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Ploshchad Lenina 6
Subway: Ploshchad Lenina
Finland Station is a major railroad station in Saint Petersburg serving the October Railway. It is famous for its rich history and several memorials established on its grounds. Finland Station was designed by a renowned architect Peter Kapinsky and opened in 1870. During Soviet period Finland Station didn't loose its importance. It was greatly expanded and modernized to fit growing population of people living in Saint Petersburg.
While it certainly an interesting building from the architectural point of view, it is most famous for historic events that took place in Saint Petersburg during Russian Revolution of 1917. Vladimir Lenin returned from years of exile in Western Europe back to Russia in 1917 on the eve of the October Revolution. He was transported in a cattle wagon across all front lines (it happened during World War I) and came to Finland Station. It was not really a big secret that this happened due to official agreement of German Empire today and certainly it wasn't a secret back then. Nevertheless people were tired of war and economic downturn. Lenin who came from forced exile was viewed by many as a fresh breeze of air. Here he made his famous speech making numerous promises to Russian people.
In 1920's this speech was commemorate by a monument and thirty years later Soviet authorities place a locomotive on the platform. It was claimed that this was an actual locomotive that brought Lenin to Saint Petersburg. Even today Finland Station is a modern transport hub that is passed by more than 1,500 passengers per hour. It is also a great place to use internet, check your e- mail and charge electronic devices.