Russia Trip Easter 2010

During the Easter break the History and Politics department led Sixth Form pupils on a cultural tour of Moscow and St Petersburg. The party consisted of 13 pupils and three staff and the six-day programme involved visits to historical sites of Tsarist and Soviet Russia, as well as various excursions to places of contemporary interest. The trip started in St Petersburg and included a visit to the Winter Palace, site of the 1905 Revolution and Bolshevik takeover in October 1917. Taking an overnight sleeper train to Moscow was a thrill for all and marked the second leg of the tour. Disappointingly, the pupils were not to see a snow-shrouded Red Square in Moscow, but St Basil’s Cathedral was magnificent all the same. We were enthralled to see Lenin, lying in state in his marble mausoleum: a surreal experience even for those who had seen him before!  The cultural high points of the tour were a visit to a folklore show, which involved traditional Russian singing and dancing, and a trip to the ballet to see Swan Lake in St Petersburg - not to mention the circus in Moscow!!