grapeshot said:
I see that the engraving on the quad looks like "F. A. Grecke St Pertersburg" but the lettering is western rather than cyrillic. :hatsoff:
In general, the Tzarist Russian court spoke French and English, the use of their own native Russian being thought of as 'uncouth' for some reason.
Katherine's ancestor, Peter the Great, actually spent a few years in London, at Deptford Shipyards, learning how to build naval ships, and was an accomplished English speaker. He naturally imported his love of the language back to his court. Everybody complied, after all, not only was he the Czar, but he was almost seven feet tall as well. Pyotr Vyelikyy means GREAT as well as Great :winking:
tac in Tokyo