News
and photos from the Moscow
News (28/04/2004)
The first Russian museum of erotica is opening in St. Petersburg, Russian
Nezavisimaya Gazeta daily reports. The museum is founded by Igor Knyazkin,
the chief of the prostate research center in St. Petersburg of the Russian
Academy of Natural Sciences .
Knyazkin told the newspaper that museums of sex and erotica exist in many
European countries and he wanted Russia to be a civilized country with a
view on the future and with correct views on erotica.
There is one exhibit in the museum which makes Knyazkin be especially proud
of. This is the 30-centimeter preserved penis of Grigory Rasputin [see
photo].
“Having
this exhibit, we can stop envying America, where Napoleon Bonaparte’s
penis is now kept. … Napoleon’s penis is but a small ”pod“ it
cannot stand comparison to our organ of 30 centimeters…” the
head of the museum said.
Photo courtesy St. Petersburg Erotica Museum
Rasputin, nicknamed “Mad Monk” by historians was born in 1869
in Siberia, arrived in St. Petersburg in 1911 and within a few years had
become one of the most influential men in government circles. His rise to
preeminence was due to his close relationship with Nicholas II’s wife,
Alexandra. The heir to the throne suffered from hemophaelia, and only Rasputin
could stop the boy’s bleeding. Because of this, Alexandra believed
he was a holy man sent to protect Alexis and she kept him close by at all
times.
However, many historians point to the unusual cult that Rasputin practiced
at the Emperors’ court — a strange mixture of Christianity
and sexual practices. Many of the noble women were believed to be in sexual
relations with Rasputin, possibly including the Empress.
At the end of 1916, a group of aristocrats decided that Rasputin’s
influence had grown too great and that he had to be killed in order to save
Russia. They lured him to the palace of one of the princes; fed him poisoned
cakes and wine, shot him and then threw him into the frozen river.
The address of St. Petersburg museum of erotica:
Furshtatskaya embankment, 47/11a (metro Chernyshevskaya), tel.: (812) 320
76 00. Opened daily 8.00 to 21.30
Relevant
Links:
St. Petersburg
Erotica Museum - Part of the St. Petersburg Museums
guide, includes a link to the museum's website.
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