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Buffeted by storms from the Gulf of Finland, pear-shaped Vasilevskiy Island (Vasilevskiy ostrov) cleaves the River Neva into its Bolshaya and Malaya branches. The island forms a strategic wedge, whose eastern "spit", or Strelka , is as much a part of St Petersburg's waterfront as the Winter Palace or Admiralty. Originally, Peter envisaged making the island the centre of his capital. Aleksander Menshikov, first governor of St Petersburg, was an early resident - the Menshikov Palace is the oldest building on the island - and Peter compelled other rich landowners and merchants to settle here. By 1726 the island had ten streets and over a thousand inhabitants, but wilderness still predominated and there were no bridges: the hazardous crossing by boat destroyed any hope of the island becoming the centre. Although you can reach the Strelka by trolleybus (#1, #7 and #10), bus (#7) or numerous expresses (e.g. #47, #T128, #T129) from Nevskiy prospekt, it's better to walk across Dvortsoviy most (Palace Bridge), which offers fabulous views of both banks of the Neva (all richly illuminated at night). On the Strelka are the weird Rostral Columns and Classical Stock Exchange building (now housing the Naval Museum), an ensemble created at the beginning of the nineteenth century by Thomas de Thomon, who also designed the granite embankments and cobbled ramps leading down to the Neva - reminders that the city's port and commercial centre were once located here. Facing Dvortsoviy most is the Zoological Museum (Zoologicheskiy muzey; daily except Fri 11am-6pm; $4). Founded in 1832, the museum has one of the finest collections of its kind in the world, with over one hundred thousand specimens, including a set of stuffed animals that once belonged to Peter the Great, while the most evocative display shows the discovery of a 44,000-year-old mammoth in the permafrost of Yakutia in 1903. Even more alluring - or repulsive - is the former Kunstkammer next door, instantly recognizable by its tower and entered from an alley to the west. Founded by Peter in 1714, its name (meaning "art chamber" in German) dignified his fascination for curiosities and freaks. Peter offered rewards for "human monsters" and unknown birds and animals, with a premium for especially odd ones. Dead specimens had to be preserved in vinegar or vodka (which was reimbursed by the imperial pharmacy), while to attract visitors, each guest received a glass of vodka or a cup of coffee. Within the Kunstkammer is the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Muzey Antropologii i Etnografii; daily except Thurs 11am-6pm; closed last Wed of every month; $6), displaying everything from Balinese puppets to Inuit kayaks and including some fascinating dioramas of native village life. In the round hall between Africa and the Americas, a selection of Peter's pickled curios still excites wonder and disgust: Siamese twins, a two-faced man and a two-headed calf. Also shown are surgical and dental instruments, and teeth pulled by the tsar himself (a keen amateur dentist). It's worth walking further along the embankment to admire the pastel-toned elegant ensemble of English Quay across the river and to visit the Menshikov Palace (Menshikovskiy dvorets; Tues-Sun 10.30am-5.30pm; $6), a gabled, yellow-and-white, early-eighteenth-century building, which is now a branch of the Hermitage, devoted to the life and culture of Peter the Great's time. It was the first - and finest - residential structure on Vasilevskiy Island, and though not as sumptuous as the later imperial palaces, it sports a fine Petrine-era decor. At the time it surpassed Peter's Summer Palace, though the tsar had no objections, preferring to entertain at the Menshikov Palace, which was furnished to suit his tastes. The entrance is below street level, past the main portico.
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