Most people live in these types of buildings

Catherine Palace, built in 1717

People were fighting for tickets. Beyond crowded

Once you got in, you shuffled down the hallways, looking into grand rooms

I found this ATM and paid my way out of there.

House of the Soviets, built in 1940 for the Soviet Leningrad government, now used as an office building

This band entertained people who couldn’t get in.

While we were packed in, it wasn’t as bad as the Hermitage.

If you fell, that could be the end.

Once we got outside, it was pretty nice.