1. L EISURE
Peter the Great’s ‘Window
to Europe’ has included
a Jewish presence in the
city since its founding
• TEXT AND PHOTOS: IRVING SPITZ
A
fter Tsar Peter the Great returned from a
tour of Europe in 1698, he realized that
Russia needed to import European tech-
nology and culture to catch up to the
West. In 1703 he founded the city of St.
Petersburg on the Baltic Sea as an outlet to Europe. It
was built on marshy ground on the banks of the
River Neva by conscripted peasants and prisoners of
war. Thousands perished in this endeavor.
Peter brought in architects from Europe and com-
pelled all his dignitaries to build a home there. With-
in 20 years, he had constructed a major city. No
buildings except for churches were allowed to stand
higher than the tsar’s Winter Palace, a tradition
which is still maintained today.
The initial architectural style was baroque. This was
succeeded by rococo, which then gave way to neo-
classicism. This 18th- and 19th-century architecture
is still preserved. Because of its palaces and churches
on the canals, St. Petersburg is often called the
Venice of the North. To me it was also reminiscent of
Amsterdam, since both have a similar system of
canals.
In 1712, St. Petersburg became the capital of Russia
and the seat of the Romanov dynasty. It was here
that the struggle against the ruling class began, cul-
minating in the 1917 Bolshevist revolution which
led to the abdication of the last tsar and the estab-
lishment of the Soviet regime. The capital reverted to
Moscow and, after Lenin’s death in 1924, the city
was renamed Leningrad. The city was blockaded by
the Germans for 900 days during the World War II in
one of the most destructive and lethal sieges in his-
tory. Over 600,000 of its citizens were killed or
starved to death. With the advent of perestroika
(reconstruction), the Soviet Empire collapsed peace-
fully in 1991 and was replaced by the Russian Feder-
ation. Leningrad reverted to its original name. Today,
St. Petersburg is Russia’s second-largest city with
almost five million inhabitants.
On my first trip to Leningrad, in 1984 under the
repressive communist regime, I visited the refuseniks
16 TRAVEL – those Jews who were refused permission to emi-
grate. The city was drab and the people depressed.
My latest visit was like landing on another planet.
The Jewish side of Nevsky Prospect, the main thoroughfare and the
St. Petersburg center of the city, is now bustling with well-dressed
people and lined with elegant hotels, restaurants,
European fashion houses and boutiques stocked with
exclusive brand names.
With its numerous bridges, canals, churches and
palaces, St. Petersburg is without a doubt one of the
most beautiful cities in the world. The most magical
time to visit is between May and August, during the
White Nights. The sun never really sets and there is
a persistent twilight. During this period, an hour or
two after midnight, the bridges across the Neva and
main canals are raised to allow the passage of ships.
ONE OF the key tourist sites is the Peter and Paul
Fortress. Situated on a small island in the Neva River,
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2. TRAVEL
it is from here that Peter commenced
building his new city. The island is
dominated by the St. Peter and St. Paul
Cathedral. Its architecture represented
a complete break with traditional Russ-
ian churches and its single gold spire,
attaining a height of over 120 meters,
makes it the tallest building in the city.
All the tsars and their families are
buried in this church.
For much of its history, the Peter and
Paul Fortress functioned as a prison.
Opponents to the various regimes were
interred here, including Peter’s son,
Alexei, who was tortured to death. The
prison also housed the writers Dos-
toyevsky and Gorky, as well as politi-
cians including Trotsky and Lenin’s
brother.
Vasilievsky Island, where the Neva
branches, is the oldest part of the city.
The tip of the island, known as the
Strelka, commands a magnificent view
of the city’s major landmarks. Here are
the two rostral columns modeled on
similar prototypes from ancient Rome
depicting prows of ships. Between
them is the old stock exchange, which
today houses the naval museum. Other
prominent landmarks on the island
dating from the 18th century include
the Kunstkamera (museum of anthro-
pology), the Russian Academy of Sci-
ences and one of the campuses of St.
Petersburg University. Also situated
here is Menshikov’s palace, the first
stone building in the city. Alexander
Menshikov, a thief and profiteer, rose
from humble beginnings to become
the most powerful man in the country
Today, St. Petersburg
has a vibrant Jewish
community with some
80,000 Jews residing in
the city. There is a full
range of religious and
educational facilities,
centered in the Grand
Choral Synagogue
and the tsar’s right-hand man.
Palace Square has been the scene of
many dramatic moments in Russian
history. In the center is the Alexander
Column, cut from a single block of
granite. On the pinnacle is an angel
trampling a snake. The main entry to
the square is from Nevsky Prospect
through a triumphal arch crowned by
six horses and a chariot driven by the
Roman goddess of victory. Both the
arch and the column were
built to commemorate Rus- EXTERIOR OF the Choral Synagogue in St. Petersburg.
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3. TRAVEL
AN HOUR or two after midnight, the bridges across the Neva and main canals are raised to allow the passage of ships.
sia’s defeat of Napoleon. On each side The Hermitage was considerably aug- dome dominates the skyline. From the
of this arch are two large curved build- mented following the Bolshevist revo- colonnade there is a magnificent
ings, formerly occupied by the army lution when the private collections of panoramic view over the city. Another
and the Foreign Ministry. The other Impressionist and post-Impressionist notable landmark in Nevsky Prospect is
sides of the square are dominated by art of the industrialists Sergei Shchukin the neoclassical Kazan Cathedral,
the tsar’s Winter Palace and the Admi- and Ivan Morozov were nationalized. which was commissioned by Tsar Paul I
ralty with its golden spire, one of the Whereas many items from this unpar- after a visit to Rome.
main city landmarks. alleled trove of paintings traveled in Equally impressive is the colorful
The Winter Palace is a mixture of the early days after perestroika, this is Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood,
baroque, rococo and neoclassical less likely to occur today since there is with its multiple onion domes, stone
styles. Its magnificent salons, decorat- a possibility that these artworks may be carvings and gilded spires. Intricate
ed in jasper, malachite and other pre- claimed by surviving family members colored mosaics cover both the outside
cious materials, were the private apart- from whom the collections were expro- and the interior. It was built in the clas-
ments of the Romanov family. Within priated. sical Russian style by Alexander III on
the Winter Palace is the Hermitage, one Located on the other side of the the site of his father’s assassination.
of the greatest repositories of art in the Admiralty on the bank of the Neva is During the Soviet era, most churches
world and the main tourist attraction the Bronze Horseman, the famous stat- were either closed down or functioned
of the city. Catherine the Great began ue of Peter the Great by the French as museums, but have now reverted to
the enterprise by buying outright many sculptor Etienne Maurice Falconet. It their original purpose.
European collections. Today the inven- depicts Peter crowned with a laurel A short distance from the city are the
tory contains over two and a half mil- wreath astride a horse overlooking the Romanovs’ great summer palaces. Pride
lion objects. Some notable items Neva and trampling a snake. Commis- of place goes to Peterhof Palace, which
include Scythian and Sarmatian gold sioned by Catherine the Great, the sim- was begun by Peter the Great, greatly
objects and an unparalleled collection ple inscription in Russian and Latin expanded by his daughter Elizabeth
of Western art. The Dutch section reads: “To Peter the First from Cather- and subsequently by Catherine the
alone boasts 25 paintings by Rem- ine the Second, 1782.” Great. It represented the Romanovs’
brandt and 40 by Rubens. The Her- A stone’s throw from the statue is St. answer to Versailles. Most prominent is
mitage is also very strong in French, Isaac’s Cathedral, the third-largest the Great Cascade with its three tiers of
Spanish and Italian paintings. Church in the world. Its gold-plated waterfalls with over 60 spouting foun-
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4. tains and gilded statues of mythological
figures, Greek gods and nymphs. The
center piece is the statue of Samson
opening the jaws of a lion. The main
palace has a great ceremonial staircase
and lavishly decorated rooms, the most
notable being the throne room. Scat-
tered over the gardens are other royal
residences, including Monplaisir, which
was Peter’s preferred residence.
The town of Pushkin is named after
the great Russian author Alexander
Pushkin, who studied there. Here is
another sumptuous summer residence of
the tsars. In the magnificent baroque
masterpiece, Catherine Palace, is the
recently restored Amber Room and the
incomparable Great Hall, used for grand
balls. Both Peterhof and Pushkin were
almost completely destroyed by German
troops in World War II and have been
painstakingly and carefully restored.
THERE HAS been a Jewish presence in
the city since its founding. Many tsars,
however, expelled Jews and prohibited
them from settling in the city. Excep-
tions were Catherine II and Alexander I
and II, who permitted wealthy Jewish
merchants, industrialists, scientists and
physicians to settle in the city. The hard
times endured by Jews in the Soviet peri-
od are over. Today, St. Petersburg has a
vibrant Jewish community with some
80,000 Jews residing in the city. There is
a full range of religious and educational
facilities, centered in the Grand Choral
Synagogue. The original building permit
for this synagogue was obtained from
Alexander II and it was consecrated in
1893. It is the second-largest synagogue
in Europe and its architecture is based on
the Moorish style.
The National Library of Russia has 20
million items in its collection. The Jew-
ish Karaite leader, traveler, merchant
and archeologist Avraham Firkovich
(1786–1874) amassed an enormous
number of Hebrew, Arabic and Samari-
tan manuscripts during his many trav-
els. He was even at the Cairo Geniza
before Solomon Schechter. The library
purchased Firkovich’s large collection,
which today forms the core of its
unparalleled trove of Hebrew manu-
scripts, one of the largest in the world.
This was made available to researchers
after the beginning of perestroika.
Of the 18 known dated hand-written
Hebrew manuscripts published before
1020, 12 are in the possession of this
library. The most celebrated is the
Leningrad Codex, which is the oldest
complete manuscript of the Hebrew
Bible using the masoretic text and is
dated to 1009. The Aleppo Codex,
compiled between 930 and 950 and
now housed in the Israel Museum, is
older but, unlike the Leningrad Codex,
it is incomplete. However, in quality,
the Aleppo Codex surpasses all other
biblical texts.
The erudite librarian Boris Zaykovsky
showed us the Codex Babilonicus Petro-
politanus, a compilation of the Latter
Prophets from the year 916. Written on
parchment, this is the oldest dated
Hebrew manuscript in existence
and the first known manuscript INTERIOR OF the Choral Synagogue.
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5. TRAVEL
VIEW OF the Winter Palace from the River Neva at night.
with the Babylonian system of vowels. pa and later Diaghilev worked with
We also saw an incomplete Hebrew dancers like Pavlova and Nijinsky.
Bible from the year 930. The same Philharmonic Hall in St. Petersburg
scribe, Shlomo Ben Buya’a, who com- was the venue where Tchaikovsky him-
piled the Aleppo Codex, also con- self conducted the premiere of his sixth
tributed to this Bible, aided by his symphony only a few days before his
brother, Rafael. Yet a further fascinat- death. It was also here, in 1942 during
ing Hebrew Bible in the collection the Nazi siege of Leningrad, that
dates from the 11th century and con- Shostakovich’s seventh symphony,
tains an Arabic translation of the Bible “The Leningrad,” had its premier. I was
written in Hebrew characters copied privileged to attend a most memorable
from the great Babylonian author and performance of this same symphony in
scholar Sa’adia Gaon. the same hall on the 70th anniversary
of its first performance by the St. Peters-
TCHAIKOVSKY, Rimsky-Korsakov, Mus- burg Academic Symphony Orchestra,
sorgsky, Borodin and Shostakovich, as conducted by Alexander Dmitriev.
well as other composers, lived and Unlike at similar events in the West,
worked in the city and many are also there were many young people and
buried here. even children in the audiences. The
There are three resident opera com- rich musical tradition of Russia has
panies. The most well-known is the been maintained.
Mariinsky, directed by the indefatiga- It was difficult for me to gauge with
ble conductor Valery Gergiev. When any accuracy what the Russian people
the set workshops of the Mariinsky thought of the current situation in their
were destroyed in a disastrous fire, country. There was, of course, the lan-
Gergiev spearheaded the effort to guage barrier. I was surprised by how
establish a new concert hall on the site. few Russians, even in the younger gen-
This hall has some of the best acoustics eration, speak English. People in general
that I have ever encountered. Current- seemed reluctant to discuss politics, but
ly the Mariinsky is in the process of I did detect much disenchantment with
building a new opera house. the present regime. Perhaps the most
From May to July, the Mariinsky telling remark came from someone high
hosts the White Night Festival with up in the tourist ministry: “Not every-
participation of local as well as promi- thing was bad under the Soviet regime,”
nent international orchestras and she remarked wistfully to me. ■
soloists. In the productions I attended,
almost all the principal singers were The author is grateful to Dr. Rafael Zer,
from the Mariinsky’s own roster of editorial coordinator of the Hebrew Univer-
soloists, which attests to the very high sity Bible Project, for his helpful comments.
standard of the company. The author, an emeritus professor of medi-
Ballet has a rich tradition in Russia in cine, writes, reviews and lectures on medical
general and in St. Petersburg in partic- topics, music, art, history and travel
ular, where it occupies a special place (www.irvingspitz.com). Additional pictures
in the cultural life of the city. It is in from this and other trips can be seen at
fact more popular than opera. It was www.pbase.com/irvspitz. Irving Spitz blogs at
FOUNTAINS AT Peterhof. here that the great choreographers Peti- www.educationupdate.com/irvingspitz.
20 MAGAZINE August 17, 2012