The famous Russian publicist, writer, local historian and teacher Anatoly Aleksandrovich Bakhtiarov described in detail how the huge economic mechanism worked that supplied St. Petersburg at the end of the 19th century with food, labor and materials. The reader will see a long string of brightly painted portraits of slaughterhouse workers, day laborers, goldsmiths, torch makers, rag pickers, hook makers, delivery boys, resellers and many other inhabitants of the Northern capital, who together rotated the flywheel of the urban economy. The author of the book spoke about the Orphanage, the night shelters, the slaughterhouse, most of the capital's markets, marinas, booths, city festivities... The publication is a lively read and contains many everyday details that sometimes take your breath away... But the author is calm and dispassionate, he does not give free rein to emotions and gives ratings... The book is written in excellent literary language, well illustrated and designed for a wide range of inquisitive readers. The publishing layout of the book is saved in PDF A4 format.