92. Peter and Paul Fortress: Trubetskoy Bastion Prison

The Trubetskoy Bastion Prison in Peter & Paul Fortress (used in the late 1800s and early 1900s to house members of a variety of revolutionary groups) was turned into a history museum after being decommissioned in 1924. Signs outside many of the cells tell the stories of some of the almost 1,500 prisoners who were incarcerated within these walls (none of whom ever managed to escape), and what their ultimate fates were. The single-occupancy cells are quite large by what I understand to be the current standard (in the United States, anyway), but still look like an unpleasant place to spend even a single day.

Some of the stories of the people incarcerated here were bleak. Almost all were imprisoned for political reasons rather than what would be considered legitimate crimes by the modern standards of an open society. Prominent prisoners who spent time at Trubetskoy include Leon Trotsky, Maxim Gorky, and Alexander Ulyanov (V.I. Lenin's older brother, who led a failed plot in 1887 to assassinate emperor Alexander III). The stories told here (mostly anecdotal) about victims of the Red Terror were especially grim. Several Grand Dukes (relatives of Nicholas II) were incarcerated and executed here in late January of 1919. This was a sobering educational experience; not on the lighter side of our sightseeing itinerary by any means, but an important lesson about the human cost of political repression in the 19th and 20th centuries.