Bartolomeo Rastrelli devised the present Winter Palace in 1753 for Empress Elizabeth, who saw it as a symbol of national prestige. Work was hurried, and the cost rose from 859,555 rubles to 2,500,000. By 1759, shortly before Elizabeth's death, the palace was nearing completion. The exterior is Elizabethan Baroque, and it has been repainted many times. After World War II it was restored in green and white.
The palace has 1,500 rooms and 1,945 windows, and its principal facade is 705 feet (215 m) long and 98 feet (30 m) high. A fire in 1837 spread through the building, and Vasily Stasov rebuilt the exterior and state rooms. Alexander Briullov redecorated the smaller private rooms.
On October 25, 1917, Bolshevik forces stormed the palace and arrested the Provisional Government. Five days later it was declared part of the Hermitage museums, and it draws about 3.5 million visitors a year.
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