The controversial Okhta Center has received approval from the St. Petersburg government to start construction. St. Petersburg governor, Valentina Matviyenko, signed a document allowing for an exemption to the long-standing rule that limits buildings in the St. Petersburg center to a height of 100 meters. The building, when completed, will be the tallest in Europe. Plans call for the tower to be finished in 2013.

Links:
Okhta Center official site
BBC: Architects reach for Russian sky
Inhabitant: Gazprom Tower Gets Green Light and Will Be Tallest Building in Europe
Wikipedia entry on the Okhta Tower

Nurse with a six month old baby at State Pediatric Medical Institute in Leningrad – 1940s. Courtesy of The New York Public Library.

Here are some photos from Victory Day 2008 in St. Petersburg.  These are photos of the parade on Nevsky Prospect.  Thanks to Jarod Zartman for sharing these photos.

St. Petersburg amateur photographer Victor Radziun has posted a series of photos which show the beauty of the indian summer (babye leto) that parts of northwestern Russia experienced as September came to a close. His pictures are from the historic park in Pavlovsk, a small town near St. Petersburg.

Autumn Light by Victor Radziun

Babye Leto by Victor Radziun

Slavianka River by Victor Radziun

Bridge over Slavianka River by Victor Radziun

It’s that time of year when the northern parts of Russia experience the phenomenon known as “white nights”. The best way to understand white nights is to experience it first hand. Giuseppe Bonetti has done us all a favor and posted some wonderful photos from St. Petersburg’s white nights so we all can experience this beautiful sight.

2.20 am (June 21, 2007): Playing with fire at the Palace Bridge, St Petersburg, Russia

2.40 am (June 21, 2007): Palace Bridge and Kunstkammer, St Petersburg, Russia

2:28 am (June 22, 2007): Trinity Bridge, St Petersburg, Russia

1.40 am (June 22, 2007): Palace Bridge and the Peter and Paul Fortress, St Petersburg, Russia

Recommended Book: The White Night of St. Petersburg