The Royal Cats of Russia

[rolanni]

The Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, Russia, is famous as the palace of Empress Catherine the Great.

The greatness of its cats is the less well-known side of its astonishing story.

They have been here since the 18th Century. Fed up with rodents running through the palace, Empress Elizabeth sent out a decree that the best ratters in Russia should be sent to St Petersburg. The first to respond are thought to have come from the city of Kazan - then apparently famous for the rat-catching skills of its cats.

The rest of the story is here

Comments

[jhetley.livejournal.com]

Younger Son, who wants to grow up to be a cat, brought back many pictures from his St. Petersburg trip that included Hermitage Cats.