Regal Russia: Palaces, paintings and posh nosh in St Petersburg, the city of the Tsars

By Chris Leadbeater Powerful: Landmarks such as the Church Of The Saviour On Spilled Blood are dotted across St PetersburgHalfway along Moskovsky Prospekt, the broad avenue that spears into the centre of town from the south, a statue of Lenin gestures at the traffic. It is a classic bust of the hawkish firebrand, billowing of cloak, proud of posture and fixed to a tall plinth � an arrangement