After an incredible morning at Peterhof, we drove back to St. Petersburg where we first visited the Yusupov Palace, probably best known as the site where Grigori Rasputin was assassinated. There was originally a palace on the site that belonged to the niece of Peter the Great. It changed hands and in 1770, the palace that became what we see today was designed, though there have been additions and changes through the years. In 1830, the Yusupov Family, a rich aristocratic family, acquired the palace. It remained in their family until 1917 when it was seized by the Bolsheviks.

After the October Revolution, the property was turned over to the Education Committee which preserved much of the interior of the palace. There were thousands of pieces of artwork many of which are now displayed in the Hermitage. This is one of the few aristocratic homes that has much of its original interior. The pictures that follow are ones I took during our tour.

As noted earlier, Grigori Rasputin is said to have been assassinated at the Yusupov Palace. Rasputin was born a peasant. He eventually had a religious conversion and in 1905, while traveling in St. Petersburg, was introduced to Tsar Nicholas II and his family. The Tsar and his wife became convinced that Rasputin could heal their son who had hemophilia. In 1905, Nicholas II left St. Petersburg to lead Russian armies fighting in World War I; during his absence, Rasputin’s influence increased which was a concern to many. A group of noblemen, led by Felix Yusupov, believed that Rasputin was a threat to the Russian Empire. According to Yusupov’s memoirs, the noblemen invited Rasputin to the Yusupov Palace in December of 1916, where they attempted to poison him with wine and cakes. When this didn’t work, they ultimately shot him and dumped his body in the Malaya Nevka River.

While touring the Palace, we saw an exhibit which focused on the assassination of Rasputin. In the pictures below, a wax figure of Rasputin sits at a table with the poisoned cakes and wine and in the second picture, a wax figure of Felix Yusupov looks on.