Fodor's Expert Review Russian Academy of Sciences

Erected on strictly classical lines between 1783 and 1789, the original building of the Russian Academy of Sciences is considered to be Giacomo Quarenghi's grandest design, with an eight-column portico, a pediment, and a double staircase. The administrative offices of the academy, founded in 1724 by Peter the Great, were transferred to Moscow in 1934 and the building now houses the St. Petersburg branch of the academy.