- 2 марта 2017, четверг
- Санкт-Петербург, Yelizarovskaya subway station (gathering inside the upper pavillion)
Prospect Obukhovskoy Oborony: the Anti-Nevsky, or Walk on the Proletarian Broadway
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There have always been two cities on Neva’s shores. The official “Petersburg”, capital of Russian empire and city of splendor and luxury, seldom met the gritty and simple “Piter”, one of the biggest industrial centers of Europe and a home turf for famous revolutionaries. Nevsky prospect, a showcase for capital’s brilliance, has its untidy, Mr. Hyde-like counterpart – the 11-km long Prospect Obukhovskoy Oborony, the longest street in the city. This 3,5 hour, 7 km tour will take us to the gritty greats and hidden treasures of Saint Petersburg’s main industrial artery that still bears the spirit of the troubled period of Revolution, with all its epics and controversies.
Prospekt Obukhovskoy Oborony (Obukhov Defense Ave., named after a major labor unrest of the beginning of 20th century) has been an old trade route along the left bank of Neva since the early years of Saint Petersburg. It soon became a major industrial artery, and produced a major part of Petersburg’s riches – from fine porcelain for Tsar’s table, stearine candles, textiles and playing cards for nobility clubs to armor and cannons for Russian warships. Its proletarian appearance hides many other ties and similarities with Nevsky prospect: a sort of Admiralty, churches of all major Christian confessions, and even a Hermitage of its own. Major characters of Russian history, such as Grigori Potemkin, favorite of Catherine the Great, Alexander I of Russia or Vladimir Lenin, also tie these two avenues together.
Our 4 hrs/7 km journey on tram and foot starts at Yelizarovskaya subway station. We’ll make our way across a variety of industrial landscapes and local landmarks, including one of the earliest known official monuments of Lenin in St Petersburg, an exemplary Soviet living neighborhood, a citywide-famous permanent book fair in the former Soviet “Palace of culture” named after Lenin’s wife, as well as museums of Imperial Porcelain Manufactory and Obukhov Plant, a major metallurgy and heavy machine-building factory founded in 1863. The final point of itinerary is at Proletarskaya subway station.
Price: 1200 RUR per person (including museum tickets in both IPM and Obukhov plant museum and a guided tour in Obukhov) + the cost of two tram rides (80 RUR).
Minimum age: 12 years
Physicality: medium (1.5 hrs outdoors/3 km on foot with two tram rides and three indoor tours)
Culture shock: medium (industrial architecture and heritage/Soviet history/city’s underside)