St. Petersburg and Presidents

St. Petersburg at dusk

Founded in 1703 by Peter the Great, St. Petersburg calls to mind the riches of czarist Russia. It was built to be Peter's "Window on the West," and was patterned after Amsterdam and Venice. From 1712 to 1917, it was the designated capital of Russia. Following the revolution in 1917, its name was changed to Petrograd, and in 1924 renamed Leningrad in honor of Vladimir Lenin. In 1991, during the astounding upheaval and change in the Soviet Union, it once again became St. Petersburg. We will have two full days here and it's a good thing, because there is so much to see and do.

Our first excursion was to the Peter and Paul Fortress, built in 1703 to defend newly acquired land against the Swedes. Peter the Great designed and supervised the construction while living in a log cabin nearby. In 1718, the fortress became a political prison, incarcerating such famous figures as Dostoevsky, Gorky, and Trotsky.

The Peter and Paul Fortress

We were within walking distance of the fortress when the police halted our bus as well as all vehicles in the area. Everything was at a standstill. The wide avenue intersecting the street we were on was vacant; not a vehicle in sight for as far as the eye could see. What in the world was going on? Our tour guide, a most formidable young woman, soon wrested the information from the cops.

President Bush had been in Moscow the day before for a treaty-signing with President Putin. Putin is from St. Petersburg and he was showing his hometown to Bush. We waited and waited and waited. Some of the group opted to walk to the fortress. Those who wished to stay with the bus could do so and we would all meet at the dock for a canal cruise later on. Phyllis chose to walk and I chose to stay. And still we waited.

But, hark! What is that sound?  We could make out the European emergency and police vehicle klaxon shrieking "HEE HAW! HEE HAW!" as the motorcade approached. Holy mackerel! There were rapidly moving motorcycles, black SUVs, black panel trucks, black limousines, and finally a limousine with the American and Russian flags flapping on the front fenders. Was that Vlad? Was that Dubya? Was Dubya going to give me hell for not voting for him? Nah. They sailed right on by and I thought of that fast-moving DeGaulle motorcade in the film "The Day of the Jackal." ZOOM! and they were gone. All that waiting for five seconds of ZOOM! Okay, let's roll, and roll we did to the canal boat dock where we met up with the rest of our group.

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