←Nevsky: 1970s–2000s

Nevsky: 1970s–2000s

Photo of route “Nevsky: 1970s–2000s”
10 points5 km2.5 hours

Nevsky Prospekt is one of St. Petersburg's calling cards. There are many stories of Nevsky: palaces and mansions, cathedrals and churches, theaters, restaurants, museums, clubs. Our route gathers the phenomena of Nevsky across four eras, from the 1970s to the 2000s; we have looked at the avenue through the lens of the informal world, including the clichéd “Gangster Petersburg.” For most of the route you will come across familiar “big” names, the people who made Russia's recent history, and this will let you see one of the country's main avenues in a different light.

Photo of route author POD LAKOM

Route author

POD LAKOM

Things to do

  • 🏰🕵️‍♂️ Discover a legend
  • 🗺️🎒 Themed route
  • 🏛️🕰️ Compare the eras

Route points (10)

  1. Taleon — point on route “Nevsky: 1970s–2000s”

    Taleon

    🕵️ Urban legend

  2. Taleon

    Points will be available after purchasing the route

  3. Nevsky Restaurant — point on route “Nevsky: 1970s–2000s”

    Nevsky Restaurant

    🕵️ Urban legend · 🍽️ Cafés and restaurants

Taleon in Saint Petersburg

Point on route “Nevsky: 1970s–2000s”

Taleon — point on route “Nevsky: 1970s–2000s”
Taleon — point on route “Nevsky: 1970s–2000s”
Taleon — point on route “Nevsky: 1970s–2000s”

Point 1

Taleon

🕵️ Urban legend

Where Was Monaco in the Center of St. Petersburg?

59 Moika River Embankment: the Taleon Imperial Hotel, opened in 2003. It was the jewel in the crown of the influential businessman Alexander Ebralidze. Born in Georgia, he moved to Leningrad in the 1970s, where he managed to serve two prison terms, one for armed robbery and illegal possession of a firearm, the other for hooliganism and resisting the authorities. In the 1990s he went into business and set up a cooperative, the future Taleon company. Alexander Iosifovich loved heavy luxury, so he decided to build a hotel of unheard-of price right in the center of St. Petersburg. The scale was impressive, but the establishment's main attraction was the casino inside the hotel. It was called “the second Monaco,” and everything matched the era and its taste. What's more, Taleon's casino was considered so exclusive that gentlemen without dress shoes and a tie were refused entry, and ladies, naturally, came only in evening gowns. There were even rumors that guests' wristwatches had to cost at least $5,000, to match the decor. Ebralidze's fall began in 2016, when a Central Bank audit found that his own Constance Bank was just a little short of funds, by about 3 billion rubles, and in 2021 he was arrested by the FSB's economic security service. A year later he would declare himself bankrupt, and a year after that he would be released. Where the man once called the richest Georgian in St. Petersburg is now is unknown. But his most beautiful creation, Taleon, was sold at auction quite recently, and the St. Petersburg Monaco is to become a business center.