The definitive cultural biography of the “Venice of the North” and its transcendent artistic and spiritual legacy, written by Russian emerge and acclaimed cultural historian, Solomon Volkov. Long considered to be the mad dream of an imperious autocrat—the "Venice of the North," conceived in a setting of malarial swamps—St. Petersburg was built in 1703 by Peter the Great as Russia's gateway to the West. For almost 300 years this splendid city has survived the most extreme attempts of man and nature to extinguish it, from flood, famine, and disease to civil war, Stalinist purges, and the epic 900-day siege by Hitler's armies. It has even been renamed twice, and became St. Petersburg again only in 1991. Yet not only has it retained its special, almost mystical identity as the schizophrenic soul of modern Russia, but it remains one of the most beautiful and alluring cities in the world. Now Solomon Volkov, a Russian emigre and acclaimed cultural historian, has written the definitive cultural biography of this city and its transcendent artistic and spiritual legacy. For Pushkin, Gogol, and Dostoyevsky, Petersburg was a spectral city that symbolized the near-apocalyptic conflicts of imperial Russia. As the monarchy declined, allowing intellectuals and artists to flourish, Petersburg became a center of avant-garde experiment and flamboyant bohemian challenge to the dominating power of the state, first czarist and then communist. The names of the Russian modern masters who found expression in St. Petersburg still resonate powerfully in every field of art: in music, Stravinsky, Prokofiev, and Shostakovich; in literature, Akhmatova, Blok, Mandelstam, Nabokov, and Brodsky; in dance, Diaghilev, Nijinsky, and Balanchine; in theater, Meyerhold; in painting, Chagall and Malevich; and many others, whose works are now part of the permanent fabric of Western civilization. Yet no comprehensive portrait of this thriving distinctive, and highly influential cosmopolitan culture, and the city that inspired it, has previously been attempted.

The book is dedicated to M. V. Lomonosov’s living in St. Petersburg. The book pages tell us about M. V. Lomonosov’s activity as a consistent and convinced successor to Peter the Great’s traditions, who initiated the science development and made it a part of the national strategy, a necessary condition of Russia’s development in economic, technical and cultural fields of knowledge.The book covers every stage of scientist’s biography, such as Lomonosov’s childhood, education, his work in the Academy of Sciences and Arts, and his pass from a student to the academician. It tells us about M. V. Lomonosov’s contribution to the formation of the national science and the Academy transformation into the educational center of the Russian Empire. It gives consideration to the scientist’s role in the development of physics, chemistry, economics, geography, literature, and tool engineering.This publication is of interest both for specialists and for a wide range of the scientific community.This book is a translation of the edition in Russian, original name “M.V. Lomonosov in St. Petersburg“, published at the commission of the Committee on Science and Higher school of St. Petersburg Government on the occasion of the celebration of 300th anniversary of Mikhail Lomonosov’s birth in St. Petersburg in accordance with the decree of St. Petersburg Government of 16.04.2010, N 407, “On the approval of the List of activities for 2011 on the preparation and holding of 300th anniversary of Mikhail Lomonosov’s birth in St. Petersburg”.

The books in the Florida and the Caribbean Open Books Series demonstrate the University Press of Florida’s long history of publishing Latin American and Caribbean studies titles that connect in and through Florida, highlighting the connections between the Sunshine State and its neighboring islands. Books in this series show how early explorers found and settled Florida and the Caribbean. They tell the tales of early pioneers, both foreign and domestic. They examine topics critical to the area such as travel, migration, economic opportunity, and tourism. They look at the growth of Florida and the Caribbean and the attendant pressures on the environment, culture, urban development, and the movement of peoples, both forced and voluntary. The Florida and the Caribbean Open Books Series gathers the rich data available in these architectural, archaeological, cultural, and historical works, as well as the travelogues and naturalists’ sketches of the area in prior to the twentieth century, making it accessible for scholars and the general public alike. The Florida and the Caribbean Open Books Series is made possible through a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, under the Humanities Open Books program.

The first guidebook to the lesser-known museums and treasures of Saint Petersburg.

The opulent St. Petersburg Imperial Theaters were subsidized and administered by the Russian court from the eighteenth century until the collapse of the tsarist order in 1917. This close association raises many questions about the uses of these theaters and where their loyalties lay in the complex shifting power structure of early twentieth century Russia. This history begins in 1900 with the theater flourishing but undergoing change, then chronicles the impact of war and revolution, as well as audience and administration, leading up to the effective re-establishment of state control over the theaters by the Bolsheviks in 1920. While the theaters were often allied with the forces of change, their grandeur harked back to the age of the tsars, creating an irony that is explored here in depth. Photographs and diagrams of the theaters are included, along with photographs of the central historical figures, and contemporary cartoons referring to the theaters.

This book offers studies on the history of foreign churches in St. Petersburg since the founding of the city in 1703 till the Revolution in 1917. Moreover, archivists give detailed overviews and insights in the archives concerned in question.

"The book acquaints the reader with the most important works of these six eminent members of the St. Petersburg school. A short biography is given for each of them, followed by an exposition of some of his most significant contributions. Each contribution is presented as a summary of the author's original work and is followed by commentary. Certain works receive relatively complete expositions, while others are dealt with more briefly." "With a Foreword written for the English edition, this volume will appeal to a broad mathematical audience, including mathematical historians and mathematicians working in number theory."--Jacket.