Kalinin Square in St. Petersburg occupies a historically significant and important place. Unusually designed, it is located in the Kalininsky district of St. Petersburg, in a place quite remote from the metro.
Historical background
After the war, captured Germans convicted of genocide of the Russian people were shot on the square. The name of the square was given in 1955, simultaneously with the installation in its central part of the monument to Mikhail Ivanovich Kalinin, a famous Russian revolutionary, Chairman of the Central Executive Committee and member of the Politburo. But Kalinin Square gained real public fame after the construction of the Giant cinema, at that time the largest in the city. Now connoisseurs of cultural pastime often gather there in the Giant Hall concert hall.
Residents of the area hope that one day a subway will be built near the square. According to the investment project of the future, developed by the Smolny transport specialists, the lobby of the Kalinina Square station can open there, at the address: Polyustrovskiy Prospekt, house 40. There is a house intended for demolition, settled more than 10 years ago. In the hearts of people, the hope does not fade away that at least at the beginningconstruction of the subway about the "collective farmer's house" will be remembered and demolished a place that attracts socially unadapted individuals.
The square was built in such a way that 4 streets intersect on it at once: Kondratievsky and Polyustrovskiy prospects, Laboratornaya street and Usyskin lane. This is how the shape of five corners is obtained, a popular copy of the intersection at the intersection of Zagorodny Prospekt and Lomonosov, Rubinstein and Razyezzhaya streets.
Usyskin Lane, by the way, is named after the famous tester of a stratospheric balloon, in which he died in 1934 during a record flight.
Why go to the square?
If you look at the photo of Kalinin Square, the "Giant Hall" is the first building that immediately catches your eye. Unfortunately, it closed in 2015 and no longer functions as an entertainment center.
If you have a strong desire to look at this cultural monument, it makes sense to go to the nearby Museum of the Soviet Era, which was opened in the building of the Smolny Institute for the 100th anniversary of the October Revolution. Nearby is the famous Polyustrovskiy market, where, it seems, you can buy absolutely everything, from broccoli to jerboa. Sale of furniture, food, animals and birds, clothing, household items.
Nearby is the large Theological Cemetery, founded in 1841 and named after the Church of St. John the Theologian. This cemetery was a place of mass burial during the siege years, so people come here fromthe whole city, both relatives of the dead and those who honor the memory of the war. This place can be reached by bus directly from the square, the travel time will take no more than 10-15 minutes.
How to get to the square?
In order to get to Kalinin Square, both the owner of his own car and the passenger of public transport, you need to focus on the nearby metro stations "Ploshad Lenina" and "Vyborgskaya". From them it is necessary to go to the right side. The square is located at the intersection of Polyustrovskiy and Kondratievskiy avenues, major arteries.
From the Sverdlovskaya embankment, you can get to it through Arsenalnaya street, turn right along Kondratievsky prospect and in 3 minutes you will be on the spot. From Irinovsky Prospekt you can get to Kalinin Square both through Bolshaya Porokhovskaya with an exit to Polyustrovsky, and through the Revolution Highway. From the Ring Road there is an exit to Shafirovsky Prospekt. Through it, at the transition to Nepokorennykh Avenue, you need a U-turn to Piskarevsky, from which it is recommended to turn to Mechnikov in front of Pioneer Park, and after three streets to Laboratory Avenue, along which you will go straight to your destination. The exit and the road will take about 30 minutes, taking into account all traffic jams. In the evening and around 8-9 am, the exit to Shafirovsky is usually very crowded, it is recommended to choose other detours to the square.
Minibuses
From Vasenko street (between the "Giant Hall" and the Technical College of Management and Commerce)minibuses depart to the shopping centers "MEGA" Parnassus and Dybenko (k-176, k254), one of the largest in the city of St. Petersburg. A fixed-route taxi runs past the square between the huge transport hub - the Ladozhskaya metro station with the Ladozhsky railway station and Chernaya Rechka (k17), Primorskaya on Vasilyevsky Island (k32), the Finlyandsky railway station (Lenin Square metro station) and the Lenta hypermarket on Khasanskaya street (k28), railway station "Piskarevka" (Finlyandskoe direction) and pl. Arts (r107), goes to Pargolovo (r178), Prospekt Prosveshcheniya (r283), Theological Cemetery (r30, r258).
If you wish, you can get to the Kushelevka station. It houses the Europolis shopping and entertainment complex and a company store from the oldest ice cream manufacturer Petroholod, the Park of the Forestry Academy and the Krasny Oktyabr enterprise for the production and repair of units for helicopters. You can get to Kushelevka (metro station "Lesnaya") either by car, to the north along Polyustrovskiy Prospekt, or by minibus 33 from Kharchenko Street, k-95 from Polyustrovsky.
It is convenient to get by minibuses from Kalinin Square, departures are carried out every 10 minutes on different routes, you can get to the north of the city or to the metro.
Buses
Buses pass through the square every 20 minutes in one direction. The 28th and 37th routes leave along the Revolution and Nastavnikov Highway, crossing Kosygin Avenue, to Belorusskaya Street fromFinland Station. Buses 33 and 137 go from Piskarevka (stop near the station) and to the metro station. "Black River". From the station it is also convenient to get to the Moscow railway station by bus 105 and to Finlyandsky, routes 106, 107 from Piskarevka and 133 from the station "Ruchi".
Trolleybuses
Trolleybuses also pass through the intersection of avenues. It is convenient to get to the metro by trolleybuses number 38 and 43 - they go from Svetlanovsky Prospekt and Khasanskaya to Botkinskaya Street, stopping opposite Lenin Square, overlooking the fountains and next to the tram interchange.
The third trolleybus goes in the direction "Marshal Tukhachevsky Street - B altic Station". This is the only direct route from Kalinin Square to B altiyskaya.
