19. The Menshikov Palace
The Menshikov Palace is affiliated with the Hermitage, but located on the other side of the Neva River on Vasilyevsky Island. It is primarily a historic house museum, with original to the house (or from the period) furniture, household goods, decorative items, et cetera. Whereas the Winter Palace has probably tens of thousands of visitors a day, I only saw approximately 20 other people touring the Menshikov on a Sunday afternoon. I might characterize this as a super-deluxe mansion rather than a royal palace - the opulence was toned down just a notch from several other St. Petersburg palaces at perhaps an 8 out of 10.
Alexander Menshikov was a military officer and politician in the early 1700s who more or less ran Russia from 1725-1727. He was corrupt throughout his tenure. It was his attempts to further consolidate his power by marrying his daughter to the royal family that alarmed the Russian nobility, and led to his disgrace and exile to Siberia. While he was still at the top of his game and quite wealthy, he built and decorated this palace. Quite nice and a must-see for people who are really into 17th and 18th century furnishings (I'm not exactly in that category, but I did enjoy my visit here).
Alexander Menshikov was a military officer and politician in the early 1700s who more or less ran Russia from 1725-1727. He was corrupt throughout his tenure. It was his attempts to further consolidate his power by marrying his daughter to the royal family that alarmed the Russian nobility, and led to his disgrace and exile to Siberia. While he was still at the top of his game and quite wealthy, he built and decorated this palace. Quite nice and a must-see for people who are really into 17th and 18th century furnishings (I'm not exactly in that category, but I did enjoy my visit here).
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