Emily Johnson explores the origins and evolution of local history in St. Petersburg at the beginning of the 20th century using archival materials. The book examines the activities of the movement for the preservation of history, which was led by members of the World of Art circle and the authors of the Old Years magazine, the pedagogical excursion movement and the Central Bureau of Local History. The original edition of this book (Penn State University Press, 2006) was awarded the South Central MLA Award and the Nikolai Antsiferov Award for the best work by a foreign author on St. Petersburg.