The city of St Petersburg, founded by Peter the Great in 1703, is famous for the beauty of its architecture. The interiors of these splendid buildings are much less well known. The palaces that have survived intact are still furnished and decorated as they were left at the beginning of the Communist Revolution with sumptuous fabrics, furniture, glassware, china and detailed marquetry . Many of those that were destroyed during the siege of Leningrad are being restored to their former splendour. Drawing on material collected by Zoia Belyakova, a Russian art historian who lives in St Petersburg, this book documents the history of these unique buildings.
