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88-517: Kresty was closed and in 2017 the inmates were relocated to a modern prison facility named Kresty-2. The history of the prison starts in the 1730s. During the reign of Anna Ioannovna , Vinny Gorodok (Wine Town) was a warehouse complex where all the wine for the city of Saint Petersburg was held. After the Emancipation reform of 1861 the need for prison space greatly increased. Before the reforms, serfs were incarcerated by their landowners. After

176-435: A Swedish precedent, which stated that Anna was to govern according to their counsel and was not permitted to declare war, call for peace, impose new taxes or spend the revenue of the state without their consent. Without the consent of the council, she could not punish nobility without trial, make grants of estates or villages, appoint high officials, or promote anyone (foreign or Russian) to court office. The deliberations of

264-499: A cell originally designed for solitary confinement. In 1993 a museum was opened inside the prison devoted to the history of the prison, famous inmates and unusual objects found on the detainees. In April 1995 the monument To the victims of Political repressions made by Mikhail Shemyakin was installed on the embankment across the Neva River from the prison. It depicts two bronze sphinxes with pretty women's faces as seen from

352-876: A citizen of Austria-Hungary , a member of the Russian Academy of Arts and a staff architect of the Russian State Prison Administration . He was the designer of the Model Uyezd Prison originally built in Staraya Russa and reproduced in Vesyegonsk , Vyazma , Tsaritsyn and other places. Tomishko studied the organization of prisons in Germany and was impressed by the Moabit prison, with three blocks joining

440-480: A daughter already would provide a certainty of succession which the nobles perhaps preferred not to have. The Supreme Privy Council preferred the childless and widowed Duchess of Courland. They hoped that she would feel indebted to the nobles and remain a figurehead at best, and malleable at worst. To make sure of that, the Council convinced Anna to sign a declaration of " Conditions " to her accession, modeled after

528-646: A disciplined and austere manner by their widowed mother, a stern lady of sterling character. Born into a family of relatively modest means, Praskovia Saltykova had been an exemplary wife to a mentally disabled man, and expected her daughters to live up to her own high standards of morality and virtue. Anna grew up within a milieu which cherished womanly virtue and domesticity above all else, and placed strong emphasis on thrift, charity and religious observances. Her education consisted of French, German, religious texts and folklore, leavened with some music and dancing. As she grew older, she developed into an obstinate girl, with

616-512: A family had more than one son, one could now stay behind to run the family estate. Westernization continued after Peter the Great 's reign in areas of prominent Western culture such as the Academy of Science, cadet corps education, and imperial culture including theater and opera. Although not at the fast-paced speed of Westernization under her Uncle Peter's reign, it is evident that a culture of

704-631: A few occasions, humiliated individuals with disabilities. The issues of serfdom, peasant and lower class slavery, taxation, dishonesty, and rule through constant fear persisted in Russia during her rule. Her empire was described by Lefort, the Saxon minister, as being "comparable to a storm-threatened ship, manned by a pilot and crew who are all drunk or asleep. . . with no considerable future". Anna's war with Turkey, economic issues, and conspiracy revolving around her accession all bring to light an ominous glow of

792-401: A fireplace of ice. Prince Golitsyn and his bride were placed in a cage atop an elephant and paraded through the streets to this structure, to spend their wedding night in the ice palace, despite it being an extremely cold night in the dead of winter. Empress Anna told the couple to make love and keep their bodies close if they did not wish to freeze to death. Eventually, the couple survived when

880-436: A hundred in the secondary school. Still, it was a huge step forward for education in Russia. Many of the teachers and professors were imported from Germany, bringing a Western viewpoint to instruction students received. Some of the students taught by these German professors later became advisors or teachers to future leaders, such as Catherine the Great's tutor, Adodurov. During Anna's reign the Academy of Science began to include

968-454: A hundred thousand men, and millions of rubles; its burdens caused great stress on the people of Russia, and it only gained Russia the city of Azov and its environs. Its effects, however, were greater than they first appeared. Osterman's policy of southern expansion prevailed over the 1711 Peace of Pruth signed by Peter the Great. Münnich had given Russia its first campaign against Turkey that had not ended in crushing disaster and dissipated

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1056-495: A lady greatly respected for her many virtues, not least her chastity. Finally, the Russian Supreme Privy Council led by Prince Dmitri Golitzyn selected Anna, the second daughter of Ivan V, to be the new Empress of Russia. She was selected in preference to her elder sister Catherine even though Catherine was at that time resident in Russia whereas Anna was not. There were some reasons for this: Anna

1144-602: A love affair with Duke Ernst Johann von Biron , a prominent courtier, for many years. In 1730, Tsar Peter II (grandson of Anna's uncle Peter the Great) died childless at a young age. His death rendered extinct the male line of the Romanov dynasty , which had ruled Russia for over a century, since 1613. There were four possible candidates for the throne: the three surviving daughters of Ivan V , namely Catherine (born 1691), Anna herself (born 1693) and Praskovya (born 1694), and

1232-478: A mean streak, earning her the nickname "Iv-anna the Terrible". Anna was famed for her big cheeks, "which, as shown in her portraits", says Thomas Carlyle , were "comparable to a Westphalian ham". In time, her uncle Peter the Great ordered the family to move from Moscow to St. Petersburg . This meant a change of not just location but also society, and this had a significant effect on Anna. She greatly enjoyed

1320-404: A method to press the suspects. In 1983 the prison was deemed unsuitable for women and minors. The prison was mostly used for common criminals, but many Soviet dissidents from Leningrad were held there during the investigations and trials. The judicial reforms of the 1990s made long pre-trial detentions available only with approval of the courts. Currently no more than six inmates can be held in

1408-464: A monument to English philanthropist and prison reformer John Howard . By the time it was built it was considered the most advanced prison in the world. It was the largest prison in Europe. According to an urban legend , Tomishko was so proud of his creation that he reported to Tsar Alexander III : "Your Majesty, I have built the prison for you"; "No, you have built it for yourself", supposedly answered

1496-565: A monument to poet Anna Akhmatova by Galina Dodonova was erected across the Neva River opposite the prison according to her will in her poem Requiem . In December 2006 a copy of the monument was installed in a corridor of the prison itself. In summer 2006 Vladimir Putin ( President of Russia ) announced that the prison would be relocated to a new facility in the Kolpinsky District on the outskirts of Saint Petersburg. After

1584-671: A more conservative line and stayed within the Tsar's laws to defend the parliament, as the party now lived in the "shadow of the "Vyborg complex"". The entire Kadet leadership was one of the groups that were targeted by being banned from participation in future Dumas. As a result of the events surrounding the Manifesto, the Kadet Party lost all trust in the people's support and no longer claimed to represent them either. Instead, they consciously became what they de facto had been all along,

1672-463: A political nature. It has been rumored since Anna's reign that Biron was the power behind the Secret Office of Investigation when in fact it was run by the senator A. I. Ushakov. The punishments meted out for the convicted were often very painful and disgusting. For example, some people that had supposedly been plotting against the government had their noses slit in addition to being beaten with

1760-446: A second Duma was called for the following February, and Prime Minister Ivan Goremykin was replaced by Stolypin, who was a well-known advocate for the abolition of the communal system and was known for repressive measures to restore order in the provinces. The liberals of the first Duma were subsequently outraged. Prince Georgy Lvov was one of those outraged by the "blatant attack on the parliamentary principle" even though he had opposed

1848-576: A single tower. He appreciated the Philadelphia system that recommended building prisons in the shape of a star with many rays coming from a single observation point. The system was also known as the Panopticon system. Tomishko designed a prison consisting of two five-storey cross-shaped buildings. The shape of the buildings allowed observation of all the corridors from a single point and also had religious significance, encouraging penance among

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1936-549: Is often referred to as "The Age of Biron" ( Bironovschina ), after her German lover Ernst Johann Biron . Historians concur that Biron not only had a strong influence on Anna's domestic and foreign policies, but also that at times he wielded power solely without reference to the Empress. Anna was attracted to Biron's personal charm and he proved to be a good companion to her, but his name became synonymous with cruelty and terror. In public perception these negative qualities became

2024-712: The Octobrists , another liberal party organized at the same time. Unlike the Octobrists, who were committed to constitutional monarchy from the start, the Kadets were at first ambiguous on the subject but demanded universal suffrage (even for women) and a Constituent Assembly that would determine the country's form of government. The Kadets were one of the parties invited by the reform-minded Prime Minister Sergei Witte to join his cabinet in October and November 1905, but

2112-662: The Ottomans . Russia's involvement with the conflict was quickly over, however, and the Russo-Turkish War (1735–1739) was much more important. In 1732 Nader Shah had forced Russia to return the lands in northern mainland Persia that had been taken during Peter the Great's Russo-Persian War ; the Treaty of Resht furthermore permitted an alliance against the Ottoman Empire, the common enemy and, in any case,

2200-628: The Russian Academy of Science , started by Peter the Great. This school was designed to further the sciences in Russia, in order to help the country reach the level of the Western countries of that period. Some of the subjects taught were mathematics, astronomy, and botany. The Academy of Science was also responsible for many expeditions; a notable example was the Bering Sea Expedition. While attempting to determine if America and Asia had been at one point connected, Siberia and its people

2288-540: The University of Dorpat and one for the a new laundry. That was in effect a declaration of a "legislative war", as the government would not even recognise the demands of reform from the Duma. It was clear by then that it was only a matter of time before the Duma became dissolved, and after further radical speeches in the Duma, it was dissolved 72 days after it was convoked, on the 21 July (8 July O.S. ) New elections for

2376-634: The Vyborg Appeal ) was a proclamation signed by several Russian politicians, primarily Kadets and Trudoviks ) of the dissolved First Duma on 22 July [ O.S. 9 July] 1906. In the wake of the 1905 Revolution, Russia's first modern parliament, the State Duma, was convoked. It rapidly became a voice of radicalism and liberalism, and was subsequently dissolved by the Tsarist government 72 days after convocation. Outraged, several of

2464-452: The duchy of Courland from 1711 until 1730 and then ruled as Empress of Russia from 1730 to 1740. Much of her administration was defined or heavily influenced by actions set in motion by her uncle, Peter the Great ( r.  1682–1725 ), such as the lavish building projects in St. Petersburg , funding the Russian Academy of Science , and measures which generally favored the nobility, such as

2552-605: The knout . Russian authorities listed a total of around 20,000 Russians—including some of the highest native nobility—who fell victim to Biron and Anna's police. The government under Anna established an Office for the Affairs of New Converts in 1740 to expand the conversion to Orthodoxy. The office which was situated in the Bogoroditsky Monastery in Kazan was staffed by monks and aided by state authorities. Under

2640-571: The penal military units of the Soviet Army or transferred to the Eastern regions of Russia. The prison was used for detaining those involved in stealing of food or ration cards, and later for German POWs . Many guards and detainees died of starvation during the siege. In 1964 the prison became a facility used mostly for pre-trial detentions. It was greatly overcrowded: in the mid-1990s the prison held more than 12,500 inmates, more than ten times

2728-494: The "natural party" of the bourgeois. The liberals' failure to rally the masses in defence of the Duma in practice left them "high and dry" and only clinging on in the hope of persuading the Tsarist regime to liberalise itself and with an even larger fear of 'the masses'. Despite their change towards conservatism, the government remained suspicious of the Kadets until the fall of the monarchy in 1917. Note : Georgy Lvov became ill whilst travelling to Vyborg and had to return to

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2816-535: The Arts into the program, as there was no school for the arts yet, and the Empress was a firm supporter of the arts. Theatre, architecture, engraving, and journalism were all added to the curriculum. It was during this time the foundation of what is now the world-famous Russian Ballet was laid down. Anna resurrected the Secret Office of Investigation, whose purpose was to punish those convicted of political crimes, although some cases were occasionally taken that were not of

2904-608: The Duma, the parliamentarians condemned the government's political repression, and demands of amnesty of political prisoners became voiced from the Tauride Palace . The calls commenced after a boat full of representatives sailed down the Neva and passed by the Kresty prison , and a tearful and emotional waving encounter between the prisoners and the representatives happened. As the representatives found their seats Ivan Petrunkevich ,

2992-459: The Emperor that also included demands for increased liberties such as universal suffrage, radical land reforms, further executive powers to the Duma, a government responsible to the parliament and the abolition of the reactionary consultative State Council . After two weeks of silence, the government passed its two first bills for the approval of the Duma, one for the construction of a greenhouse at

3080-777: The February Revolution, Kresty became a place of imprisonment for the ministers of the Tsarist government and prominent police officers. After the October Revolution they were joined by people from the Russian Provisional Government , non-Bolshevik politicians and intelligentsia . Among the people imprisoned there were Prime Minister Boris Stürmer , who died in Kresty in September 1917, Justice Minister Ivan Scheglovitov, Minister of

3168-504: The Great, but he was mentally disabled and reportedly had limited capacity of administering the country effectively, and Peter effectively ruled alone. Ivan V died in February 1696, when Anna was only three years old, and her half-uncle became the sole ruler of Russia. Although Anna was the fourth child of her parents, she had only one surviving elder sister, Catherine , and one younger sister, Praskovia . The three girls were raised in

3256-757: The Interior Alexei Khvostov , Minister of War Mikhail Belyayev , former Minister of War Vladimir Sukhomlinov , Chief of Police Yevgeny Klimovich, the great Russian poet Nikolay Gumilyov . In 1920 the prison was renamed as the Second Special Camp for Involuntary Labor. It was administered by the Petrograd Ispolkom . In 1923 the prison became the Petrograd District Isolation Prison (Петроградская Окружная Изоляционная Тюрьма), part of

3344-790: The Petrograd Cheka system. During the Great Purges , the prison overflowed with inmates accused of state crimes. Cells designed for solitary confinement often held 15–20 inmates or more. Among the inmates were: painter Kazimir Malevich , poet Nikolay Zabolotsky , historian Lev Gumilyov , poet and writer Daniil Kharms , actor Georgiy Zhzhonov , future Marshal of the Soviet Union Konstantin Rokossovsky and many others. The prison features prominently in Anna Akhmatova 's poem Requiem . In

3432-762: The Russian Empire who had signed the Vyborg Manifesto had to spend three months in Kresty Prison. On the evening of 12 March [ O.S. 27 February] 1917, during the February Revolution , rebellious soldiers and workers who came to a meeting near the Finlyandsky Rail Terminal were led by Mikhail Kalinin to storm Kresty. They stormed the prison from both sides, freed the inmates, and burnt all

3520-455: The Tsar. The legend continues that besides the 999 official prison cells there is a secret cell number 1000 that still holds the dead body of Tomishko, while his ghost haunts the prison. The legend is almost certainly false. There are only 960 cells in the prison. In Imperial Russia the prison was officially called Saint Petersburg Prison for Solitary Confinement. It was used for the detention of both common criminals and political prisoners. Among

3608-400: The age of 47 from a kidney stone that made for a slow and painful death. The tsaritsa's final words focused on Biron. Ivan VI was only a two-month-old baby at the time, and his mother, Anna Leopoldovna , was detested for her German counsellors and relations. As a consequence, shortly after Anna's death, Elizabeth Petrovna , legitimized daughter of Peter the Great, managed to gain the favor of

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3696-501: The army. According to the historian Orlando Figes , the Vyborg Manifesto was "a typical example of the Kadets' militant posturing" since Duma's opening. The Manifesto was written by Pavel Milyukov and signed by 120 Kadet and 80 Trudovik and Social Democrat deputies, alongside some other political representatives like Social Revolutionaries and Muslims. The Manifesto was met with nearly-universal indifference from

3784-440: The aunts of the recently deceased Tsar Peter II . The dilemma was made greater because the daughters of Peter the Great had been born out of wedlock, and had been legitimized later by him, after he formally married their mother Catherine I , who had previously been a maid in his household. On the other hand, Praskovia Saltykova , the wife of Ivan V, had been a nobleman's daughter and a devoted wife and mother; moreover, she had been

3872-817: The council were held even as Peter II lay dying of smallpox during the winter of 1729–30. The document of " Conditions " was presented to Anna in January, and she signed the same on 18 January 1730, which was just around the time of his death. The ceremony of endorsement was held at her capital, Mitau in Courland (now known as Jelgava ), and she then proceeded to the Russian capital. On 20 February 1730, shortly after her arrival, Empress Anna exercised her prerogative to do away with her predecessor's Privy Council and dissolved that body. The Supreme Privy Council which had stipulated those onerous "Conditions" had been composed largely of

3960-456: The design capacity (1,150 inmates). Often a cell originally designed for solitary confinement during the Tsarist period and according to the Soviet rules suitable for only six inmates would actually hold more than 20 inmates. They took turns to sleep on the three-level bunk bed and on the floor. Detention for months or even years in those conditions, often manipulated by the investigators, was often

4048-413: The effects of alcohol. After her husband died, Anna proceeded to Mitau (now known as Jelgava ), the capital of Courland (now western Latvia ) and ruled that province for almost twenty years, from 1711 to 1730. During this period, the Russian resident, Count Peter Bestuzhev , was her adviser (and sometimes lover). She never remarried after the death of her husband, but her enemies claimed she conducted

4136-487: The empress' decree, they presided under a huge increase in conversions, where converts were provided goods and cash in return for a "reward for accepting baptism". However, intimidation and violence also played a role in conversions, as a Chuvash petition described how the clergy "mercilessly beat them and baptized them against their will". In addition, hundreds of mosques were destroyed. By the 1750s, over 400,000 pagans and Muslims had converted. Anna gave many privileges to

4224-563: The empress' reign. She restored the court in St. Petersburg and brought Russia's political atmosphere back to where Peter the Great had intended, and its grandeur was almost unmatched in Europe or Asia; but such lavish court life was overshadowed by the thousands of men slaughtered in war. Vyborg Manifesto The Vyborg Manifesto ( Russian : Выборгское воззвание , romanized :  Vyborgskoye Vozzvaniye , Finnish : Viipurin manifesti , Swedish : Viborgsmanifestet ); also called

4312-517: The expansion of knowledge continued during Anna's rule and affected mostly the nobility. It is argued that this success in Westernization is due to the efforts of the German court nobility; the foreigners' impacts are viewed both positively and negatively. Anna's reign was different from that of other imperial Russian rulers in one respect: her court was almost entirely made up of foreigners,

4400-457: The families of the princes Dolgorouki and Galitzin . Within a matter of days, another faction rose at court which was opposed to the domination of these two families. On 7 March 1730, a group of people belonging to this faction (numbering between 150 and 800 people, depending on the source) arrived at the palace and petitioned the empress to repudiate the "Conditions" and assume the autocracy of her predecessors. Among those who urged Anna to do so

4488-406: The feast which followed the wedding, two dwarfs performed a parody by jumping out of enormous pies and dancing on the tables. The newly wedded couple spent several weeks in Russia before proceeding to Courland. Only twenty miles out of St. Petersburg, on the road to Courland, on 21 January 1711, Duke Frederick died. The cause of death was uncertain - it has been attributed variously to a chill or to

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4576-551: The following year, were the only ones China dispatched to Europe through the 18th century. These embassies were unique also in that they represented the only occasions where officials of the Chinese Empire kowtowed before a foreign ruler. After being widowed just weeks following her wedding, Anna never remarried. As empress of Russia, she enjoyed the power she held over all men and may have thought that marriage would undermine her power and position. Nevertheless, Anna's reign

4664-470: The hallmark of Anna's reign. As her health declined Anna declared her grandnephew, Ivan VI , as her successor and appointed Biron as regent. This was an attempt to secure the line of her father, Ivan V , and exclude the descendants of Peter the Great from inheriting the throne. It was recorded that she had an ulcer on her kidneys, and she continued having attacks of gout; as her condition worsened, her health began to fail. Anna died on 17 October 1740 at

4752-651: The illusion of Ottoman invincibility. He had further shown that Russia's grenadiers and hussars could defeat twice their number of janissaries and spahis . The Tatar hordes of the Crimea had been exterminated and Russia's signal and unexpected successes greatly increased its prestige within Europe. The Russians also established a protectorate over the khan of the Kirghiz , sending officers to assist his short-lived conquest of Khiva . Two Chinese embassies to Anna's court, first at Moscow in 1731, then at St Petersburg

4840-640: The initiative of the French ballet master and teacher Jean-Baptiste Landé. During Anna's reign Russia became involved in two major conflicts, the War of the Polish Succession (1733–1735) and another Turkish war . In the former, Russia worked with Austria to support Augustus II 's son Augustus against the candidacy of Stanisław Leszczyński who was dependent on the French and amiable with Sweden and

4928-596: The inmates were: the future Prime Minister of the Russian Provisional Government Alexander Kerensky , the founder of the Constitutional Democratic party Pavel Milyukov , the prominent Bolshevik revolutionaries Leon Trotsky and Vladimir Antonov-Ovseenko , and the future first Soviet People's Commissar of Enlightenment Anatoly Lunacharsky . In 1906 all 200 deputies of the first State Duma of

5016-406: The inmates. The crosses were joined together by a massive five onion domed red brick Russian Revival church on top of an administrative building. There was a prison hospital, a ward for infectious diseases, a morgue, an ice-room and a blacksmith. Construction started in 1884 and continued until 1890. It was performed by the inmates of the prison who were kept on the site: a part of the old prison

5104-616: The land reform. He became radicalised after he had been a "moderate liberal". The government, on the other hand, deemed the Duma "dysfunctional". Lvov became one of the Kadets who travelled to Vyborg ( Finnish : Viipuri ), Finland 's second city, to protest the government. There, the Kadet members and liberals signed a manifesto, calling on the Russian people to rebel against the government by refusing to pay taxes or to provide recruits for

5192-503: The leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party (Kadets), asked upon the assembly to devote their first free thoughts and words to "those who sacrificed their own freedom for the liberation of our dear Russia". The hall burst into shouting "Amnesty, Amnesty" towards the ministers attending, and amnesty for the political prisoners , a prerogative exclusively held by the Tsar , were included in an address to

5280-506: The maid traded a pearl necklace for a sheepskin coat from one of the guards. An enthusiastic hunter, Anna always kept a shotgun by her window so she could blast away at birds at all hours of the day whenever she felt the urge to hunt. Anna continued to lavish architectural advances in St. Petersburg. She completed a waterway that began construction under Peter the Great and called for seafaring ships to accompany this new canal and continue naval expansion. Anna's lover Ernst Johann von Biron

5368-401: The majority of whom were German. Some observers have argued that historians isolate her rule from Russian history due to their long-term prejudice towards Germans, towards whom Anna seems to have been sympathetic. There is a lot of mention of Germans throughout the reign of Anna. For example, she often gave them ruling positions in her cabinet and other important decision-making positions. This

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5456-427: The members of the first Duma travelled to Vyborg in the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland , where they signed a 'manifesto' calling for 'passive resistance' which included evading taxes and defying conscription orders. The manifesto was met with 'universal indifference', which allowed the Tsarist authorities to silence the manifesto's contributors, and they were all banned from participating in future Dumas. The result

5544-399: The negotiations broke down over the Kadets' radical demands and Witte's refusal to drop notorious reactionaries like Petr Nikolayevich Durnovo from the cabinet. In the wake of the 1905 Revolution, Russia's first modern parliament, the first Duma, was convoked. It rapidly turned into a revolutionary tribune, "a rhetorical battering ram against the fortress of autocracy". On the first day of

5632-437: The nobility. In 1730 she ensured the repeal of Peter the Great's primogeniture law prohibiting the division of estates among heirs. Starting in 1731 landlords were made responsible for their serfs' taxes, which had the effect of tightening their economic bondage further. In 1736, the age for a noble to begin his compulsory service to the state changed to 20 with a 25-year service time. Anna and her government also determined that if

5720-536: The people. That allowed the government to use repressive methods to silence its most outspoken liberal critics. Over 100 leading members of the Kadet Party were brought to trial and then suspended from the Duma for their participation in the manifesto. They were replaced in the Second and the Third Dumas by less radical and less talented politicians than those who had been suspended. The new politicians also went along

5808-474: The poem she writes: And if once, whenever in my native land, They'd think of the raising up my monument, I give my permission for such good a feast, But with one condition – they have to place it Not near the sea, where I once have been born – All my warm connections with it had been torn, Not in the tsar’s garden near that tree-stump, blessed, Where I am looked for by the doleful shade, But here, where three hundred long hours I stood for And where

5896-530: The populace, locked Ivan VI in a dungeon, and exiled his mother. Anna was buried three months later on 15 January 1741, leaving behind uncertainty for the future of Russia. In the West, Anna's reign was traditionally viewed as a continuation of the transition from the old Muscovy ways to the European court envisioned by Peter the Great. Her government, on the whole, was prudent, beneficial and even glorious; but it

5984-692: The prison paperwork in the courtyard. The prime objectives of the Bolsheviks were: 1. To destroy the police records of Bolshevik comrades 2. To deliberately emulate the Storming of the Bastille during the French Revolution. In releasing all the prisoners, a large minority of political prisoners (Bolsheviks, Social Revolutionaries, and trade unionists) were released, along with thieves, debtors, murderers and others, without discrimination. After

6072-407: The provinces of Shirvan , Ghilan , and Mazanderan had been a net drain on the imperial treasury for the entirety of their occupation. Three years later, in 1735, conforming to the Treaty of Ganja , the remainder of the territories taken more than a decade earlier from Persia in the North Caucasus and South Caucasus were returned as well. The war against the Turks took four and a half years,

6160-402: The reforms they were put in state prisons. In 1867 the wine warehouse was transformed into a 700-bed prison, separated into female and male areas. The reconstruction of the wine warehouse was developed by Vladislav Lvov, the chairman of the Saint Petersburg Prison Committee. In 20 years the prison became too small for the city. The project for the new city prison was developed by Antony Tomishko,

6248-436: The relocation is complete the Kresty building will be sold at auction. It is anticipated that the prison building will be transferred into a hotel-entertainment complex. The available options are limited as the prison is considered a protected architectural landmark and only very limited redesign is possible. The new remand prison, Kresty 2, was completed in 2017 in Kolpino, a suburb located 20 miles outside of St. Petersburg. It

6336-500: The repeal of a primogeniture law in 1730. In the West, Anna's reign was traditionally viewed as a continuation of the transition from the old Muscovy ways to the European court envisioned by Peter the Great. Within Russia, Anna's reign is often referred to as a "dark era". Anna was born in Moscow as the daughter of Tsar Ivan V by his wife Praskovia Saltykova . Ivan V was co-ruler of Russia along with his younger half-brother Peter

6424-487: The residential houses on the embankment and bare skulls as seen from the prison's side of the river. There is a stylized window with prison bars between the sphinxes. On the granite base of the monument there are inscriptions with quotes from Nikolay Gumilyov , Osip Mandelstam , Anna Akhmatova , Nikolay Zabolotsky , Daniil Andreyev , Dmitry Likhachev , Joseph Brodsky , Yuri Galanskov , Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn , Vladimir Vysotsky and Vladimir Bukovsky . In December 2006

6512-424: The sole surviving daughter of Peter the Great, Elizabeth (born 1709). Ivan V had been the older brother of Peter the Great and co-ruler with him, and by that reckoning, his daughters may be considered to have the prior claim. However, if seen from the perspective that the successor should be the nearest kin of the most recent monarch, then the daughters of Peter the Great were nearer to the throne, because they were

6600-430: The splendour of court and the lavishness of high society, which was very different from the austerity preferred by her mother. In 1710, Peter the Great arranged for the 17-year-old Anna to marry Frederick William , Duke of Courland , who was about the same age as her. Her wedding was held on a grand scale, as per her own inclinations, on 11 November 1710; and her uncle gave her a fabulous dowry of 200,000 roubles. At

6688-543: The words of one contemporary, which was widely taken to be a dark omen of what Anna's reign would be like. Strong-willed and eccentric, Anna was known for her cruelty and vulgar sense of humor. She forced Prince Mikhail Alekseevich Golitsyn to become her court jester and had him married off to her unattractive Kalmyk maid Avdotya Buzheninova. To celebrate the wedding, the Empress had an ice palace measuring thirty-three feet high and eighty feet long built together with icy beds, steps, chairs, windows and even logs of ice in

6776-596: Was a Baltic German and due to his influence Baltic Germans were favored with government offices, leading to the resentment of the ethnic Russian nobility, though the American historian Walter Moss cautioned that the popular image of the Bironovschina as one of total Baltic German domination of Russia is exaggerated. Anna founded the Cadet Corps in 1731, one year after coming to the throne. The Cadet Corps

6864-488: Was a childless widow and there was no immediate danger of an unknown foreigner wielding power in Russia; she also had some experience of government, because she had been administering her late husband's duchy of Courland for almost two decades. Catherine, on the other hand, was married to the Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin . She was now separated from him and living in Russia, which was in itself disgraceful; and whether her husband

6952-492: Was a group of young boys starting at the age of eight being trained for the military. It incorporated a very rigorous training program which included all the schooling necessary for someone to hold an important position in the military. As time went on, the program was improved upon by other emperors and empresses, such as Catherine the Great. These began to include the arts and sciences into cadets' schooling, alongside established studies of military topics. Anna continued to fund

7040-419: Was also studied. These studies were referenced long after the expedition returned from Siberia. The academy suffered interference from outside parties. Frequently the government and the church would meddle with funding and experimentation, altering data to match their respective points of view. This school of science was very small, never exceeding a population of twelve students in the university and barely over

7128-463: Was because she had very little trust in the Russians. It was because of this strong German influence in government that many Russians came to resent them. The Imperial Theatre School, known as Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet after 1957, was founded during Anna's reign on May 4, 1738. It was the first ballet school in Russia, as well as the second in the world. The school was established through

7216-622: Was constructed at a cost of $ 378 million. It is built like a small town, containing all the necessary infrastructure: residential quarters, religious buildings, sports facilities, a hospital, workshops, and a hotel for relatives and visitors. [REDACTED] Media related to Kresty (Saint Petersburg) at Wikimedia Commons Anna of Russia Anna Ioannovna ( Russian : Анна Иоанновна ; 7 February [ O.S. 28 January] 1693 – 28 October [ O.S. 17 October] 1740), also russified as Anna Ivanovna and sometimes anglicized as Anne , served as regent of

7304-442: Was demolished, then the detainees built the new one while continuing to live in the remaining parts of the old building. Then the prisoners were moved to the new building, the remains of the old building were demolished and construction continued. The prison was one of the first buildings in Russia that used electric lighting, effective ventilation and central heating. In the center of one of the cross-shaped buildings Tomishko installed

7392-494: Was her elder sister Catherine . Anna duly repudiated the document of Conditions , and for good measure sent some of the framers of the document to the scaffold, and many others to Siberia . She then assumed autocratic powers and ruled as an absolute monarch, in the same fashion as her predecessors. On the night that Anna tore up the Conditions, an aurora borealis appeared in the sky, making the horizon "appear in all blood" in

7480-549: Was not opened for me the hard door. Her wish was fulfilled half a century after her death. On the grounds of the prison operated a sharashka – a research and development facility called OKB-172, that used inmates as weapons engineers and researchers. The facility developed torpedo boats that were widely used by the Soviet Navy during World War II . During the Siege of Leningrad most detainees were either conscripted into

7568-413: Was present or absent, his existence could raise problems at her very coronation. His intervention in government affairs at some later point could hardly be prevented, especially since Catherine had a daughter by him. In that event, since he was ruling prince of ancient lineage with years of experience, he would not be as amenable to the council's advice as a Russian princess. Also, the fact that Catherine had

7656-599: Was that the Kadet party turned towards conservatism and no longer consciously identifying themselves as a party for 'the people'. The Constitutional Democratic Party was formed in Moscow from 12 to 18 October 1905 at the height of the Russian Revolution of 1905 when Tsar Nicholas II was forced to sign the October Manifesto , granting basic civil liberties . The Kadets were to the immediate left of

7744-472: Was undoubtedly severe and became at last universally unpopular. Within Russia Anna's reign is often referred to as a "dark era". The issue with her reign derives from her personality flaws. Even considering the need of Russian rulers to avoid displays of weakness, Anna's rule involved questionable actions towards her subjects. She was known to enjoy hunting animals from the palace windows and, on more than

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