3: The Guardroom

The Guardroom was used to accommodate the guard of honour of the Governor General of St Petersburg. Menshikov was granted the right to keep a personal guard at his own expense for his part in Russia's first naval victory on 7 May 1703, when Russian soldiers under the command of Peter the Great and Menshikov captured the Swedish ships Gaddan and Astrild.
The main exhibits in the Guardroom include the standard of the St Petersburg Infantry Regiment and decorative "trophy" compositions of arms and armour, dating from the early 18th century, as well as a painting Officers at Breakfast by the 17th-century Dutch artist Jacob Gerritsz Cuyp. Above the duty officer's table is a Dutch clock (early 1700s). The tiled stove has been recreated in its original location.