Inside Russia

22 September 2007

Churchill described Russia as a ‘riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma’.

Churchill was right, because Russia is exciting, but sometimes very confusing for the visitor: walking past the psychedelic peaks of St Basil’s in Moscow or the glittering imperial splendour of another palace in St Petersburg can leave you with an uncomfortable impression that there exists a whispered world of past intrigue and infinite tsarists’ wealth, just beyond your reach. Bypassing the tourists is possible, but expensive: an early trip round the Hermitage might cost £900 for a group of up to 25; visiting special rooms in the Kremlin costs about £900 but again can be shared by a big group. Expensive, certainly, but these backstage trips, organised by tour operators such as Russia specialists Exeter International, reveal a side to Russia’s past that most people never see.

An Exeter guide can, for a fee, ensure you’re whisked past the crowds and metal detectors outside the Kremlin, and into the backstage palaces and churches at the heart of this 14th-century fort described by one guide as the ‘Russian equivalent of the Oval Office’. St Alexander’s Hall was stripped by Stalin but restored for $300 million after the fall of the USSR. Now dripping in gold, it makes Versailles look understated. Built in 1839, the throne room whispers with mystery; why, for example, are there three thrones? Two were for Nicholas I and his queen, Alexandra Feodorovna, but the third remains a mystery.

Worth visiting is the Faceted Palace, a 15th-century reception room decorated with frescoes where Ivan the Terrible and Peter the Great made merry. Here, too, is the Terem Palace, home to the imperial family in the 17th century, containing the Golden Tsarina’s Chamber, decorated with frescoes on a gold background. At the heart of it all is the Grand Kremlin Palace housing a series of ornate throne halls and gilded chambers with stunning burnished wood floors where the imperial family lived during the 19th century, but used today by Putin to entertain heads of state.

This palatial ostentation sits in curious juxtaposition with Russia’s other face of corruption and espionage. Stalin’s bunker is under the vegetable market at the Izmailovsky Bazaar, containing his office with original furniture; and a ten-mile underground tunnel to the Kremlin. Unsurprisingly, the place reverberates with a lingering, palm-prickling paranoia. [pagebreaks]

The atmosphere in St Petersburg is different, and you sense the city holds many unlocked secrets of the fall of the Romanovs. When the nobility fled, many hid gold and jewels behind false walls in deserted palaces, assuming they would return. The Hermitage Museum houses many of these treasures, but it’s likely that many remain hidden behind palace walls.