St. Petersburg - The First Three Centuries: A History

Arthur L. George,Elena George

ISBN 10: 0750938048 / ISBN 13: 9780750938044

Published by The History Press Ltd, 2004

About this Item

FIRST EDITION with dust jacket + owners name - Rare and Collectable - will send out 1st class post within 12 hours of receipt of order.

Seller Inventory # mon0000129648

Bibliographic Details

• Title: St. Petersburg - The First Three Centuries: A History
• Publisher: The History Press Ltd
• Publication Date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0750938048
• ISBN 13: 9780750938044
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Fine

About this title

Synopsis

St. Petersburg was commanded into existence by Peter the Great, and its inherent artifice has made it one of the world's most storied cities, the stage for political and artistic dreamers. This comprehensive, award-winning narrative history chronicles what is perhaps the greatest story of any modern city anywhere, from its foundation in a swampy war zone in 1703 to its leading role in overthrowing Soviet power and bringing Russia into the twenty-first century. As the author notes, 'No modern city has experienced such excruciating upheavals, violence, losses of its people, and suffering as Petersburg/Petrograd/Leningrad experienced in the first half of its 20th century.' Extensively researched and documented yet entertaining and accessible for general readers, the book covers Petersburg's political, social, economic, architectural, cultural and intellectual history, recounting events of world importance, and the extraordinary and often tragic lives of the city's many great citizens such as Catherine the Great, Fedor Dostoevsky, the poets Alexander Pushkin and Anna Akhmatova, and the city's late mayor Anatoly Sobchak. The book focuses on the city's key role as a link to the West and in modernizing Russia and encouraging the growth of civil society, and brings to life a St Petersburg steeped in a tumult of war, revolution and aesthetics. In December 2005, in Russia, the book was awarded the prestigious Antsiferov Prize for the best book by a foreign author about St. Petersburg.

About the Author

Arthur George is an internationally recognised expert and authority on Russia. He studied in the USSR in 1980 where he met Elena, whom he married the following year. He is the author of several specialised books and articles on law, business and politics in Russia.