Another remarkable site is the town of Pushkin (called Tsarskoye Selo before 1917, Detskoye Selo in 1918-37), which arose in the early eighteenth century as one of the tsarist residences. The Catherine Palace (1717—23; enlarged by Aleksey V. Kvasov and Chevakinsky, 1743-8; rebuilt by Rastrelli, 1752—7) is notable for its dimensions, the beauty and majesty of its form, and the wealth of its sculptural decoration. The golden suite of splendid halls (including the Amber Room) exemplifies Russian baroque at its peak. The community is also the site of the Chinese Village (1782-96) in Alexander
Park and the gallery (1780-90) named after its architect, Charles Cameron, the terraces of which contain more than 50 husts of figures from ancient Greek and Roman history. The Lycйe, a school for the offspring of the nobility, had the great Pushkin as a student, and a famous statue of the poet stands near the town's Egyptian Gates. The town suffered severe damage during the German onslaught, but has been restored.
Culture
In addition to its rich architectural heritage, St Petersburg boasts numerous outstanding cultural institutions, which remain one of its enduring attractions. It has many large and grand, as well as small but reputable, theatres and auditoriums. The Mariinsky Theatre (called the Kirov State Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet during the Soviet period) has long enjoyed an international reputation, and its resident company is frequently on tour abroad. Other important venues are the Maly, Tovstonogov, Pushkin, and Musical Comedy theatres. The largest of several concert halls is the October Great Concert Hall, which seats some 4,000 people. The city's musical tradition has been enhanced by the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory.
Notable museums include the Hermitage (see above) and the State Russian Museum, both of international prominence. The latter museum traces the history of Russian art from the tenth century to the present.
There are a large number of libraries in the city, headed by the Saltykov-Shchedrin Public Library on Nevsky Prospekt, established in 1795; of all the libraries in Russia, it is second only to Moscow's Russian State Library, Another important specialized collection is the Institute of Russian Literature (Pushkin House) on Vasilyevsky Island.
St Petersburg has abundant recreational facilities and green spaces for such a large city. Among the notable stadiums in the area is Kirov Stadium, Other opportunities for outdoor recreation are provided by the Kirov Park of Culture and Rest, the zoo, the botanical gardens, and numerous other smaller parks and gardens.
Novgorod
Novgorod, in north-western Russia, long flourished as one of the greatest trading centres of eastern Europe, with links by river routes to the Baltic, Byzantium, Central Asia, and all parts of European Russia. Trade with the Hanseatic League was considerable, since Novgorod was the limit of Hanseatic trade into Russia. Prosperity was based upon furs obtained in the forests of northern Russia, much of which came under Novgorod's control.
During the twelfth century, Novgorod was engaged in prolonged struggles with the princes of Suzdal and gained victories in 1169 and 1216. Although the town avoided destruction in the great Tatar invasion of 1238-40, Tatar suzerainty was acknowledged. Under Alexander Nevsky, Prince of Vladimir, Novgorod's defenders repulsed attacks by the Swedes on the Neva River in 1240 and by the Teutonic Knights on the ice of Lake Peipus in 1242. During the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, Novgorod was involved in a long, bitter struggle for supremacy with Moscow, and frequently sought help from Lithuania. Although the city survived Muscovite onslaughts in 1332 and again in 1386 by
Dmitry Donskoy, it was defeated by Vasily II in 1456. It continued to oppose Moscow and again sought Lithuanian assistance, but in 1471 Ivan III defeated Novgorod and annexed much of its northern territories, finally forcing the city to recognize Moscow's sovereignty in 1478. Opposition by its citizens to Moscow continued until Ivan IV in 1570 massacrcd many of them and deported the survivors. In 1611 Novgorod was captured by the Swedes, who held it for eight years. From Peter the Great's reign (1682-1725) the city declined in importance, although it was made a provincial seat in 1727.
During the Second World War, Novgorod suffered heavy damage, but the many historic buildings were subsequently restored. These include the kremlin (fortress) on the left bank of the Volkhov (the Sofiyskaya Storona).Itwas first built of wood in 1044, and its first stone walls date from the fourteenth century. Within the kremlin the St Sofia Cathedral, built in 1045—50 on the site of an earlier wooden church, is one of the finest examples of early Russian architecture, with magnificent bronze doors from the twelfth century. The Granite Palace (1433), the bell tower (1443), and the St Sergey Chapel date from the fifteenth century. The Chapel of St Andrew Stratilata was built in the seventeenth century. On the other side of the Volkhov (the Torgovaya Storona) stands the Cathedral of St Nicholas, dating from 1113, In and around Novgorod are many other surviving churches, including the twelfth-century cathedrals of the Nativity ofOurLadyandofSt George, the fourteenth-century churches of the Transfiguration and of St Theodore Stratilata, and the seventeenth-century Znamensky Cathedral.
Modern Novgorod is important as a tourist centre and as a major producer of chemical fertilizers. It also has metal and woodworking industries. Its population stands at more than 200,000.
Murmansk
Murmansk is a small city by modern standards - with a population of only about 350,000 - but is the largest city in the world north of the Arctic Circle. Its name, appropriately, is said to derive from the local Sami word murman, meaning "the edge of the earth".
Nor does the town have a long history. It was founded in 1915 as Romanov-na-Murmane, after Russia's then imperial royal dynasty. It functioned during the First World War as a supply port and in 1918 as a base for the British, French, and American expeditionary forces against the Bolsheviks. In the Second World War Murmansk served as the main port for Anglo-American convoys carrying war supplies to the Soviet Union through the Arctic Ocean. Its military and naval functions continue to this day.
One of the town's major assets is its ice-free harbour, which makes it Russia's only port with unrestricted access to the Atlantic and world sea routes. From December to May it replaces icebound St Petersburg as the major port of the north-west. This is why today the town is an important fishing port - its fish-processing plant is one of the largest in Europe - and most of its industry related to the sea and seafaring: fishing, fish processing, and shipbuilding. It is also home to a research institute of marine fisheries and oceanography.
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Murmansk's economy suffered, as major industries were unprofitable under market economy conditions, and most fishing vessels were contracted out to Norwegian and other foreign companies. As a result, many people left the city, and in the 1990s the city's population dropped by more than one-fourth, though by the early twenty-first century the city had made a successful transition to a market economy.