Kresty Prison
Кресты · 칼리닌스키구
former prison in Saint Petersbourg, Russia
Contents
8 sections · tap a section for its opening lines1Kresty Prison
Welcome to the Arsenalnaya Embankment, where the red brick walls of the Kresty Prison stand as a grim but iconic landmark of Saint Petersburg. 'Kresty' literally translates to 'The Crosses,' a name derived from the unique…
Listen in the app2The Panopticon — Architecture of Surveillance
The genius—or the terror—of Kresty lies in its design. The architect Antoni Tomishko designed the two cross-shaped buildings so that a central hub would provide a clear line of sight down each of the four corridors. …
Listen in the app3Anna Akhmatova and the Monument to Sorrow
Directly across from the prison walls stands one of the most poignant monuments in Saint Petersburg: the statue of the poet Anna Akhmatova. During the Great Terror of the 1930s, Akhmatova spent over 300 hours standing in line…
Listen in the app4The Sredokrestiye — The Church of Alexander Nevsky
At the very heart of the prison, where the arms of the crosses intersect, is a space known as the Sredokrestiye. It is capped by a grand Gothic dome that feels more like a cathedral than a jail. …
Listen in the app5Overcrowding and the 'Ghetto' Years
The darkest chapter of Kresty’s history was during the 1990s, the so-called 'dashing nineties.' During this time, the prison, designed to hold about 1,000 inmates, was packed with over 12,000 people. Cells measuring only eight…
Listen in the app6Famous Residents — From Revolutionaries to Poets
The inmate list of Kresty reads like a 'Who's Who' of Russian history. Leon Trotsky was held here after the 1905 Revolution, and later, many of the ministers of the Provisional Government were imprisoned after the Bolsheviks took…
Listen in the app7Kresty 2 and the Move to Kolpino
In 2017, the legendary Kresty finally closed its doors as a working prison. The inmates were moved to a new, ultra-modern facility in Kolpino, known as Kresty 2. …
Listen in the app8Kresty Prison
As you turn away from the Arsenalnaya Embankment and the red walls of Kresty, the feeling of the place likely lingers. This is not a site of easy beauty or heroic triumph. …
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What is Kresty Prison?
Kresty Prison is a place in 칼리닌스키구 with 8 story sections on Tellby. You can read the opening of each section on this page; the sound plays in the app.
| Location | 칼리닌스키구 |
|---|---|
| Type | Activity |
| Story sections | 8 |
| Text language | English |
| Coordinates | 59.9537, 30.3644 |
| Last updated |
