News
Headington historians visit Russia
Thirty GCSE, A Level and IB History students, accompanied by four intrepid staff embarked upon the school’s first ever trip to Russia. In the words of the students it was a “brilliant” trip, a real once in a lifetime experience. We visited both Moscow and St Petersburg, and were privileged to see a vast array of palaces and museums which are closely associated with our studies of imperial, revolutionary and Soviet Russia, c. 1850-1990.
The many highlights of the six day trip included:
- Seeing Lenin in his mausoleum – described by most as a very “bizarre” experience
- A walk around Red Square at night, to see St Basil’s cathedral, the Kremlin and Lenin’s mausoleum lit up
- A private tour of the Kremlin, complete with the changing of the dashing guards, some on horseback
- A tour of the Moscow metro stations constructed by Stalin
A visit to the Old Circus in Moscow, complete with acrobats, jugglers, contortionists and dancers- A at a Russian secondary school, during which we were welcomed with a presentation in the school hall, after which both students and teachers exchanged and compared educational experiences
- A private tour of the Winter Palace in St Petersburg, scene of the October Revolution of 1917 and now home to the world famous Hermitage Museum
- A tour of the Yusopov Palace, scene of Rasputin’s murder in St Petersburg
- A stunning performance of “Swan Lake” in the historic Marinsky Theatre in St Petersburg, and a folklore show which included a wide variety of entertainment
- Visits to museums of contemporary history in both cities, to the Alexander Palace in Tsarskoye Selo, where Nicholas and Alexandra and their ill-fated family were held under house arrest immediately after the February Revolution, and to the Peter and Paul Fortress, instrumental in the Bolshevik Revolution.
We travelled between Moscow and St Petersburg by train, in couchette apartments. To many this was one of the most memorable parts of the trip and the journey passed all too quickly, especially as we arrived in St Petersburg at 5.27 am!
The trip was action packed and we managed to fit in an enormous amount. To quote some of the students: “I had the best time ever”, “It was all really interesting and relevant”, “I had the most amazing time and I learnt so much” and “It really brought the history we have been taught to life.” The only complaint that has been made is that the trip was not longer!