St. Petersburg, Russia: Beyond the Stereotypes

 

June 2026

When people hear "Russia," many picture gangsters, the mafia, and cold faces, just like in the movies. I believed it too. I travel with my family. My parents, whom I call the travelers, have always been my inspiration, and they taught me how to travel well. This time I brought my dad, who has Parkinson's, along with his wheelchair.

When we arrived at St. Petersburg airport, a wheelchair assistant named Yuri met us. He was one of the kindest people I have ever met. He spoke little English, so he talked to us patiently through Google Translate, and his blue eyes were anything but cold. He guided us through immigration, carried our bags, and stayed with us all the way to the bus.

Thank you, Yuri. We prayed we would see him again, and we did when we left for Kazan. I came with a picture of Russia already in my head. Within a few hours, it had started to change.

Peterhof Palace: Gold, Fountains and Gravity

Our first stop was Peterhof Palace. Inspired by Versailles, Peter the Great built it as a royal retreat on the Gulf of Finland; the name means "Peter's Court." His daughter, Empress Elizabeth, later expanded the Grand Palace and its gardens. I don't usually travel in summer, and I had forgotten what a warm breeze feels like. The palace gleamed gold under a sun that never quite set.

Peterhof was not easy with a wheelchair, though. The walking paths through the gardens aren't smooth, and pushing my dad across them was hard work. Every few metres the wheels caught or bumped, and we had to slow down and choose our route carefully. If you are visiting with a wheelchair, plan for extra time and extra hands.

This palace has around 150 fountains, and none of them use a modern pump. They run on gravity alone: water flows down from higher ground, and the drop creates the pressure. Built about three hundred years ago, and still working today.

"Genius," I whispered.

The star is the Grand Cascade. At its centre, Samson tears open a golden lion's jaws, and water shoots high from its mouth. The lion stands for Sweden; the fountain celebrates Russia's victory over the Swedes at Poltava in 1709. Each morning the fountains are switched on with music, which is worth arriving early for.

Peterhof also has a bitter past. German forces occupied and badly damaged it during World War II. It was rebuilt, and today, with the gardens in full bloom, it is one of the most beautiful places I have seen in summer. I even preferred it to Schönbrunn in Vienna, for its huge gardens and golden statues.

What surprised me next was what I didn't see: no crowds of police or soldiers. I had expected guards everywhere, but the atmosphere was relaxed. Russians don't smile much at strangers. But I think of them like watermelons: a plain, hard shell, and once you get past it, the sweetest part is inside. As a Muslim woman in a hijab, I felt completely safe. Nobody stared; people simply went about their day. Russia has millions of Muslims of its own, and living alongside them seems to have made people at ease with different faiths and cultures.

The Church on Spilled Blood

Next was the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood, a name with a dark story behind it. It stands on the exact spot where Emperor Alexander II was assassinated in 1881. Inside, about 7,500 square metres of mosaics cover almost every surface. Outside, its colourful onion domes look like they came straight out of a fairy tale. The church survived the Soviet era and World War II, but not untouched. It was badly damaged and used for non-religious purposes, since religion was heavily suppressed under Soviet rule. Today it is a museum. Our guide that day was gentle and warm, and she smiled a lot. She told us Malaysian tourists had taught her to smile. I loved that: of everything we could leave behind in another country, a smile is a beautiful one. St. Petersburg itself felt serene, even a little romantic, with an almost French elegance. Its grand, carefully planned avenues reminded me of Putrajaya back home.

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I arrived with a picture of Russia shaped by movies, news, and stories. But travelling is different. You see how people live. You feel their kindness. You notice the small things a screen never shows you. Before I had seen a single palace, Yuri had already changed how I saw Russia. Sometimes the first person you meet in a country shapes how you see the whole place. Maybe that is why I travel. Not just to see the world, but to understand it.

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From Surah Al-'Ankabut (29:20)

قُلْ سِيرُوا۟ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ فَٱنظُرُوا۟ كَيْفَ بَدَأَ ٱلْخَلْقَ ۚ ثُمَّ ٱللَّهُ يُنشِئُ ٱلنَّشْأَةَ ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةَ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍۢ قَدِيرٌۭ ٢٠

Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ "Travel throughout the land and see how He originated the creation, then Allah will bring it into being one more time. Surely Allah is Most Capable of everything."