Great Museums: Moscow & St. Petersburg
May 28 – June 8, 2009
Led by Professor Ori Z. Soltes Georgetown University


This new tour will focus on the three cities that have fought for Russia’s soul for hundreds of years. Moscow is the heart, the cultural and spiritual capital of Russia’s identity as a country of the East; center of Russia as capital of eastern Christendom after the fall of Constantinople (1453) and doorway to boundless and endlessly exotic Asia. While Novgorad is old Russia, St. Petersburg, built in 1703 as Russia’s window on the West, is its bridge to Europe and the intellectual and aesthetic experiments extending from Berlin to Paris. This is the diverse and dynamic world, with its three faces and many facets, that we shall explore in a breathtaking journey into one of the great civilizations of the world.

As this tour has been scheduled during the height of the cultural season, there will be many opportunities to attend opera, ballet or other performances.


Wednesday, May 28: MOSCOW: Individual arrivals into Moscow. The tour begins with a late afternoon walking tour to Red Square to visit St. Basil’s Cathedral. We will then meet for an opening lecture and dinner at our hotel. The Metropole Hotel is centrally located in the cultural heart of Moscow.
Meals: Dinner

Thursday, May 29: MOSCOW: Touring begins at the Moscow Coral Synagogue, the city’s oldest synagogue. Designed by Simon Eibuschitz in 1881, the building has eclectic elements of early Christian basilicas, ancient Roman cathedrals, and Moscow classicism of the early 19th century. We continue to the Tretyakov Gallery, which houses an unsurpassed collection of Russian icons as well as a collection of prerevolutionary Russian art. After lunch we visit the Novodevichy Convent, founded in 1524 and used as a second residence by Peter the Great’s half-sister, Sofia. After she was implicated in the Streltsy rebellion, it became her prison. Our visit will include this extensive complex’s wonderful galleries and monuments.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Friday, May 30: MOSCOW: The Pushkin Fine Arts Museum is Moscow’s best foreign art museum and is particularly known for its Impressionist and Postimpressionist paintings. After the 1917 revolution, the vast collections of the Romanovs and others were divided between Russia’s museums, providing us with a wonderful morning of viewing these treasures. The green and white palace next door houses the Museum of Private Collections, three floors of paintings and sculptures donated by individual collectors. The remainder of the day will be at leisure to pursue our individual interests.
Meals: Breakfast

Saturday, May 31: MOSCOW: Today our touring begins at the Kremlin, where we will visit the Armoury Museum as well as the major monuments within its yellow walls. We continue to the State History Museum, which houses an enormous collection covering the history of the Russian empire from the Stone Age to the modern era, with new material added regularly. Lastly, we visit the excavations of the Voskresensky Bridge, which once spanned the Neglinnaya River. The artifacts found during the excavation are displayed in an underground Archaeological Museum.
Meals: Breakfast & dinner

Sunday, June 1: MOSCOW/TRAIN: Our last day in Moscow begins with a drive along Bolshaya Ordynka. The many churches here provide a history of Muscovite architecture. We then visit the Church of St. Nicholas of the Weavers, a 17th-century guild church with a wonderful green and orange exterior, studded with ceramic tiles and topped by five golden domes. Touring continues at the New Tretyakov Gallery, renowned for its 20th-century Russian art by avant-garde artists. The day ends at the Museum of Modern Art, housed in an 18th-century merchant’s house. It features 20th-century paintings and a charming sculpture garden. After dinner, we board a deluxe overnight train to St. Petersburg. All compartments are equipped with private facilities, TV, DVD and air conditioning.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Monday, June 2: ST. PETERSBURG: Our train trip ends this morning. We transfer to the centrally located Astoria Hotel and begin our touring day at the Russian Museum. After lunch, our walking tour of the Peter and Paul Fortress includes visits inside the cathedral and other interesting museums and bastions. Started in 1703 during the Great Northern War, it grew from a mere earthwork to a grand and imposing fortress by its completion 19 years later.
Meals: Breakfast & dinner

Tuesday, June 3: ST. PETERSBURG: We will spend the morning visiting the illustrious Hermitage Museum. This first visit will include the Golden Room’s hoard of Scythian, Crimean, Greek and Caucasus treasures. After we are completely saturated, we will stop for lunch before spending the remainder of the day visiting the fascinating Yussupov Palace, the site of the assassination of Rasputin, and the Alexander Nevsky Monastery, where many of Russia’s most famous people are buried.
Meals: Breakfast & lunch

Wednesday, June 4: NOVGOROD: We depart early for Novgorod, known for its beautiful architecture and historical importance. Beginning at the Kremlin, our touring includes the Cultural, Historical and Art Museum and the Byzantine Cathedral of St. Sophia, and the icon collection at the Chamber of Facets. Beresta Hotel.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Thursday, June 5: ST. PETERSBURG: Our visits continue with the 12th-century Yuriev Monastery and Museum of Wooden Architecture, a display of traditional houses and wooden churches moved to this location from the region. After lunch, we will return to St. Petersburg. Astoria Hotel.
Meals: Breakfast & lunch

Friday, June 6: ST. PETERSBURG: A short drive brings us to Tsarskoye Selo, the imperial summer estate. The sparkling Catherine Palace and its magnificent gardens will fill our morning. The afternoon will be spent visiting St. Isaak’s Cathedral and the Stieglitz Museum, with its fine collection of Russian furnishings displayed in uniquely decorated halls.
Meals: Breakfast & lunch

Saturday, June 7: ST. PETERSBURG: This morning we return to the Hermitage Museum to view the museum’s wonderful collection of paintings. The afternoon will be at leisure before our farewell dinner at one of the city’s fine restaurants.
Meals: Breakfast & dinner

Sunday, June 8: We depart for home.