Twelve Colleges

Marked by a statue of scientist-poet Mikhail Lomonosov (1711–65), the 400m-long Twelve Colleges building is one of St Petersburg’s oldest buildings. It was originally meant for Peter’s government ministries, but it is now part of the university, which stretches out behind it. Within these walls populist philosopher Nikolai Chernyshevsky studied, Alexander Popov created some of the world’s first radio waves and a young Vladimir Putin earned a degree in law. This is also where Dmitry Mendeleev invented the periodic table of elements, and the building now contains the Mendeleev Museum. His cosy study has been lovingly preserved and you can see his desk (where he always stood rather than sat) and some early drafts of the periodic table.