Saint Isaac's Square

The main porch features the twin statues of Medici lions on granite pedestals; they were made famous by Pushkin in his last long poem, The Bronze Horseman.

Nearby is Quarenghi's Horse Guards' Riding Hall (1804–1807), in part inspired by the Parthenon and flanked by the marble statues of the Dioscuri, by Paolo Triscornia.

The Russian Institute of Plant Breeding named after Academician Nikolai Vavilov is located in two neo-Renaissance buildings.

However, the report was false: although many starved to death, the institute's staff would not consume a single grain of rice or potato tuber from the collection.

The building is a reference point in the history of Western architecture, as it was the first specimen of Stripped Classicism, a style that enjoyed immense popularity in Stalinist Russia and Nazi Germany.