Taurida Palace is an outstanding work of Russian classicism of the late 18^th century. It was constructed by the project of  I. Starov from 1783 till 1789 for the one of the Catherine II favorites - Count Potemkin, who was the commander-in-chief of the Russian Army during the war for joining the Crimea to Russia.  After conquering the lands of Tauride (this was the name of Crimea in ancient times) count Potemkin got the name Prince of the Tauride (hence the name of the palace). After the death of Potemkin the palace was taken to the state treasury and became the favorite residence of Catherine II. In 1797 by a decree of Paul I, the property of the Tauride palace transferred in the Mikhailovsky castle, the palace itself referred to Konnogvordeiskiy  regiment. In 1801 the Tauride Palace was restored as one of the emperors'  residences. Until the beginning of the 20th century the palace remained uninhabited, and since 1906 up to February 1917 the Taurida palace was the seat of the State Duma, the Russian Parliament, introduced by Nicholas II in 1906. Nowadays the Taurida palace houses the Higher School for party functionaries, while the main hall of the palace is frequently used for different international discussions, meetings and conferences and the Constitutional Assemblies hold their sessions here as well. It is worth paying attention that the palace is surrounded by the picturesque garden designed by the English gardener, William Gould. During the Siege of Leningrad the park was damaged, but it was restored and nowadays it is a source of recreation.