Foreign countries helped – the famous aeronaut André-Jacques Garnerin arrived to St. Petersburg together with his wife and a letter of recommendation from Minister Talleyrand. Tsar Alexander gave his highest consent, and the public who paid two rubles in silver, crammed into the garden of the Cadet Corps. And there was a remarkable sight to see: the soldiers were holding a huge balloon. At noon, a balloon with a pair of balloonists safely rose into the air and soon disappeared into the distance. The event got into the annals of history and is now listed there as the first officially registered balloon flight in Russia.