Smolny Institute

The Smolny Institute (Russian: Смольный институт) is a Palladian edifice in Saint Petersburg that has played a major part in the history of Russia, notably as a center of women's education, and the headquarters of the Bolsheviks during the early stages of the October Revolution.

The building was commissioned from Giacomo Quarenghi by the Society for Education of Noble Maidens and constructed in 1806–08 to house the Smolny Institute of Noble Maidens, established at the urging of Ivan Betskoy and in accordance with a decree of Catherine II (the Great) in 1764, borrowing its name from the nearby Smolny Convent.

"[1] The Smolny was Russia's first educational establishment for women and continued to function under the personal patronage of the Russian Empress until just before the 1917 revolution.

Today, this historic building is the official residence of the governor of Saint Petersburg and also houses a museum dedicated to Lenin.

Visitors to the museum can tour Lenin's office and living rooms and see the assembly hall where the victory of the October revolution was proclaimed in 1917.