The first permanent professional public theatre in Russia, the "Russian Theatre for the Performance of Tragedies and Comedies", was established in St. Petersburg in 1756 by order of Empress Elizabeth. The most popular theatres are Alexandrinsky Theatre, Mariinsky Theatre, Tovstonogov Bolshoi Drama Theater, Maly Drama Theatre, Mikhailovsky Theatre.
Alexandrinsky Theatre
The theatre was opened in 1832. It was one of the many theatres of the Imperial troupe. Dramas, operas and ballets were on the stage. Only in the 1880s the theatre has become only a dramatic theatre. The premières of numerous Russian plays have been performed at the stage of the Alexandrinsky including plays by Alexandr Griboyedov, Alexander Ostrovsky, and Anton Chekhov. Famous directors who have staged work there include Vsevolod Meyerhold, Grigori Kozintsev, Georgy Tovstonogov, and Nikolay Akimov.
Mariinsky Theatre
The Mariinsky Theatre is a historic theatre of opera and ballet in Saint Petersburg. Opened in 1860 it became the preeminent music theatre of late 19th-century where many of the stage masterpieces of Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov received their premieres. Today the Mariinsky Theatre is a home to Mariinsky Ballet, Mariinsky Opera and Mariinsky Orchestra.
Tovstonogov Bolshoi Drama Theatre
Tovstonogov Bolshoi Drama Theater is a theater in Saint Petersburg and is considered one of the best Russian theaters. The theater is named after its long-time director Georgy Tovstonogov. Today theater repertoire consists of works of classical and modern drama.
Maly Drama Theatre
The Maly Drama Theatre was established in 1944. It has won the Golden Mask several times and it is one of three theaters on the planet that gained the honorary title of Theater of Europe. Famous plays of A. P. Chekhov «Vishnovyy sad», «P'yesa bez nazvaniya», «Chayka» and «Dyadya Vanya» are often performed on the theater’s stage.
Mikhailovsky Theatre
The Mikhailovsky Theatre is one of Russia's oldest opera and ballet houses. It was founded in 1833 and is situated in a historical building on 1, Arts Square in Saint Petersburg. Here classic traditions are combined with a spirit of innovation and courageous creative aspiration. Opera and ballet performances of the theater will bring true pleasure to connoisseurs of art.
Museums
There are over 200 museums and their branches in St. Petersburg Public museums were opened in 1702 for the first time in Russia. In 1714, the first state-owned public museum, the Kunstkamera, was founded. There are four most popular and celebrated museum complexes.
The State Hermitage Museum
The State Hermitage Museum is the main museum of St. Petersburg. Its collection is about three million works of art. The art gallery is especially famous for the work of the great artists of Western Europe - Raphael and Titian, Leonardo da Vinci and other masters.
Russian Museum
The Russian Museum has more than 400,000 exhibits of all types and genres of Russian art from the 10th to the 21st century. Here you will see the works of famous artists - A. Rublev and I. Repin, A. Ivanov and K. Bryullov, I. Shishkin and other artists.
Kunstkamera
The Kunstkamera founded by Peter I is a museum of anthropology and ethnography which contains objects of culture and everyday life of the peoples of the world. The collection of “freaks” is famous for anatomical curiosities and abnormalities.
Peter and Paul Fortress
The Peter and Paul Fortress is the original citadel of St. Petersburg founded by Peter the Great in 1703 and built to Domenico Trezzini's designs from 1706 to 1740 as a star shaped fortress. It was used as a prison and execution ground. Today it has been adapted as the central and most important part of the State Museum of Saint Petersburg History.