0:00:02 > 0:00:04From towering temples...
0:00:04 > 0:00:06This is sensory overload.
0:00:06 > 0:00:08..to gorgeous galleries.
0:00:08 > 0:00:11They are just exquisitely painted.
0:00:11 > 0:00:13From traditional tunes...
0:00:13 > 0:00:15- SHE LAUGHS - ..to contemporary creatives.
0:00:15 > 0:00:17Have you ever had a book rejected?
0:00:18 > 0:00:20I don't care.
0:00:20 > 0:00:23Every great city offers a dazzling mix of world-class
0:00:23 > 0:00:26artistic treasures...
0:00:26 > 0:00:27..and hidden delights
0:00:27 > 0:00:31that reveal its distinctive history and character.
0:00:31 > 0:00:34I have really entered the territory of the hunchback of Oude Kerk.
0:00:34 > 0:00:38Which would you choose to see on a flying visit?
0:00:38 > 0:00:40I'm Alastair Sooke.
0:00:40 > 0:00:42And I'm Janina Ramirez.
0:00:42 > 0:00:47In this series, we're selecting our personal must-see sights,
0:00:47 > 0:00:51using the magnificent art and architecture of three great cities
0:00:51 > 0:00:54to understand the forces that shaped them.
0:00:54 > 0:00:56Keep one eye on your wealth but
0:00:56 > 0:00:58always keep an eye on your
0:00:58 > 0:00:59spiritual wellbeing.
0:00:59 > 0:01:03We are two art lovers with very different tastes,
0:01:03 > 0:01:06- from the modern... - ..to the medieval.
0:01:08 > 0:01:09As your guides...
0:01:09 > 0:01:12I have lost all sense of direction on this map.
0:01:12 > 0:01:14..we will be avoiding the crowds
0:01:14 > 0:01:18by hunting for treats way off the beaten track.
0:01:19 > 0:01:21And we'll also be finding new ways
0:01:21 > 0:01:25of appreciating the most famous attractions.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28That's my contribution to the Sagrada Familia.
0:01:28 > 0:01:33Between us, we'll show how centuries of political intrigue,
0:01:33 > 0:01:35privilege and the struggles of
0:01:35 > 0:01:38ordinary citizens are all woven through
0:01:38 > 0:01:42the artworks and buildings of these extraordinary cities.
0:01:51 > 0:01:55On this mission to get to the heart of a city through its art,
0:01:55 > 0:01:59we're in a place where culture has always taken centre stage
0:01:59 > 0:02:03as a means of enhancing power and control.
0:02:04 > 0:02:08I am so excited about being in St Petersburg.
0:02:08 > 0:02:10I have wanted to come here my whole life.
0:02:10 > 0:02:12Some children dream of marrying a prince,
0:02:12 > 0:02:14I dreamt of coming to St Petersburg.
0:02:14 > 0:02:16Nina, your dream comes true and with your own prince.
0:02:16 > 0:02:18Ah!
0:02:18 > 0:02:20It's a very, very splendid city.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23It's so colourful, it's beautiful and everywhere you look,
0:02:23 > 0:02:25there are these enormous buildings.
0:02:25 > 0:02:27They are blown up on a huge scale.
0:02:27 > 0:02:31I think it's worth remembering as well that this place was the seat of
0:02:31 > 0:02:33the imperial royal family for
0:02:33 > 0:02:36centuries and you see palaces on almost every corner.
0:02:36 > 0:02:38But for everything that is gorgeous and gilded and
0:02:38 > 0:02:43beautiful, there was bloodshed, revolution, all in this city.
0:02:43 > 0:02:45In our time in St Petersburg,
0:02:45 > 0:02:50we want to find out how art here has been nurtured and manipulated -
0:02:50 > 0:02:53first by the tsars whose dominance
0:02:53 > 0:02:54grew with the city itself
0:02:54 > 0:02:57and then by the leaders of the Communist era
0:02:57 > 0:02:59which was triggered by revolution,
0:02:59 > 0:03:02here in the city they renamed Leningrad.
0:03:02 > 0:03:04We want to see how artists,
0:03:04 > 0:03:06architects and writers have served
0:03:06 > 0:03:10their patrons' desire for prestige and propaganda.
0:03:10 > 0:03:12And how they have used art
0:03:12 > 0:03:15to express radical ideas and oppose regimes,
0:03:15 > 0:03:17both past and present.
0:03:20 > 0:03:21We're starting with a quick look at
0:03:21 > 0:03:26a monument to the man who founded the city, Tsar Peter the Great.
0:03:26 > 0:03:28It's known as the Bronze Horseman.
0:03:28 > 0:03:30It's not really off the beaten track this, is it?
0:03:30 > 0:03:34But we have to start here, in a sense. It would be bad not to.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37There he is, rearing up, overlooking the river.
0:03:37 > 0:03:40I could not imagine a more iconic image of St Petersburg.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43He is looking over the city he founded.
0:03:44 > 0:03:50After seizing territory in this area in 1703, Peter decreed that a grand
0:03:50 > 0:03:54new capital city be built here, at the western edge of Russia.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58The statue was the work of another great, Catherine.
0:03:59 > 0:04:02Seeking the utmost in European refinement,
0:04:02 > 0:04:05she brought in a top sculptor from France.
0:04:05 > 0:04:08What I love about this, it's so obvious he is harking back to the
0:04:08 > 0:04:12tradition of equestrian statue from antiquity. He's very grand,
0:04:12 > 0:04:14he's almost rampant up there on his rock, quelling nature.
0:04:14 > 0:04:17I think the sculpture is amazing, it's a symbol of power,
0:04:17 > 0:04:19but the rock is an even greater symbol of power.
0:04:19 > 0:04:24That rock originally was a natural megalith,
0:04:24 > 0:04:29that was on the Gulf of Finland and Catherine organised a group of serfs
0:04:29 > 0:04:34to bring this rock all the way to St Petersburg and over the course of
0:04:34 > 0:04:39nine months, this stone was dragged across ice, across water,
0:04:39 > 0:04:41across land to get here.
0:04:41 > 0:04:46To me, that is Russian power, imperial power at its height.
0:04:48 > 0:04:52Our first taste of St Petersburg has given us a dose of art,
0:04:52 > 0:04:56empire building, brutality and beauty.
0:04:59 > 0:05:03Next, we want to get a handle on the origins of the city.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06And why it became a symbol for the status of Russia.
0:05:07 > 0:05:11Peter the Great dreamed of building a modern capital that would emulate
0:05:11 > 0:05:13the engineering feats of the Dutch,
0:05:13 > 0:05:17who were world leaders in urban canal construction.
0:05:17 > 0:05:20So we are going out onto the water to find out more about Peter's
0:05:20 > 0:05:24visionary plans with local film director Alexander Pozdnyakov.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27Hello. Hi, Alexander.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29I'm Nina. Lovely to meet you.
0:05:29 > 0:05:31Hi.
0:05:35 > 0:05:37- Goodness.- It is just amazing.
0:05:37 > 0:05:40- Look at this.- This is quite stunning.
0:05:40 > 0:05:42I think this is more beautiful than Venice.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45- What's the building?- A department store.
0:05:45 > 0:05:48- Department store?- This is the famous place
0:05:48 > 0:05:52- where Rasputin was assassinated. - Oh, my gosh!
0:05:53 > 0:05:55We are heading out onto the River Neva
0:05:55 > 0:05:57to loop around Peter and Paul Fortress.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02This was the first area of the city to be built after Peter captured
0:06:02 > 0:06:05a fort from his enemies, the Swedes.
0:06:06 > 0:06:08I think we'd both love to get a sense
0:06:08 > 0:06:12of why Peter the Great wanted to found a city in this place.
0:06:12 > 0:06:14Two reasons at least.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17The first reason is the military reason.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20He wanted to control this territory,
0:06:20 > 0:06:26the second reason was to establish a new capital of Russian Empire here,
0:06:26 > 0:06:30because Moscow was a conservative society.
0:06:30 > 0:06:33He wanted to bring the western civilisation
0:06:33 > 0:06:35on the banks of the Neva.
0:06:35 > 0:06:39Is it true that he actually made sure that there couldn't be any big
0:06:39 > 0:06:42impressive buildings in stone elsewhere in Russia
0:06:42 > 0:06:44- to make sure it all happened here? - That is true.
0:06:44 > 0:06:47He wanted to make it immediately.
0:06:47 > 0:06:53And here, he stopped all the buildings of stone across Russia,
0:06:53 > 0:06:57because he wanted to build the city for ever.
0:06:59 > 0:07:01Peter hired Swiss-Italian architect
0:07:01 > 0:07:05Domenico Trezzini to design the mighty fortress defences
0:07:05 > 0:07:06and its cathedral
0:07:06 > 0:07:10in the style that came to be known as Petrine baroque.
0:07:10 > 0:07:12Although building on swampland wasn't ideal,
0:07:12 > 0:07:16the location, with access to the Baltic Sea, was.
0:07:16 > 0:07:18This is the oldest part of the city.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21This little island, Hare Island, this is here.
0:07:21 > 0:07:22- That's that?- Yes.
0:07:22 > 0:07:28And on the banks of this little island, I will show you another map.
0:07:28 > 0:07:30Peter envisaged a system of canals,
0:07:30 > 0:07:33crisscrossing the islands and grand avenues,
0:07:33 > 0:07:36or prospects, radiating from the centre.
0:07:36 > 0:07:40Serfs and prisoners of war had to dig up the boggy and often
0:07:40 > 0:07:44frozen ground, sometimes with their bare hands.
0:07:44 > 0:07:49As many as 100,000 are thought to have died, often of starvation.
0:07:49 > 0:07:52It's very easy coming here, just to be dazzled,
0:07:52 > 0:07:54because it is such a magnificent city,
0:07:54 > 0:07:58but my understanding is that this place became known as
0:07:58 > 0:08:00the city built on bones.
0:08:00 > 0:08:04You can't make an omelette without breaking eggs.
0:08:04 > 0:08:05That's a bit flip, isn't it,
0:08:05 > 0:08:08we're talking about 100,000 people who lost their lives!
0:08:08 > 0:08:12Unfortunately, this is like this,
0:08:12 > 0:08:16because, if he was
0:08:16 > 0:08:22very slow, I think he could not build this city.
0:08:24 > 0:08:26Grandiose building projects
0:08:26 > 0:08:28to burnish the glory of St Petersburg
0:08:28 > 0:08:30on behalf of Russia didn't stop with Peter.
0:08:31 > 0:08:36By the start of the 19th century, the tsars had expanded their empire
0:08:36 > 0:08:39to reach all the way from Poland to Alaska.
0:08:40 > 0:08:42Our next stop, St Isaac's Cathedral,
0:08:42 > 0:08:45was designed to reflect that vast domain
0:08:45 > 0:08:49and even with its dome under wraps for restoration,
0:08:49 > 0:08:51it's still astonishing to get up close to it today.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55I have never seen anything like this.
0:08:55 > 0:08:57This is enormous!
0:08:57 > 0:09:00- Look at these columns.- The scale of it is mind-blowing.
0:09:01 > 0:09:03Well, there is way too much to explore,
0:09:03 > 0:09:05we're going to have to split up.
0:09:07 > 0:09:10I'm heading straight into the main space,
0:09:10 > 0:09:13which was built to hold up to 14,000 worshippers.
0:09:15 > 0:09:17My God!
0:09:17 > 0:09:20Look at this place!
0:09:20 > 0:09:23St Isaac's may have looked sombre from the outside,
0:09:23 > 0:09:25but it's breathtakingly lavish in here.
0:09:27 > 0:09:29Gold on every surface.
0:09:29 > 0:09:31There is so much colour.
0:09:31 > 0:09:33All these different marbles.
0:09:34 > 0:09:36Rather than choose a Russian
0:09:36 > 0:09:40architect to design this neoclassical colossus,
0:09:40 > 0:09:45Tsar Alexander I called in a French designer, Auguste Montferrand.
0:09:45 > 0:09:49It took most of the first half of the 19th century to get it built
0:09:49 > 0:09:51and no expense was spared.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56The sheer amount of precious materials
0:09:56 > 0:09:59that has gone into decorating this church is astonishing.
0:09:59 > 0:10:03You've got these malachite and lazurite columns,
0:10:03 > 0:10:05the materials imported from
0:10:05 > 0:10:10Afghanistan, and look at those gates there to the high altar, all gilded.
0:10:10 > 0:10:13Something quite unusual, a stained glass window -
0:10:13 > 0:10:17you don't usually get that in the Russian Orthodox Church.
0:10:17 > 0:10:22Throughout, you really get the sense of Catholic French influence coming
0:10:22 > 0:10:24through the architecture.
0:10:26 > 0:10:29During the 40 years of construction,
0:10:29 > 0:10:33hundreds of serfs and labourers died quarrying and installing the huge
0:10:33 > 0:10:35quantities of stone.
0:10:35 > 0:10:38At least 60 died from inhaling
0:10:38 > 0:10:41mercury fumes while working on the gilding.
0:10:41 > 0:10:45The 20th century brought radical change to Russia's churches,
0:10:45 > 0:10:46including St Isaac's.
0:10:48 > 0:10:50In the years after the revolution
0:10:50 > 0:10:52that overthrew the tsars, the communists
0:10:52 > 0:10:55rejected religion and all its trappings.
0:10:56 > 0:11:00Up there, in the dark, you can just make out a dove.
0:11:00 > 0:11:03It represents the holy spirit,
0:11:03 > 0:11:08but what's interesting is, after the revolution, that dove was removed.
0:11:08 > 0:11:11It was part of a programme by the communists
0:11:11 > 0:11:15to transform this building into a museum of atheism.
0:11:15 > 0:11:18In its place, they hung a huge pendulum.
0:11:18 > 0:11:23So what they were doing was replacing religious symbolism
0:11:23 > 0:11:25with a symbol of science and reason.
0:11:31 > 0:11:33Although visitors are not usually allowed down
0:11:33 > 0:11:36to the cathedral cellars, I've arranged to have a look.
0:11:40 > 0:11:42I have come down into this subterranean space.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45It's quite eerie and gloomy.
0:11:45 > 0:11:47This network of tunnels beneath the cathedral
0:11:47 > 0:11:51had a surprisingly important role to play during one of the most
0:11:51 > 0:11:56terrifying and tragic chapters, if you like, in the city's history,
0:11:56 > 0:12:00the infamous siege of Leningrad, as St Petersburg was known during the
0:12:00 > 0:12:02Second World War.
0:12:06 > 0:12:10From September 1941 to January 1944,
0:12:10 > 0:12:13Leningrad was blockaded on all sides.
0:12:15 > 0:12:17Up to a million people are thought to have died,
0:12:17 > 0:12:20chiefly from aerial bombings and starvation.
0:12:22 > 0:12:25Rations of staples like bread became so scarce,
0:12:25 > 0:12:29people resorted to eating the soles of their shoes.
0:12:29 > 0:12:31Bodies piled up in the frozen streets.
0:12:33 > 0:12:37Despite the horror just outside, beneath St Isaac's,
0:12:37 > 0:12:41a group of museum curators created a refuge for thousands of the city's
0:12:41 > 0:12:43precious works of art.
0:12:43 > 0:12:47Those curators are remembered here and I'm meeting Sergei,
0:12:47 > 0:12:49who's heard their stories.
0:12:49 > 0:12:53Could you tell me a little bit about what took place within these tunnels
0:12:53 > 0:12:54during the siege?
0:13:34 > 0:13:38It's so apparent that these curators felt this zeal to protect
0:13:38 > 0:13:40the culture that was in the city.
0:13:40 > 0:13:41What was life like for them?
0:14:03 > 0:14:05Sergei, thank you.
0:14:05 > 0:14:08All the best.
0:14:15 > 0:14:20The epic scale of St Isaac's makes it a great place for getting
0:14:20 > 0:14:22spectacular views of the city.
0:14:22 > 0:14:26Particularly as we have been given permission to access a workmen's
0:14:26 > 0:14:29walkway, if we can get up there.
0:14:29 > 0:14:31- This bottom door.- He's locking it!
0:14:31 > 0:14:33We're being locked in, Nina.
0:14:33 > 0:14:36Yes, before the top one can be opened, you see.
0:14:36 > 0:14:40He is going to come straight past us and go and unlock the door for us.
0:14:40 > 0:14:42OK, OK.
0:14:42 > 0:14:44Here goes. Breathe in.
0:14:44 > 0:14:48I thought everything was very big, in the scale of this place.
0:14:49 > 0:14:51Hello!
0:14:57 > 0:14:58Oh, my God!
0:15:01 > 0:15:04Yeah, if we can get out of this dark tube.
0:15:04 > 0:15:08- Yeah, it's very cramped in here. - It's worth it, though.
0:15:08 > 0:15:09Look, we can even go higher.
0:15:09 > 0:15:12- Now we've got a view.- This is the money shot, really, isn't it?
0:15:12 > 0:15:13- Yeah.- I mean, here we can see...
0:15:13 > 0:15:15We can see all of these different landmarks.
0:15:15 > 0:15:19- There's the Winter Palace, Palace Square.- Oh, yes, yes.
0:15:19 > 0:15:20What do you make of the interior?
0:15:20 > 0:15:23I have genuinely never seen a building like it
0:15:23 > 0:15:26and I have been in a lot of cathedrals and a lot of churches.
0:15:26 > 0:15:31It's beautiful, but it's left me feeling a little bit cold, actually.
0:15:31 > 0:15:34- I'm really surprised.- Yeah. People say this took a long time.
0:15:34 > 0:15:3840 years? That is not a long time by medieval cathedral standards.
0:15:38 > 0:15:41And actually, as you get higher up, you can see it's about effect.
0:15:41 > 0:15:44It's about show and it's about control.
0:15:44 > 0:15:49It's about sitting this building alongside all of these buildings as
0:15:49 > 0:15:52this overall city of power.
0:15:52 > 0:15:54The Russian Orthodox Church, the tsars, the tsarinas,
0:15:54 > 0:15:56did they need to spend all that
0:15:56 > 0:15:59money and all that human life constructing this?
0:15:59 > 0:16:03Well, you almost sound like one of those Soviet era
0:16:03 > 0:16:05anti-religionists.
0:16:05 > 0:16:08I was hoping that you were going to be seduced by all of that glitter in
0:16:08 > 0:16:11the cathedral, cos meanwhile I was in the darkness and the gloom of the
0:16:11 > 0:16:12basement, the tunnels.
0:16:12 > 0:16:15But in a funny way, there was something uplifting because you had
0:16:15 > 0:16:17all of these curators protecting the
0:16:17 > 0:16:19treasures that they kept, which means that,
0:16:19 > 0:16:21thank goodness, they're still here today.
0:16:29 > 0:16:33Next, I'm heading for an institution founded by the last of the tsars and
0:16:33 > 0:16:38expanded by the Soviets - the enormous State Russian Museum.
0:16:39 > 0:16:41It's famous for its collection of icons,
0:16:41 > 0:16:43but I'm going to look for some
0:16:43 > 0:16:46unusual works that reveal how Russia's rulers
0:16:46 > 0:16:50forced the ancient art of icon painting to evolve into a new
0:16:50 > 0:16:52style of portraiture.
0:16:53 > 0:16:57Traditionally, icons always depicted holy subjects,
0:16:57 > 0:16:59like this 14th-century St Nicholas.
0:17:00 > 0:17:02This is exciting for me.
0:17:02 > 0:17:06It's a stunning Russian icon.
0:17:06 > 0:17:09All the way around the edge, it's almost like a comic book.
0:17:09 > 0:17:12You've got stories, miracles, from the saint's life.
0:17:14 > 0:17:18The icon is a teaching aid, but this central figure is what
0:17:18 > 0:17:21you're supposed to really meditate on.
0:17:21 > 0:17:26And by focusing on him, you are making a connection to the divine.
0:17:27 > 0:17:31Icon painters used richly-coloured egg tempera on wood,
0:17:31 > 0:17:34often including inscriptions and plenty of gold leaf.
0:17:36 > 0:17:40What's distinctive artistically about these objects is how flat,
0:17:40 > 0:17:42how two-dimensional they are.
0:17:42 > 0:17:47And they are not realistic, natural-looking people,
0:17:47 > 0:17:50but symbolic representations of people.
0:17:50 > 0:17:55I think that these show the medieval attitude to art.
0:17:55 > 0:17:57Art was not art for art's sake,
0:17:57 > 0:18:01it was there to instruct and there to aid devotion.
0:18:04 > 0:18:10A whole new world opened up for Russian icon artists after 1551
0:18:10 > 0:18:14when Tsar Ivan the Terrible decided that they could start to paint real
0:18:14 > 0:18:18living secular people, like this jester.
0:18:19 > 0:18:22This is known as a parsuna.
0:18:22 > 0:18:28Now that is a form of painting that shows a transition in Russian art.
0:18:28 > 0:18:32We have left behind the two-dimensional elements of the
0:18:32 > 0:18:36earlier icons, because this is more personal.
0:18:36 > 0:18:40He has a quizzical look and expression on his face.
0:18:40 > 0:18:45But in other elements, like the gold writing up there at
0:18:45 > 0:18:50the top and this very solid red colour on his clothing,
0:18:50 > 0:18:54that's still harking back to earlier artistic traditions.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57This is clearly a work in transition.
0:19:01 > 0:19:04Tsar Peter the Great wanted Russia's parsuna painters
0:19:04 > 0:19:07to raise their game, so he sent 20 of them to Italy.
0:19:09 > 0:19:12Peter's favourite, Ivan Nikitin,
0:19:12 > 0:19:14came home with a new expressive style.
0:19:16 > 0:19:21I think this is a fantastic painting. It's full of emotion.
0:19:21 > 0:19:26It's a painting of Peter the Great on his deathbed.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29I think Nikitin's done something special here.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32The brush strokes are really light.
0:19:32 > 0:19:36And what he's really done is open up the doors to what will become
0:19:36 > 0:19:39centuries of fantastic Russian painting.
0:19:48 > 0:19:52You can't come to St Petersburg without visiting the seat of power,
0:19:52 > 0:19:55where so many of the city's great myths have taken shape -
0:19:55 > 0:19:56Palace Square.
0:19:57 > 0:20:01When the 1917 revolution came, it erupted here,
0:20:01 > 0:20:05with the Bolsheviks storming the Winter Palace.
0:20:05 > 0:20:07Their attack on this most extravagant jewel
0:20:07 > 0:20:09in the imperial crown would
0:20:09 > 0:20:14spark a wave of communist transformation around the world.
0:20:14 > 0:20:16Nina.
0:20:16 > 0:20:19Alastair, I'm here. I've wanted to see this building for so long.
0:20:21 > 0:20:24The Winter Palace is still a symbol for St Petersburg,
0:20:24 > 0:20:27as it's the heart of the city's cultural showstopper,
0:20:27 > 0:20:29the Hermitage Museum.
0:20:29 > 0:20:31Its collections are so vast,
0:20:31 > 0:20:34some say it would take 11 years to see everything properly.
0:20:35 > 0:20:37We've only got an hour or two.
0:20:39 > 0:20:42This is a huge, slightly intimidating building.
0:20:42 > 0:20:44Well, it is fabulously grand.
0:20:44 > 0:20:48- Yeah.- This is your cornucopia of culture here.
0:20:48 > 0:20:51I think the idea is precision strikes, that's what we need.
0:20:51 > 0:20:55- Yeah.- We're here to see how the tsars used the Winter Palace as
0:20:55 > 0:20:59a place where dazzling art and sumptuous design could boost
0:20:59 > 0:21:02their status and their strategic goals.
0:21:02 > 0:21:03Thank you so much.
0:21:03 > 0:21:05So this is exciting.
0:21:05 > 0:21:06We shouldn't really be here, should we?
0:21:06 > 0:21:08It's technically closed.
0:21:08 > 0:21:11Well, they only allow filming when it's shut to the public, so,
0:21:11 > 0:21:12in a sense, we're cheating.
0:21:12 > 0:21:16The idea of having it all to ourselves is just overwhelming.
0:21:18 > 0:21:23The Hermitage collection was started here by Catherine the Great in 1764.
0:21:23 > 0:21:26As it grew, she had to extend the palace to cope.
0:21:28 > 0:21:33The tsars used these buildings as their home and for legendary lavish
0:21:33 > 0:21:35state and social occasions.
0:21:37 > 0:21:39Wow.
0:21:39 > 0:21:42This is a staircase, my goodness.
0:21:42 > 0:21:43The Jordan staircase,
0:21:43 > 0:21:48the main entrance for visitors to this imperial palace.
0:21:48 > 0:21:51I mean, this is broadcasting power, wealth,
0:21:51 > 0:21:55control of all of the dominions of the world, it feels like.
0:21:55 > 0:21:57Dripping with gold, isn't it?
0:21:57 > 0:22:00You know, the really weird thing is that Catherine the Great set these
0:22:00 > 0:22:04rules down for how people should behave when they came to court.
0:22:04 > 0:22:07She said that people that come here had to leave at the door all sense
0:22:07 > 0:22:12of rank, any hint of pomposity, and the important thing was to be merry.
0:22:12 > 0:22:15It doesn't really communicate that in the architecture, does it?
0:22:15 > 0:22:19This place screams that this court is about culture,
0:22:19 > 0:22:21art and displaying wealth,
0:22:21 > 0:22:24and the idea that everyone was just having a great time here,
0:22:24 > 0:22:26how do those two sit together?
0:22:29 > 0:22:34Successive tsars revamped the palace according to the latest aesthetic.
0:22:34 > 0:22:36Tiring of rococo baroque,
0:22:36 > 0:22:39Catherine preferred a neo-classical style when she had
0:22:39 > 0:22:40this throne room built.
0:22:40 > 0:22:43- Look at this parquet floor as well.- I know, I know.
0:22:46 > 0:22:49There's 28 chandeliers in this space.
0:22:49 > 0:22:53It's almost like a wedding cake that's kind of gone mad!
0:23:01 > 0:23:06The Pavilion Hall was added on in 1858 by Tsar Alexander II,
0:23:06 > 0:23:09with classical and exotic Moorish flourishes.
0:23:11 > 0:23:16I think you can certainly see an evolution in the style from the
0:23:16 > 0:23:18baroque main part of the palace into this, which is,
0:23:18 > 0:23:21it's still got that classical influence,
0:23:21 > 0:23:22but my God, is it opulent.
0:23:22 > 0:23:26- It's a sign of serious power. - Shall we explore a bit more?
0:23:26 > 0:23:28- We may as well walk the whole way. - Yeah, let's have a look down.
0:23:31 > 0:23:35Having felt the full force of its interior design,
0:23:35 > 0:23:39it's time for us to find out what the Hermitage collection reveals
0:23:39 > 0:23:41about the political strategies of the tsars.
0:23:45 > 0:23:49Catherine kick-started the Hermitage by acquiring prestigious art
0:23:49 > 0:23:51collections from all over Europe.
0:23:52 > 0:23:58One of her smartest buys was 206 works amassed by British
0:23:58 > 0:23:59Prime Minister Sir Robert Walpole.
0:24:00 > 0:24:04From Rubens to van Dyck, Rembrandt to Raphael,
0:24:04 > 0:24:06Catherine had to have the lot.
0:24:08 > 0:24:10I'm especially keen to see how
0:24:10 > 0:24:14Catherine the Great used art to manage her own image.
0:24:14 > 0:24:18She'd had a questionable role in her husband's early death.
0:24:18 > 0:24:23She was Prussian, not Russian, so she had a lot to prove.
0:24:23 > 0:24:26Here's Catherine, looking particularly great.
0:24:26 > 0:24:28This was her favourite portrait.
0:24:28 > 0:24:34It commemorates that moment at which she took the throne of Russia,
0:24:34 > 0:24:38the coup in which she usurped her own husband, Peter III.
0:24:38 > 0:24:40And you can see inscribed on the
0:24:40 > 0:24:44tree behind her the date at which this took place.
0:24:44 > 0:24:48You have to remember, she has no direct claim to the throne,
0:24:48 > 0:24:53so in this image she's constructed it very carefully so she looks like
0:24:53 > 0:24:57a true leader, in fact, a true masculine leader.
0:24:57 > 0:25:00She's not sitting side saddle, as a woman rider would do.
0:25:00 > 0:25:03She's fully astride the horse,
0:25:03 > 0:25:09wearing this very distinctive green military uniform, sword held aloft.
0:25:09 > 0:25:14She really is showing that she is the right person to rule Russia and
0:25:14 > 0:25:16to take it forward.
0:25:22 > 0:25:25This is a very different feeling portrait of Catherine.
0:25:25 > 0:25:29She's much more relaxed and approachable.
0:25:29 > 0:25:33But what's interesting here is Catherine has, again,
0:25:33 > 0:25:35played with gender a little bit.
0:25:35 > 0:25:38She's dressed in male military attire,
0:25:38 > 0:25:40with a traditional Russian fur hat.
0:25:40 > 0:25:46So, again, she's asserting herself as the rightful ruler of Russia and
0:25:46 > 0:25:48the strongest person to lead.
0:25:57 > 0:26:00I've come down to the antiquities halls to see a classical statue
0:26:00 > 0:26:02acquired by Peter the Great.
0:26:05 > 0:26:09He forced his nobles, who were more used to orthodox icon paintings,
0:26:09 > 0:26:12to study the Tauride Venus's pagan curves.
0:26:15 > 0:26:19To find out why this statue meant so much to the tsar,
0:26:19 > 0:26:23I'm meeting the director of the Hermitage, Dr Mikhail Piotrovsky.
0:26:24 > 0:26:28What is important is that Peter wanted it, wanted it very much,
0:26:28 > 0:26:30because it was part of, let's say,
0:26:30 > 0:26:32the cultural revolution which Peter organised.
0:26:32 > 0:26:34He wanted Russia to understand everything
0:26:34 > 0:26:36that Europeans understand.
0:26:36 > 0:26:41Europe had successes in certain fields - military, technologically -
0:26:41 > 0:26:44and to have the same success you have to take something from them.
0:26:44 > 0:26:45So that's how you do the reforms.
0:26:45 > 0:26:48It's interesting that this arrives in the 18th century
0:26:48 > 0:26:50and not long afterwards, within decades,
0:26:50 > 0:26:54Catherine the Great has sown the seeds for this museum,
0:26:54 > 0:26:55which you're now in charge of.
0:26:55 > 0:26:57Cos its role today must be very,
0:26:57 > 0:27:00very different for you than it was for Catherine the Great.
0:27:01 > 0:27:03Well, in a way, yes, in a way, not.
0:27:03 > 0:27:06For Catherine, it was the cultural face of Russia.
0:27:06 > 0:27:08That's what it is today.
0:27:08 > 0:27:10But in the time of Catherine the Great,
0:27:10 > 0:27:15we understand that reputation of a country is based not on economics,
0:27:15 > 0:27:19on army, but on the museums which the country has.
0:27:19 > 0:27:23Do you feel that you are, in your role as director of the Hermitage,
0:27:23 > 0:27:26primarily an art historian,
0:27:26 > 0:27:29custodian of a museum, or politician?
0:27:29 > 0:27:34Well, this museum is not a museum of art, it's a museum of culture.
0:27:34 > 0:27:36I am the person who is responsible
0:27:36 > 0:27:39for cultural development of my country.
0:27:39 > 0:27:42It's much more important than policy in general.
0:27:42 > 0:27:45Culture is much more important than any other thing.
0:27:53 > 0:27:57So do you feel you now know much more about Catherine the Great?
0:27:57 > 0:28:01I do. I feel like I've developed an understanding of her.
0:28:01 > 0:28:05But it's left me questioning the kind of traditional appearance of
0:28:05 > 0:28:07her as this wonderful,
0:28:07 > 0:28:12enlightened being who brought reason and knowledge from the West.
0:28:12 > 0:28:16The way she manipulates art, I mean, it's propaganda.
0:28:16 > 0:28:19I suppose the flipside is that she seemed to be genuinely consumed with
0:28:19 > 0:28:22what she called a fever, a sickness,
0:28:22 > 0:28:25this connoisseur's passion for collecting art.
0:28:25 > 0:28:27I mean, this isn't someone who's purely using art just as a means to
0:28:27 > 0:28:31- show off, surely?- I don't think she's using it to show off.
0:28:31 > 0:28:33I think what's interesting about
0:28:33 > 0:28:35this collection, it remains preserved,
0:28:35 > 0:28:37despite the fact that we are standing in a square where
0:28:37 > 0:28:40revolutionaries stormed these buildings.
0:28:40 > 0:28:44This collection has somehow come to identify Russia.
0:28:44 > 0:28:46The fascinating thing, though, is that talking to the director of the
0:28:46 > 0:28:49museum, he said this whole place, the Hermitage,
0:28:49 > 0:28:52is about Russian state power.
0:28:52 > 0:28:54It's almost like he's a politician.
0:28:54 > 0:28:58He sees himself as a guardian of the greatness of Russia.
0:29:01 > 0:29:04When power was seized from the tsars in the revolution,
0:29:04 > 0:29:08many of their most valuable artworks were confiscated and sold off
0:29:08 > 0:29:11to wealthy foreign collectors.
0:29:11 > 0:29:14Now there's a push to bring some of these treasures back to Russia.
0:29:16 > 0:29:20This private museum was set up in 2013 by an oligarch called
0:29:20 > 0:29:25Viktor Vekselberg, who spent more than 100 million acquiring some of
0:29:25 > 0:29:27the most famous eggs in the world.
0:29:29 > 0:29:33I want to find out more about how their creator, Carl Faberge,
0:29:33 > 0:29:36grew an international jewellery empire,
0:29:36 > 0:29:37thanks to the patronage of the tsars.
0:29:41 > 0:29:42I find this totally surprising.
0:29:42 > 0:29:45This is the very first of the 50 imperial eggs
0:29:45 > 0:29:48created by Faberge for the Romanovs.
0:29:48 > 0:29:51It almost feels minimalist, quite modern,
0:29:51 > 0:29:53although it was created in 1885.
0:29:56 > 0:30:00However, I've decided to focus on some other items in Faberge's
0:30:00 > 0:30:03product range for which the eggs were perhaps just clever PR.
0:30:04 > 0:30:07Alexey. 'Curator Alexey Pomigalov is going to show me round.'
0:30:07 > 0:30:10You, too. It's fascinating in here,
0:30:10 > 0:30:14because there are lots and lots of other objects and all of the colours
0:30:14 > 0:30:16are extraordinary.
0:30:16 > 0:30:21The colour of enamels was one of the secrets of Faberge company.
0:30:21 > 0:30:26It was very hard to produce this type of transparent enamel.
0:30:26 > 0:30:29This gold colour of enamel,
0:30:29 > 0:30:34to make the colour they had to add some uranium.
0:30:34 > 0:30:35So this is radioactive?
0:30:35 > 0:30:38- I might step away.- If you put a Geiger counter,
0:30:38 > 0:30:41it will tick a little bit faster.
0:30:41 > 0:30:43- Seriously?- Yes.
0:30:43 > 0:30:46Nice to borrow these, we're going to the ballet later.
0:30:46 > 0:30:47I'm sorry, you can't.
0:30:52 > 0:30:55Faberge also created a range of unlikely trinkets,
0:30:55 > 0:30:57known as the objets de fantaisie.
0:30:59 > 0:31:04This chap really is the most incongruous person in the setting.
0:31:04 > 0:31:08It is a Russian peasant, it is called muzhik, and he's dancing.
0:31:08 > 0:31:11You can see, he's probably a little bit drunk,
0:31:11 > 0:31:15because his head is a little bit away from the correct position.
0:31:15 > 0:31:16Yes, his cap has moved around.
0:31:16 > 0:31:21- Yes.- The dancing man was made by Faberge for Nicholas II as one of a
0:31:21 > 0:31:23series of coloured stone figurines.
0:31:25 > 0:31:29These Russian types are even rarer than the imperial eggs and worth
0:31:29 > 0:31:30millions of dollars.
0:31:34 > 0:31:38Is there something slightly repellent about a figure like that?
0:31:38 > 0:31:41Because it was made and treasured by the elite.
0:31:42 > 0:31:46And yet, the reality of life for Russian peasants at the time would
0:31:46 > 0:31:48have had nothing to do with the gilded world that we find ourselves
0:31:48 > 0:31:50standing in now.
0:31:50 > 0:31:55All the court and emperor himself was romanticising these things.
0:31:55 > 0:32:01They do not even have an idea of how real people lived at those times,
0:32:01 > 0:32:06and this, you can see that the peasant has boots.
0:32:06 > 0:32:11Even until the revolution, a lot of peasants had no boots.
0:32:11 > 0:32:15You say he's drunk, but he's got these glittering eyes.
0:32:15 > 0:32:17- Yes.- Sparkling with defiance?
0:32:17 > 0:32:23Yes. He's focused on something maybe inside his head.
0:32:23 > 0:32:25So there's some, almost resentment...
0:32:25 > 0:32:28- Yes.- ..encoded in that object.
0:32:28 > 0:32:30Alexey, thank you so much.
0:32:30 > 0:32:33- You're very welcome.- I've got to run. Bye-bye.- Bye.
0:32:38 > 0:32:41I think if you spend too long inside that place,
0:32:41 > 0:32:45exquisite as all of the objects are, you do risk indigestion.
0:32:45 > 0:32:48And the object I found most distasteful
0:32:48 > 0:32:50was that poor dancing Russian peasant,
0:32:50 > 0:32:54almost like a bear forced to dance for the imperial elite.
0:32:54 > 0:32:57It's not that hard, when you're inside there, to realise
0:32:57 > 0:33:01the forces at work in Russian society were the same ones that soon
0:33:01 > 0:33:04would explode in the 20th century into revolution.
0:33:09 > 0:33:14For me, the dramas of the powerful and the common people here have
0:33:14 > 0:33:15always come alive in literature.
0:33:16 > 0:33:20I keep seeing street names I know from poems and novels,
0:33:20 > 0:33:22like the Haymarket, still shabby as
0:33:22 > 0:33:25in Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment,
0:33:25 > 0:33:29and Nevsky Prospect, still teeming with all walks of life,
0:33:29 > 0:33:32as described by Nikolai Gogol in the 19th century.
0:33:34 > 0:33:37It feels fitting that Alastair's arranged for us to have lunch in the
0:33:37 > 0:33:39Gogol restaurant in the centre of town.
0:33:50 > 0:33:52- Alastair.- Hey, Nina, how are you?
0:33:52 > 0:33:57Good, pleased to meet you in this very literary restaurant.
0:33:57 > 0:34:00I thought this is quite a nice place to have lunch because St Petersburg
0:34:00 > 0:34:02really is a city, in many ways, of artifice, isn't it?
0:34:02 > 0:34:04You have all of that splendour and magnificence,
0:34:04 > 0:34:07but sometimes, I guess, that can have a stifling effect and I suppose
0:34:07 > 0:34:11a lot of writers have reacted against that.
0:34:11 > 0:34:16I've never felt the contrast between haves and have-nots,
0:34:16 > 0:34:17the privileged and the poor,
0:34:17 > 0:34:19as strongly as I feel it here in St Petersburg,
0:34:19 > 0:34:22and that is fire in the belly of a writer, isn't it?
0:34:22 > 0:34:24Fire in the belly. I've got us some vodka.
0:34:24 > 0:34:28Yes. Now, this is my idea of heaven, you see,
0:34:28 > 0:34:32cos I'm very Polish and I was pretty much weaned on vodka
0:34:32 > 0:34:34and these gherkins.
0:34:34 > 0:34:36Warms you up on a cold day.
0:34:36 > 0:34:38- What's the order, then?- Vodka.
0:34:40 > 0:34:41Gherkin.
0:34:43 > 0:34:44Burn.
0:34:46 > 0:34:48- Na zdorovie.- Na zdorovie.
0:34:54 > 0:34:58It's very tempting to spend all of your time in St Petersburg thinking
0:34:58 > 0:35:01about the great cultural artistic traditions of the city,
0:35:01 > 0:35:05but I really want to find out more about the contemporary scene,
0:35:05 > 0:35:08so I've come to this place which is the Marina Gisich Gallery.
0:35:08 > 0:35:10But rather than going into the main gallery space,
0:35:10 > 0:35:15Marina has kindly invited me into her apartment where she has a sort
0:35:15 > 0:35:17of semi-informal private gallery of her own.
0:35:21 > 0:35:23Following the city's great tradition of patronage,
0:35:23 > 0:35:27Marina represents some of Russia's leading contemporary artists.
0:35:27 > 0:35:31She splits her time between homes in Switzerland and St Petersburg.
0:35:32 > 0:35:34Hello.
0:35:34 > 0:35:35- Marina, hi.- Please enter.
0:35:35 > 0:35:37- Alastair.- Hello, hello.- Thank you.
0:35:37 > 0:35:39- Lovely to meet you.- OK.
0:35:39 > 0:35:42So this is partly a gallery, but this is also where you live, right?
0:35:42 > 0:35:45There living, here enjoy.
0:35:45 > 0:35:48- OK!- Some of pieces, for example, it's temporary exposition,
0:35:48 > 0:35:51- but some of pieces my collection... - And art everywhere.
0:35:52 > 0:35:56This artist will be present now in this season in different art sphere.
0:35:56 > 0:35:58This is quite apocalyptic, isn't it?
0:35:58 > 0:36:01You've got this juggernaut, which is crashing, and then this,
0:36:01 > 0:36:04I guess a torrent of pigs swarming out.
0:36:04 > 0:36:06It's quite political piece.
0:36:06 > 0:36:08- Quite strong.- Do you show a lot of political art?
0:36:08 > 0:36:10- Is that acceptable?- No, no, not a lot,
0:36:10 > 0:36:13but I like when artist has his opinion.
0:36:13 > 0:36:16No, this is very important to give freedom
0:36:16 > 0:36:18for explanation of artistic people.
0:36:18 > 0:36:21A slumped Russian bear playing the piano.
0:36:21 > 0:36:24Of course, we have a lot of idea of Russia.
0:36:24 > 0:36:29A lot of people compare Russia with this beautiful animal, with bear,
0:36:29 > 0:36:34quite strong, maybe sometimes too hard, maybe not so intelligent,
0:36:34 > 0:36:35but he's very intelligent.
0:36:37 > 0:36:39Wow. This is also full of art.
0:36:41 > 0:36:42It's really a home collection of art.
0:36:42 > 0:36:45Apropos, we have something, also one piece here.
0:36:45 > 0:36:48In past time, I spent 15 years
0:36:48 > 0:36:51as professional artistic gymnastic.
0:36:51 > 0:36:55Me, I'm very Soviet, strong, very ambitious.
0:36:55 > 0:37:00So, this is true. I did read that you genuinely were a gymnast for the
0:37:00 > 0:37:03- Soviet Union?- After I moved from sport,
0:37:03 > 0:37:05slowly through education to the art.
0:37:05 > 0:37:09So why is it important for you to invite people in to see the way that
0:37:09 > 0:37:13contemporary art can meld with an ordinary domestic space?
0:37:13 > 0:37:16I like to present my style of life, to organise dinner,
0:37:16 > 0:37:18to organise cocktails, to invite
0:37:18 > 0:37:22artists, to invite people from theatre, and try to mix
0:37:22 > 0:37:25maybe sometimes rich people and artistic people,
0:37:25 > 0:37:28to try and feel this place like home for art.
0:37:28 > 0:37:31You are a very rich and powerful woman,
0:37:31 > 0:37:33important in the art world in Russia.
0:37:33 > 0:37:38Is it important for you to promote female artists?
0:37:38 > 0:37:40No, no, no, no, not at all.
0:37:40 > 0:37:43But what is interesting, a lot of gallerists in Russia,
0:37:43 > 0:37:49they are women. I think 80% women, maybe even 90% women, 10% it's men.
0:37:49 > 0:37:52Because there is this great tradition in the city, of course,
0:37:52 > 0:37:55of female patronage stretching all the way back to Catherine the Great.
0:37:55 > 0:37:58Is that important as a historical model for you?
0:37:58 > 0:38:02A lot of women in Russia, they are in quite an important position.
0:38:02 > 0:38:05In art, especially. I mean in contemporary art, not in museums.
0:38:05 > 0:38:07In museums, we have men.
0:38:07 > 0:38:10It is a traditional area, a royal pastime.
0:38:10 > 0:38:13So, Marina, look, it's been a total pleasure.
0:38:13 > 0:38:15A pleasure to see you, and welcome next time.
0:38:15 > 0:38:18- OK, goodbye.- A pleasure to see you.
0:38:21 > 0:38:24Before we head off to explore the art of St Petersburg's often
0:38:24 > 0:38:26traumatic 20th century,
0:38:26 > 0:38:29we decided to spend a few minutes trying out
0:38:29 > 0:38:32some vintage Soviet-style entertainment.
0:38:32 > 0:38:35Well, as with other parts of St Petersburg,
0:38:35 > 0:38:40you have these incredibly harsh facades and then something slightly
0:38:40 > 0:38:42more real behind the scenes, don't you?
0:38:42 > 0:38:45I like this. This is grungy St Petersburg.
0:38:45 > 0:38:48And it's such a contrast to all those splendid facades.
0:38:49 > 0:38:51In the last couple of years,
0:38:51 > 0:38:54there's been a trend here for venues where you can savour the special
0:38:54 > 0:38:59version of pop culture created in the USSR of the 1980s.
0:39:00 > 0:39:03These are Soviet-era arcade games.
0:39:04 > 0:39:06A dream of yours was coming to this city.
0:39:06 > 0:39:08A dream of mine was to fly a MiG.
0:39:08 > 0:39:13- Oh, my God!- And surely this dream can come true if I am now...
0:39:13 > 0:39:14- Whoa!- Got you!
0:39:14 > 0:39:15Damn you.
0:39:18 > 0:39:19Oh, oh!
0:39:19 > 0:39:20It's strategic, isn't it?
0:39:20 > 0:39:22That's the thing with these games,
0:39:22 > 0:39:24they're supposed to teach you skills,
0:39:24 > 0:39:26- get your brain working.- It's a good communist value.
0:39:26 > 0:39:29- Absolutely.- There's time for one more game
0:39:29 > 0:39:32and this could not be more Soviet. The Turnip Game.
0:39:32 > 0:39:34- The Turnip Game?- The challenge is
0:39:34 > 0:39:37that you have to pull a turnip from the ground.
0:39:37 > 0:39:39It's based on a popular Russian children's story.
0:39:39 > 0:39:43Oh, I know, yeah, The Giant Turnip where the cat and the dog and the
0:39:43 > 0:39:44grandma, they all pull together.
0:39:44 > 0:39:46But it's a communist ideal, isn't it?
0:39:46 > 0:39:48That only by working together...
0:39:48 > 0:39:51- As a family.- ..will the turnip come out.
0:39:51 > 0:39:52Oh, God, it's bloody hard!
0:39:54 > 0:39:56Oh, I can't go any more than that!
0:39:58 > 0:39:59- I'm a mouse.- You're a mouse!
0:40:00 > 0:40:02- Oh!- Oh, nice!
0:40:02 > 0:40:04I think I won the turnip!
0:40:05 > 0:40:09And at least we've sampled some everyday entertainment from behind
0:40:09 > 0:40:10the Red Curtain.
0:40:16 > 0:40:19During the most dictatorial years of the Soviet state,
0:40:19 > 0:40:22any hint of dissent was brutally punished.
0:40:22 > 0:40:25Yet there were some writers who managed to resist.
0:40:25 > 0:40:29I'm going to visit a flat that was once the home of the great modernist
0:40:29 > 0:40:34poet Anna Akhmatova who secretly gave a voice to the suffering
0:40:34 > 0:40:36of millions.
0:40:36 > 0:40:40St Petersburg is famous for its apartment museums,
0:40:40 > 0:40:43intimate shrines to great writers or musicians
0:40:43 > 0:40:45in the very rooms they once inhabited.
0:40:48 > 0:40:51Here's a photo of Anna.
0:40:51 > 0:40:52She really is beautiful.
0:40:52 > 0:40:55Wonderful, striking eyes, very enigmatic.
0:40:55 > 0:40:58Anna and her husband, who was an art
0:40:58 > 0:41:01historian, Punin was his surname,
0:41:01 > 0:41:04and they were given, if you like,
0:41:04 > 0:41:07grace and favour apartments to live here.
0:41:07 > 0:41:10Anna really did have a complicated life.
0:41:10 > 0:41:15She was a real bohemian in many ways and had a rather exciting love life.
0:41:18 > 0:41:20There were three husbands and countless affairs.
0:41:23 > 0:41:28But Anna also endured many years when her partner Punin and her
0:41:28 > 0:41:31son Lev were imprisoned for anti-state activity.
0:41:32 > 0:41:36Unlike many intellectuals who fled the threat of the gulags and the
0:41:36 > 0:41:39firing squad, Anna chose to remain in Leningrad.
0:41:41 > 0:41:43This was Anna's own room.
0:41:43 > 0:41:46She moved in here after her relationship
0:41:46 > 0:41:49with her husband Punin collapsed.
0:41:49 > 0:41:54And it was from these rooms that she composed the poem for
0:41:54 > 0:41:56which she is most famous, Requiem -
0:41:56 > 0:42:02a really epic poem that explores the terrors of Stalin's period through a
0:42:02 > 0:42:07very personal and heartfelt feminine voice.
0:42:08 > 0:42:12Even when she was under threat, where her works were banned,
0:42:12 > 0:42:18she continued to compose Requiem and she would write down passages,
0:42:18 > 0:42:21recite them to her friends, her loyal followers
0:42:21 > 0:42:23who would memorise them.
0:42:23 > 0:42:29And then she would take an ashtray and burn the passages so there would
0:42:29 > 0:42:32be no remaining evidence that could incriminate her.
0:42:33 > 0:42:37I've been allowed to take a quick look at some fragile pieces that
0:42:37 > 0:42:40have been brought out for me from the museum's collection.
0:42:41 > 0:42:45There is an extraordinary archive of material here.
0:42:45 > 0:42:49There's parts of her work that have been copied on to silver birch,
0:42:49 > 0:42:51onto the actual bark.
0:42:51 > 0:42:55This would have been in a gulag in a prison so it meant that her words
0:42:55 > 0:42:57were even managing to make it into there.
0:42:57 > 0:43:01But, again, this idea that it had to be portable, easily disposable,
0:43:01 > 0:43:05that this was really quite dangerous material to have on you.
0:43:06 > 0:43:11It wasn't until 1987 that Requiem was published in Russia.
0:43:11 > 0:43:16Now, it's accepted as a classic and is even on the school curriculum.
0:43:17 > 0:43:22I'm struck by how vivid this story of the fight to share forbidden
0:43:22 > 0:43:24texts still feels today.
0:43:30 > 0:43:34Just when the young Anna Akhmatova's poetry was causing a stir,
0:43:34 > 0:43:36a group of St Petersburg artists
0:43:36 > 0:43:38were leading the world in radical new
0:43:38 > 0:43:43approaches to everything from music to ballet, sculpture and painting.
0:43:43 > 0:43:47I'm popping into the Benois Wing of the Russian Museum to get a
0:43:47 > 0:43:48flavour of their work.
0:43:51 > 0:43:54I always think it must have been tremendously exciting to have been
0:43:54 > 0:43:58an artist at the beginning of the 20th century in Russia because the
0:43:58 > 0:44:01country then was at the vanguard of modernity.
0:44:01 > 0:44:03Sucking up all of these different
0:44:03 > 0:44:04avant-garde styles from across Europe.
0:44:04 > 0:44:06You can see some of them here.
0:44:06 > 0:44:11Clear references to futurism, to Cubism, lots of different -isms.
0:44:11 > 0:44:13And you find this great prominence
0:44:13 > 0:44:16of female artists taken really seriously,
0:44:16 > 0:44:19people like Goncharova and Popova.
0:44:19 > 0:44:21And as you move into the second decade of the 20th century,
0:44:21 > 0:44:23St Petersburg became the centre of the avant-garde,
0:44:23 > 0:44:26you find this interest in
0:44:26 > 0:44:30geometric abstraction as people start to found new movements,
0:44:30 > 0:44:35Suprematism, eventually after the revolution, constructivism.
0:44:35 > 0:44:39And it's so obvious when you come here that same fervour that inspired
0:44:39 > 0:44:44the revolution of 1917 was totally present within the art world in
0:44:44 > 0:44:46Russia at the time.
0:44:50 > 0:44:53For me, this next piece is a must-see.
0:44:53 > 0:44:56It's by a cult figure called Vladimir Tatlin who was an
0:44:56 > 0:44:59inspiration to many others in the avant-garde.
0:45:01 > 0:45:05I love this. It's something he created in 1914.
0:45:05 > 0:45:09It belongs to a series of pieces that he called Counter-Reliefs.
0:45:09 > 0:45:12It's ridiculously, almost, dynamic.
0:45:12 > 0:45:15If you look at all of its sweeping forms and curves, the materials,
0:45:15 > 0:45:19the metal which suggest a complete sense of modernity.
0:45:20 > 0:45:25This is art for the new machine age of the 20th century and it remains
0:45:25 > 0:45:29exciting a century, more than a century, after it was made.
0:45:36 > 0:45:38There's lots more to see here.
0:45:38 > 0:45:41But to find out how this freethinking artistic
0:45:41 > 0:45:42revolution fared,
0:45:42 > 0:45:45I'm going to have to leave the museum and travel across town.
0:45:59 > 0:46:03In this rather rundown corner of Vasilievsky Island,
0:46:03 > 0:46:07you can see a constructivist gem called the Red Banner factory.
0:46:08 > 0:46:11I think it's fair to say it's seen better days.
0:46:15 > 0:46:18I do find this a completely remarkable piece of architecture
0:46:18 > 0:46:24because it's so strikingly modern even in its dilapidated state.
0:46:24 > 0:46:28It was built as a textiles factory in the '20s and '30s, so it dates
0:46:28 > 0:46:29from the Soviet era,
0:46:29 > 0:46:33and the whole mood of that period was one of a vision of utopia.
0:46:33 > 0:46:35So, if you were an architect working then,
0:46:35 > 0:46:38you didn't want to make buildings that harked back to the traditions
0:46:38 > 0:46:40of the great neoclassical Baroque glories
0:46:40 > 0:46:41of the centre of St Petersburg.
0:46:41 > 0:46:44Instead, you wanted to create something like this.
0:46:45 > 0:46:49That whole prow at the front makes the building feel like a great ship,
0:46:49 > 0:46:52a liner taking Russia into modernity.
0:46:53 > 0:46:54Of course, these days,
0:46:54 > 0:46:59it absolutely beggars belief that the city authorities have allowed a
0:46:59 > 0:47:04building of such obvious distinction to fall into such a terrible state
0:47:04 > 0:47:05of disrepair.
0:47:09 > 0:47:12There's not much time left on my tour.
0:47:12 > 0:47:14And my next stop is quite far away.
0:47:15 > 0:47:16OK.
0:47:16 > 0:47:19I've booked a cab that should help me get into a more
0:47:19 > 0:47:20Soviet frame of mind.
0:47:20 > 0:47:21HORN BLARES
0:47:24 > 0:47:27I think the really sad thing about constructivist architecture is that
0:47:27 > 0:47:30it was relatively short-lived because, under Stalin,
0:47:30 > 0:47:35by the late '30s, the official look was heavy, it was quite sombre,
0:47:35 > 0:47:37it had an austerity to it.
0:47:37 > 0:47:40All of that innovation had disappeared and so the people who
0:47:40 > 0:47:44had been the pioneering constructivism before, found they
0:47:44 > 0:47:49either had to get in line with this new Stalinist mode, or they
0:47:49 > 0:47:54faced being purged, ie, imprisoned or, even worse, executed.
0:48:03 > 0:48:07Just as the tsars built this city to advance their ideals,
0:48:07 > 0:48:10so the Soviets set about rebuilding the place
0:48:10 > 0:48:12they preferred to call Leningrad.
0:48:12 > 0:48:14Until the revolution,
0:48:14 > 0:48:18this square was named after a church here but it was renamed
0:48:18 > 0:48:21Uprising Square and the church demolished to make way
0:48:21 > 0:48:22for a metro station.
0:48:23 > 0:48:27I'm going to take a quick trip to see how propagandist art became the
0:48:27 > 0:48:29backdrop to daily life for commuters here.
0:48:31 > 0:48:33When it opened in 1955,
0:48:33 > 0:48:38the official name of the network was the Leningrad Metro In The Name Of
0:48:38 > 0:48:40Lenin With The Order Of Lenin.
0:48:42 > 0:48:46This is one of the deepest subway systems in the world with one
0:48:46 > 0:48:48station 102 metres below ground.
0:48:51 > 0:48:53I can't believe we're still going,
0:48:53 > 0:48:55I feel like we've been on this escalator for ages.
0:49:02 > 0:49:06This station was built almost as a palace to the people.
0:49:06 > 0:49:08It's beautifully decorated.
0:49:08 > 0:49:11It's a real expression of Soviet art.
0:49:20 > 0:49:25The communists planned a new centre for the city away from the decadent
0:49:25 > 0:49:27imperial palaces.
0:49:27 > 0:49:30I'm heading for one of the stations that was built to serve the new
0:49:30 > 0:49:34neighbourhoods that were springing up as the city expanded south.
0:49:34 > 0:49:35TANNOY ANNOUNCEMENT IN RUSSIAN
0:49:41 > 0:49:42My God!
0:49:42 > 0:49:44Right, well, I have never seen
0:49:44 > 0:49:48an underground station with crystal columns in!
0:49:48 > 0:49:50This is unbelievable.
0:49:50 > 0:49:52You've got the star there of
0:49:52 > 0:49:55communism and these laurel wreaths, victory.
0:49:55 > 0:49:57And then all the way along the
0:49:57 > 0:49:59platform, these incredible chandeliers.
0:50:03 > 0:50:06Look at this mosaic, it's amazing.
0:50:06 > 0:50:10You've got this female figure carrying a child on her shoulder,
0:50:10 > 0:50:12it's Mother Russia. And then underneath, this
0:50:12 > 0:50:16inscription that says, "Our cause is just, we have won,"
0:50:16 > 0:50:20with the dates there, 1941 to 1945,
0:50:20 > 0:50:23the dates that Russia was involved with World War II.
0:50:23 > 0:50:26Up at the top, "Peace to the world."
0:50:32 > 0:50:37We've been travelling south for miles to the outskirts of the city
0:50:37 > 0:50:41as I want to visit a monument that was designed to be just as imposing
0:50:41 > 0:50:44as the mightiest statues in the historic centre.
0:50:44 > 0:50:46We're approaching the monument now, I can see it.
0:50:46 > 0:50:51It's quite stark, like the chimney to a power station on the horizon.
0:50:51 > 0:50:56And the truth is that not many visitors to the city really bother
0:50:56 > 0:50:58to see it and, in a sense, I can understand why,
0:50:58 > 0:51:03it does commemorate this truly grim chapter in the history of the city.
0:51:03 > 0:51:08And it does so as well in this especially gloomy '70s style.
0:51:12 > 0:51:14OK, thank you.
0:51:14 > 0:51:15OK, bye-bye.
0:51:22 > 0:51:28The Monument to the Heroic Defenders of Leningrad was unveiled in 1975.
0:51:28 > 0:51:32Here, sculpture and architecture combine in a defiant tribute to the
0:51:32 > 0:51:39soldiers and civilians who held out for so long against Hitler's forces.
0:51:39 > 0:51:43I'm surprised, actually, at how tremendously powerful this place is.
0:51:44 > 0:51:46In a sense, the design of it is very simple.
0:51:46 > 0:51:51It all pivots around this huge steel ring that represents the
0:51:51 > 0:51:52siege itself.
0:51:53 > 0:51:57But it's not complete because at this side it's broken.
0:51:57 > 0:52:03There's a huge space which represent the breaking of the siege itself
0:52:03 > 0:52:05after almost 900 days.
0:52:05 > 0:52:08So, it's about endurance, withstanding.
0:52:10 > 0:52:14And it has quite a powerful, almost ancient, primitive feel.
0:52:15 > 0:52:18Even today you can see the way the monument's being used with people
0:52:18 > 0:52:20offering flowers.
0:52:22 > 0:52:25It's a very affecting place, very powerful.
0:52:41 > 0:52:45We're almost at the end of our tour but I've just got time to get a
0:52:45 > 0:52:50glimpse of how art is being used as a means of political protest here in
0:52:50 > 0:52:52Vladimir Putin's home town.
0:52:53 > 0:52:57So, I've headed away from the museums and galleries to visit an
0:52:57 > 0:53:00artist who's known for taking a stand against authority.
0:53:02 > 0:53:04This courtyard may be in a smart
0:53:04 > 0:53:07area but it feels like a hidden world.
0:53:14 > 0:53:18OK. This is certainly different to the other places
0:53:18 > 0:53:20I've been in St Petersburg.
0:53:24 > 0:53:27The artist I'm about to meet, Yelena Osipova,
0:53:27 > 0:53:30is known as The Dissident Babushka.
0:53:30 > 0:53:33Hello. Lovely to meet you.
0:53:35 > 0:53:37Thank you for having me in your apartment.
0:53:39 > 0:53:41Yelena has lived her whole life
0:53:41 > 0:53:44in this shared apartment, or kommunalka.
0:53:44 > 0:53:46She has two small rooms to herself.
0:53:50 > 0:53:52Wow.
0:53:52 > 0:53:54So much art!
0:53:56 > 0:53:59What was the motivation to start painting?
0:54:14 > 0:54:19Yelena started making political art after watching the Nord-Ost tragedy
0:54:19 > 0:54:22unfold on TV in 2002.
0:54:22 > 0:54:24Some 130 theatre-goers and 40
0:54:24 > 0:54:27Chechen militants who had taken them hostage
0:54:27 > 0:54:31were killed after Russian security forces pumped toxic gas
0:54:31 > 0:54:33into a Moscow theatre.
0:54:51 > 0:54:55Since then, Yelena's protested against what she sees
0:54:55 > 0:54:57as abuses of power.
0:54:57 > 0:54:59And she supports other activists,
0:54:59 > 0:55:01including the controversial band Pussy Riot.
0:55:17 > 0:55:19How do the authorities react when
0:55:19 > 0:55:23you present these sorts of slogans and images?
0:55:38 > 0:55:41Do you feel fearful or scared when you go out and protest?
0:56:00 > 0:56:04Oh, it's been so wonderful to come here and see your art.
0:56:04 > 0:56:06I've not got much time so I'm afraid I have to go.
0:56:12 > 0:56:14As we're almost at the end of our tour,
0:56:14 > 0:56:16we're meeting back at the Hermitage.
0:56:18 > 0:56:20I'm quite tired. It's been busy.
0:56:20 > 0:56:21- We've packed in a lot.- We have.
0:56:21 > 0:56:24But now we're coming to see something quintessentially Russian.
0:56:24 > 0:56:27We couldn't come here and not go to the ballet.
0:56:27 > 0:56:30- No.- We're going to see a production of Swan Lake in the theatre that was
0:56:30 > 0:56:33- built by Catherine the Great, so... - Amazing, amazing.
0:56:33 > 0:56:35- Right.- After you.- Looking forward to this, thank you.
0:56:35 > 0:56:40It's quite steep. There's just time to sneak in behind the scenes.
0:56:42 > 0:56:44The Tchaikovsky Ballet Company was
0:56:44 > 0:56:46set up three years ago and gives young
0:56:46 > 0:56:48dancers an opportunity to gain
0:56:48 > 0:56:50experience on the Hermitage Theatre's small
0:56:50 > 0:56:52but celebrated stage.
0:56:58 > 0:57:03Look, we're in the most fairy tale setting imaginable so I guess
0:57:03 > 0:57:06St Petersburg has lived up to your childhood dreams
0:57:06 > 0:57:07of what it would be like.
0:57:07 > 0:57:11You know what? St Petersburg has actually exceeded my expectations.
0:57:11 > 0:57:15I thought it would be beautiful, colourful, exciting.
0:57:15 > 0:57:16But, on top of all of that,
0:57:16 > 0:57:20I've realised it's all about the contradictions, really.
0:57:20 > 0:57:23History and tradition versus revolution and new ideas.
0:57:26 > 0:57:30I've surprised myself how much I've been seduced by the sheer spectacle
0:57:30 > 0:57:31and glitz of the whole city.
0:57:31 > 0:57:35But, at the same time, if you think of the tragic events that happened
0:57:35 > 0:57:37here, they're almost as extreme in the opposite direction.
0:57:42 > 0:57:44At the top you have the Hermitage,
0:57:44 > 0:57:47you have this collection of antiquities, masterworks.
0:57:47 > 0:57:50And then you have people who have no other voice,
0:57:50 > 0:57:54who will be attacked if they express their ideas openly but they can do
0:57:54 > 0:57:58it subtly through literature, through the visual arts.
0:57:58 > 0:58:00The sorts of things I saw with my Dissident Babushka,
0:58:00 > 0:58:03there are still people trying to be heard.
0:58:03 > 0:58:08That, to me, is such an expression of trying to find a voice,
0:58:08 > 0:58:09a cultural voice.
0:58:12 > 0:58:15We've seen two really extreme different sides to the city.
0:58:15 > 0:58:18You have that city of the elite and you also have the outsiders.
0:58:18 > 0:58:21But, for both camps, if you like,
0:58:21 > 0:58:25culture is at the heart of how they express themselves and that culture
0:58:25 > 0:58:27has marked the city indelibly.