The station, located at the crossing of the Zagorodny Avenue and the now-vanished Vvedensky Canal, was inaugurated in the presence of Nicholas I of Russia on 30 October 1837 when the first Russian train, named Provorny, departed from its platform for the imperial residence at Tsarskoe Selo.However, it was Sima Minash's [ru] opulent Art Nouveau interior that established the building as the most ornate of St Petersburg stations.Minash was responsible for the sweeping staircases, foyer with stained glass and spacious halls boasting a series of painted panels that chronicle the history of Russia's first railway.Apart from the replica of the first Russian train, curiosities of the Vitebsk Station include a detached pavilion for the Tsar and his family and a marble bust of Nicholas I.Services from the station run to Central Europe, the Baltic States, Ukraine, Belarus and the southern suburbs of St Petersburg, such as Pushkin and Pavlovsk.