The prison inside of the fortress became its only goal in its existence and didn’t change its policy throughout history. The Trubetskoy bastion rebuilt in 1870 and became the central prison in the Peter and Paul Fortress. Various political figures imprisoned in this bastion over the years, including the anarchist philosopher, Peter Kropotkin, the Tsarevich Alexi Romanoff, famous writers Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Maxim Gorky.

 

The Trubetskoy Bastion - Peter and Paul - Saint Petersburg

 Many years before the 1917 revolution and even after that, the Bolshevik propaganda promoted some brutal facts about this prison among common people. In many negative advertisements against the government, the fortress introduced as a torture ground, a filthy, and overpopulated place for prisoners. Some even said that basic human rights are never given to the prisoners. The people who imprisoned there promoted the fortress as a symbol of Tsarism dictatorship in common people's minds. However, the truth was completely different the prisoners in the fortress were in the acquisition of tobaccos, pens, papers, and literature as well as their basic rights which were luxury points for a prison at that time. Figures who imprisoned in the fortress told lies and exaggerated the truth to make common people against the Tsarism monarchy.

 

The Trubetskoy Bastion - Peter and Paul - Saint Petersburg

Today, the old Trubetskoy bastion turned into the museum for the public, so they can observe the cells, the prison yard, dungeons, and learn the history of the figures who imprisoned here. The walls in this prison which were the end of many political figures throughout history have the handwriting of many great and wicked people on themselves such as Lenin's older brother who executed in the fortress because of the participation in Alexander the third's unsuccessful terror.

If you like to learn more about the top attractions of Russia, you can always check one of the Star Travel Group's guides such as 'Tour to Russia' on our website.