The narrative of “Notes on St. Petersburg” covers almost two and a half centuries of the history of the city. The first book, dedicated to the period from the founding of St. Petersburg to the twenties of the 20th century, tells about what united different generations of citizens, about remarkable tragic, and sometimes strange events, about the fates of St. Petersburg residents, famous and unknown. In the testimonies of people of different eras, details were sought that preserved the atmosphere, the air of time, thanks to which Peter the Great’s festivities in the Summer Garden, or Palace Square on the day of Catherine’s coup in 1762, or Senate 14 were seen differently December 1825. The life of St. Petersburg, the workshop in which the future of the state was forged, amazes with the variety and completeness of its plots. Some of them read like parables, others seem incredible fictions, and all of them make up the history of “the most abstract and most deliberate city,” as Dostoevsky called it. The first book ends with a story about the changes after which the city lost its position as the capital of Russia, the second is dedicated to its life in the 20-30s of the 20th century. The book is based on oral memories of people of older generations, diaries, letters, memoirs, literature, and the press of that time, and thanks to the heterogeneity of materials, the past begins to acquire the volume and tension of real life. There are too many painful points in this time, it has not yet cooled down, and future historians will have to describe it in its entirety. “Notes about St. Petersburg” is a book about his love for a strange, beautiful city and for wonderful people, whose presence filled his life with spiritual meaning and in many ways determined his fate. Contents: From the author

BOOK ONE

The beginning of the city. Eagle over the island. Construction of a fortress. Peter and Paul Cathedral. "Red Mansions" and the Admiralty House. Settlement of St. Petersburg ..................................... 9

“Paradise” among the swamps. A sad land. On Trinity Square. Foreigners in St. Petersburg. Peter and Moscow. The structure of the city, or Love of geometry. Alexander Nevsky Monastery.................................................... ................................ 22

Everyday life, holidays, events. “Rigid spirit of order " Responsibilities of citizens. German dress and beard tax. Peter I's Day. Tsar's concern for the education of his subjects. Holidays and celebrations. "All Drinking Cathedral" Assemblies. Fiscals and chief inquisitors. The fate of Tsarevich Alexei. Death of Peter Great ..................................................... ........ 37

After Peter. “Thief of the Throne.” The triumph of a temporary worker. Wheel of Fortune. Desolation of St. Petersburg. The imperial court leaves the capital. Glorious deeds of Feldzeichmeister General Minich ....................................... 59

Petersburg in the times of Elizabeth. Brilliant Rastrelli. A time of miracles and transformations. Softening of morals in the capital. Notes of Count Gordt. Ksenia of Petersburg. "Insolent" Lomonosov. Maecenas Shuvalov and the development of the arts................ 86

“Paradise in Paradise.” Summer garden in the 18th century. "The Royal Garden". Sculptures of the Summer Garden. The story of the Tauride Venus. An eyewitness to one of Peter the Great's celebrations. Summer Garden after Peter I .................................................... 103

The triumph of Felitsa. “Holstein” on the throne. Discontent in the capital. Strange events on Palace Square. The rise of St. Petersburg. Palace construction. "Bronze Horseman". The character of a St. Petersburger. Dashkova is the director of the Academy of Sciences. Hobbies of citizens. Unrest and adversity. The luxury of Catherine’s nobles. “The city is lush, the city is poor...” ..................................... ........................................................ 115

Non-boring time. “Eternal heir.” Changes in the life of the city. The emperor's disfavor. Mikhailovsky Castle. Death of Paul I and joy in the capital ..................................... 143

Romantic Petersburg. Pictures of city life. In the Summer Garden. “When the people awakened...” Generation of winners. Literary collections. New interests of officers. Chivalrous Miloradovich. “Night Princess.” Flood of 1824. Fourteenth of December. The end of a wonderful era................... 158

“City of autocracy.” The most important buildings and improvement of the city center. Miracles of progress. Cholera 1831. Fires. "Russian costume". Pushkin in St. Petersburg. Stage for the Emperor. Writer Belinsky. Dangerous dreamers. Enemy fleet in the bay. Death of Nicholas I ......................................209

“Nineteenth century, iron...” The honeymoon of liberalism. On holidays days. Abundance of food. Around Sennaya Square. Student unrest of 1861. Public excitement and city fires. Events reflected in the novel “Demons.” Condemnation of Chernyshevsky. . . 239

Petersburg terrorists. Assassination of Karakozov. Victims, martyrs, villains. Assassination of Alexander II. Execution of Narodnaya Volya. “Secret dictators of Russia” .................................... 259

The backwater of the passing century .The city is being transformed. Slobodskie. Construction fever. City traditions. Znamenskaya Square. Musical Petersburg. Novel of the heir to the throne. Revolutionary calm. John of Kronstadt... 273

Sunset of St. Petersburg. Beautiful Tsarskoe. Aeronautics holidays. Cinematography and other fruits of progress. Tram after a while ........................................................ .................. 297

Dances of Death. Defeatists and terrorists. January 1905. Hunter of provocateurs. Provocateur Azef. Anniversary celebrations in St. Petersburg. Well done cadets! Suicide among young people. Sects in the city. Rasputin and Shchetinin. The success of the futurists. Harbingers of war. After the declaration of war. "Complete decomposition." Murder of Rasputin...312

“We will build a new world...”February Revolution. Kshesinskaya against the RSDLP (b). Anxious July. Chronicle of the Bolshevik revolution. “Captured by monkeys.” Bourgeois Chaliapin. Should St. Petersburg be empty? Expulsion of “people of thought” in 1922. Pestilence strip. A city that transforms souls. . . 343

BOOK TWO

Introduction ........................................................ ...................................381

After the coup. “People of the fourth measurements." St. Petersburg mess. Cossacks in Gatchina and the battle near Pulkovo. Dispersal of the Constituent Assembly.................................................... .......387

War communism. Famine in Petrograd. What's good about the new mode? The poem “The Twelve” as a Petrograd chronicle. Volodarsky. Red terror. Murder and funeral of Uritsky. The Ballad of the Cod. “Cholera can solve the problem of hunger.” Grigory Zinoviev. Defense of the city in 1919. Searches, seals, rumors.................................................... ..........407

People of culture. Cultural policy of the Bolsheviks. Gorky and “World Literature.” “Paikolovstvo.” Palace of Arts. Scandal at the banquet. Literary evenings. "Pharmacists" and "midwives". Boris Kaplun .....................................454

Twenty-first year. Sailors in the revolution. Labor unrest in Petrograd. Kronstadt “rebels”. Suppression of the uprising. Death of Alexander Blok. The Tagantsev case .....................480

Forward - to the NEP! The beauty of desolation. Treasure hunting. "Foot structure." Young Robinsons. Citizens ladies. Lenin as a trendsetter. Flea markets. Great Expectations ..................... 511

The fight against the church and its consequences. The Church is a refuge. Looting of temples. Renovators. The trial of the "churchmen". Priest Mikhail Yavorsky. "Octobers" and "stars". Sexual revolution. The crematorium is a symbol of progress. Cemeteries of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra ............ 531

Life and life. Petersburg characters in Petrograd life. Flood of 1924. Poet Vasily Knyazev. Utilities. About furniture. Urban flora and fauna. "Take care of your cats!" Bear riot. The world of Konstantin Vaginov ................................................... ........................................... 563

Former people. The past smells of decay. "Old Regime" people. Young people face a choice: Igor Rudakov, Vera Ketlinskaya, Tolstoyan Brooker. How to explain suicide? And from the chronicle of incidents. The death of Sergei Yesenin. Literary morals. The Poet and the Mob ...................................595

City-world. Master of the city. Expulsions from Leningrad. About sugar and galoshes. The fight against philistinism. Bows. Warrior Ivan Petrovich Pavlov. Achievements of science and technology. Grand plans. Shadow sides of life: homeless people, war veterans, raiders. St. Petersburg punks. The trial of the Chubarovites. Drunkenness.............622

“A new Gogol has been born...” “Serapion’s brothers.” Non-fictional characters. Zoshchenko and Shostakovich. Beggar Tinyakov. Stalin and Zoshchenko. Disaster of 1954. Anniversary evening .................................................... .................................... 660

Time is at a turning point. On the outskirts. Persecution of Nepmen. Art for the people. Humanity despite ideology. Interest in antiquity and development of local history. Waiting for war. The Academy of Sciences lives in the old fashioned way. After the anniversary. In a vice. "Academic Affairs." Fates: N. S. Stackelberg, N. P. Antsiferov ..................................... ...............682

Big changes (Leningrad in the late 20s - early 30s). Sale cultural values. The city's attitude to collectivization. Influx of new “labor force”. Men. Nikolai Oleinikov and Dmitry Zhukov. The first results of social construction. New aristocracy. Difficulties of life. Poor donors. "Blue Foods" False space of architecture and life. Holidays and everyday life of 1934. The assassination of Kirov and its consequences ................. 721

Leningrad in the second half of the 30s. “Civilized Europeans” de Custine and Celine about Russia. New Renaissance. Democratic Constitution. What did Henry I do wrong? Free man Yuryev. Youth circles and secret organizations. At the beginning of 1937. Plan and schedule of the “Great Terror”. Time ago ! Ordinary life against the backdrop of fear. The world beyond. Soviet-Finnish war. God protects everything ........................................768

Main sources ........................................................ ...............803