Photograph of the Senate and Synod Building in St Petersburg. The building is in the neo-classical style with four storeys and columns spaced at intervals along the front facade. At the centre of the front facade there is a triumphal arch. The rooftops of the town can be seen behind the building as the photograph has been taken from a high vantage point. The Senate and Synod Building was built between 1829-34 to accommodate the two most important administrative organisations of the Imperial Russian government. The Senate was the highest legislative and administrative power and the Synod was the highest body in the Russian Orthodox Church.