Smolny Cathedral (Voskresensky) is a beautiful powder blue Rococo church. The architect was Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli, who was also the architect for the Winter Palace. The complex was built from 1748 to 1757 as a Russian Orthodox convent for the Princess Elizabeth, who's family had fallen from royal grace and had no future on the thrown. Fortunately for Elizabeth, Empress Anna's regime was corrupt and easily overthrown, but her rise to the thrown made the cloistered life less appealing and she left the convent created for her. Her brief foray into the monastic life must have affected her in some way however, since apparently no one was executed in her 21 years of rule.

The cathedral is one of the few sites that was walking distance from our hotel. It was near the Smolny institute which is essentially one of the cities administrative centers. Walking to the cathedral under the watchful eyes of all those Russian military was just a little bit unnerving for a guy who grew up during the cold war.