{"id":1729,"date":"2020-01-22T13:24:20","date_gmt":"2020-01-22T13:24:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/russiable.com\/?p=1729"},"modified":"2024-01-06T11:45:14","modified_gmt":"2024-01-06T11:45:14","slug":"yusupov-palace-rasputin-murder-st-petersburg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/russiable.com\/yusupov-palace-rasputin-murder-st-petersburg\/","title":{"rendered":"Visit to the luxurious Yusupov Palace, scene of the murder of Rasputin"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The city of St. Petersburg has about 260 palaces. One of the most famous that I suggest that you visit is the Yusupov Palace, home of an important aristocratic family in imperial Russia. It is a beautiful, luxurious palace but not as overwhelming as the Hermitage. Its exterior is modest but hides an interior full of elegance. In addition, the palace is well known for being the scene of Rasputin’s murder.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Facade<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

1. Historical importance of the Yusupov Palace<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ll find the highlights of the Yusupov Palace<\/a> not in its recognizable yellow facade, but in the atmosphere of its lavish interior, which is part of a unique architectural complex with numerous halls and living quarters that will dazzle you, while showing you the life of the nobility before the Bolshevik Revolution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You have to keep in mind the supremacy of St. Petersburg, which was the capital of the Russian Empire from its foundation in 1703 until 1918, the year in which Moscow became the capital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The construction of the Yusupov Palace building dates back to 1770 and renovations have been taking place up until the present century. From 1830 to 1917, the owners of the palace and the mansion were five generations of a noble family of princes, the city\u2019s most distinguished family who were immensely rich.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They are the Yusupov family who established their family residence on the banks of the Moika River. Therefore, it has also been called the Moika Palace<\/strong> or the Yusupov Palace on the Moika River.<\/strong> Its style is neoclassical, combined with other styles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prince Felix Yusupov<\/strong> is alleged to have ended up with a fortune larger than that of the Czar. He had no less than 57 palaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1914 he gave over a part of the mansion to the soldiers wounded in World War I. He died in Paris in 1967 after going into exile and left in a book he wrote and in his memoirs his account of how Rasputin met his end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The palace once housed more than 40,000 works of art (such as priceless paintings by Rembrandt). After it was nationalized in 1918, some of these were transferred in subsequent years and decades to the Hermitage<\/a> or to the Russian State Museum in St. Petersburg<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This palace has hosted high-level international government and diplomatic meetings, conferences and symposiums, as well as visits by foreign heads of state and current royalty such as Elizabeth II, Queen of England, and guests from different spheres such as the actress Liza Minelli, the singer Sting, top model Naomi Campbell or Mick Jagger and his Rolling Stones.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Access<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

2. The assassination of Rasputin<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

 <\/strong>The Yusupov Palace<\/a> is well known in Russian history because of the chilling incident of the murder of Grigori Rasputin<\/strong>, which took place on the night of December 17, 1916 in the living quarters of the young prince, Felix Yusupov.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m sure the name Rasputin rings a bell for you. This controversial Siberian peasant, who later became a monk and convert, had a shady life story, a fixed and penetrating gaze and became a kind of healer-seer and a very charismatic spiritual mentor for the family of Emperor Nicholas II, and especially for Czarina Alexandra Feorodovna (it was speculated that he was her lover) and also for the Yusupov family.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Grigori_Rasputin_1916\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

An exhibition in the present Yusupov Palace recreates the environment in which they lived and the scenes of the historical incident of the murder at the hands of Prince Felix Yusupov and other court conspirators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rasputin was poisoned, shot several times and thrown into the Neva River. It is certainly one of the tourist attractions of the location. However, to this day there are some gaps in the events as they happened and the mystery hovers over the palace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can tour the rooms where one of the most famous crimes of the twentieth century<\/strong> was planned and committed, with files and photographs showing you Rasputin\u2019s personality and you will learn about the facts of that tragic night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You will see the wax figures of Felix Yusupov and Rasputin in the palace basement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some films and TV series have been made that tell the life story of Rasputin. One of the most recent ones, The Last Czars<\/em><\/a> (2019 American Netflix six-part miniseries with 45-minute episodes), moves between documentary and fiction to show us the last years of the Russian royal family, including the relevant appearance of Rasputin. In Russia, the film\u2019s lack of historical rigor in some of its content has been criticized, but, as you know, many TV series do not always correspond to the most absolute reality and are looking for the sensational.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. How to get to Yusupov Palace<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Yusupov Palace is centrally located in St. Petersburg. You can reach it on foot or by any of these transport methods::<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  • Metro: Admiralteyskaya and Nevsky Prospekt.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Public buses 3, 22 and 27 (Teatralnaya Ploshchad metro station).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Public trolleybuses 5 and 22 (also Teatralnaya Ploshchad metro station).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • By boat, getting off at the Moika River Pier.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    This beautiful palace has two entrances<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    • From 21 Dekabristov Street<\/strong>, (behind the palace) for individual visitors and small groups.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n
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      \"Access<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n
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      • From the Moika River Embankment, 94<\/strong>, for organized groups, or visitors attending an event or performance taking place in the palace theater (one hour before).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n
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        \"Access<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

        It is important that you bear both entrances in mind, because going from one entrance to the other takes time as the space occupied by the palace, the estate and its annexes is large. There is a 520-meter distance between one entrance and the other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Here is a map of the location of the palace and its two entrances:<\/p>\n\n\n

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        \"Yusupov<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n