Class divisions in a classless society become immediately apparent. Ranking bureaucrats, research scientists, and military are eligible for the best of everything dachas (country vacation homes), vacations, travel, clothing, and food. The average citizen gets much less.
Besides Moscow, the other must city is Leningrad, with a population close to four million. Sitting on the Baltic Sea, Leningrad was built under orders of Peter the Great as a door to the West. Leningrad’s great Hermitage Museum has some three million exhibits, including many by da Vinci, Rembrandt, Titian, and Michelangelo.
Almost all of the great architecture in Russia dates from the Imperial days before World War I. The Hermitage, perhaps the most impressive of all art museums, occupies five baroque buildings of the Czar’s Winter Palace in Leningrad. The city itself is by far the most attractive in the USSR. It was built by Peter the Great in the early 1700s after Russia had taken the marshy land at the mouth of the Neva River that empties into the Gulf of Finland. Peter thought big and built according to the plans of leading European architects. There are cathedrals, parks, palaces, and statues.
In addition, 100 acres of deeded land were offered for a price to those who could afford it. Russia Map Tourist Attractions Investors could choose to travel to Virginia and work the land or hire other laborers to take their place. In the second scenario, the investor received not only his original allotment of land but also a second 100 acres for every laborer he could persuade to sail with him to Virginia. These holdings were subject to an annual tax or quitrent of 2 shillings per 100 acres. A third kind of enterprise undertaken by the corporation was the granting of larger tracts of land in return for meritorious service. This reward was reserved for individuals who had worked as officers of the company or were substantial investors. Many of these estates later grew into enormous plantations. After the first expedition returned to England, disaster struck the small settlement. The summer was unbearably hot, and the flimsy shelters did not protect the men from sudden storms. Food spoiled, and the few chickens that had survived the ocean voyage did not last long. In addition, because no cattle or sheep had been brought over, there was no butter or milk or easily obtained meat. The remaining sources of food included oysters, crabs, fish, and roasted squirrels. Before long, the men were suffering from disease, and many died.
