The former Palace of Chancellor Bezborodko is located on the Pochtamtskaya Street, adjacent to St. Isaak’s square.
     The brilliant state career of Alexander Bezborodko marks the last quarter of the XVIII century, during the triumphal reign of Catherine II. He ascended to the highest state posts without anyone’s protection, relying only on his talents: an intense capacity for work, unique memory and honesty. He was born in Ukraine and studied in Kiev. His career started when he was appointed a secretary to the office of the governor-general of Ukraine. The governor-general noticed the talent of Bezborodko and sent him to Catherine II. He became a secretary of the Empress, acting as her right hand in all matters. After successfully signing a peacetreaty with Turkey, he was appointed Chancellor and was awarded the title of a Prince.
     He had a versatile personality and devoted his free time to history. He accomplished several historical researches. He perceived everything immediately and was without compare in the expression of thoughts and the compilation of documents. Catherine II always listened to his advice concerning the highest level of politics and diplomacy. He was modest and honest in his everyday work and did not accept bribes regardless of the petitioner or situation.
     Unfortunately, he was not as successful in court life as he retained the clumsiness of a provincial. He had an ideal artistic taste but did not take care of his own appearance and sometimes went to the Empress’s audience in flat stockings. He had two passions: cardplaying and women but was not successful in either. Women rejected him because he was not attractive. Though the closest helper of the Empress, he never became her lover.
     Erection of the Palace for the Prince Bezborodko on the Pochtamtskaya Street started in 1783. The architect, Giacomo Quarenghi, decorated it in classical style. The Palace was impressively opulent. The Prince purchased the French furniture of Marie-Antoinette for his Palace. Bronze figures, sculptures and Sevr vases which had decorated the personal apartments of the executed Queen now came to the Palace of Bezborodko. Bezborodko used every chance to buy a unique piece of art for his Palace. The house church of the Palace was dedicated to the Twelve Apostles.
     Alexander Bezborodko died in 1799 and his brother Ilya inherited the Palace. Ilya Bezborodko had become a duke, a senator and a member of the State Council by that time. Starting in 1809 a part of the Palace was rented out. In 1825 the heirs decided to sell the Palace to the Postal Authorities, who changed the interiors. The Palace belonged to the Postal Authorities until the Revolution of 1917 when it became the center of the Administration of Communication of the South-West. The Church of Twelve Apostles functioned until 1922 when it was closed by the Bolsheviks. The decree of 1924 prescribed that the Museum of Communication be founded in the former chancellor’s Palace but the building needed restoration. The Palace suffered terribly during the Leningrad Siege in the Second World War.
     The Museum of Communication was opened again in 1972, after the restoration works. This was late in the Soviet era, the period which went down in history as the “Stagnation”. The museum was financed from the state budget under the Soviet reign.
     The museum underwent a deep and long crisis during Perestroika. The new state politics excluded financial support of such “small” museums which were considered to be of low importance. This was a very difficult period for people who worked in museums: they had to look for additional jobs because the salary was so miserable. After the economical default of 1998 the museum seemed to have finished its existence.
     Change for the better started in 2000 when the Program for the Development of the Central Museum of Communication was signed. State status and budget financing were returned to the museum under the administration of the new President Putin. But the real progress was connected with the creation of the “Russian Fund of the History of Communication”. Necessary financial sources were finally found. The building was completely renovated by 2003 and a new modern exposition was opened to the public. It tells the history of informational technologies, and of mobile communication. Mobile phone companies cooperate with the museum.
     The museum provides us with an ideal example of the progressive changes possible when the financial resources and time are available.
     The Former Palace of Bezborodko, more famous as the Museum of Communication, is located at 7 Pochtamtskaya St., near St. Isaac’s Square (trolleybuses #5, 22 from the Nevsky Prospect).