Moica Palace

About

The Yusupov Palace on the Moika in Saint Petersburg is a classical palace built in the 1770s by architect Jean-Baptiste Vallin de la Mothe for Count Shuvalov. Purchased in 1830 by Boris Yusupov, it remained in the Yusupov family for five generations until 1917, with 1830s additions including a banquet hall and a suite of state rooms. Its private home theater still stages operettas and ballets today. The palace is also known as the site of the murder of Grigori Rasputin in December 1916, an episode explored in themed tours. Nationalized in 1918 and used from 1925 as a palace of culture for educators, it now operates daily as a museum and cultural venue.