The Smolny Institute is the Neoclassical edifice in St Petersburg, which has played an important part in the Russian history. The building was commissioned to Giacomo Quarenghi by the Society for Education of Noble Maidens and constructed in 1806-08. A nice garden around the institute also dates from the tsarist times. In 1917, the building was chosen by Vladimir Lenin as Bolshevik headquarters during the October Revolution. It was Lenin's residence for several months, until the national government was moved to the Moscow Kremlin. After that, the Smolny became the headquarters of the local Communist Party apparat, effectively the city hall. In 1927, a monument to Lenin was erected in front of the building. Sergei Kirov was assassinated there in 1934. After 1991, the Smolny was used a residence of the city mayor. Vladimir Putin worked there from 1991 to 1997 in the administration of Anatolij Sobchak .

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Views of the Smolny