| The Companion Guide to St Petersburg Contributor(s): Zinovieff, Kyril (Author), Hughes, Jenny (Author) |
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ISBN: 1900639408 ISBN-13: 9781900639408 Publisher: Companion Guides OUR PRICE: $37.95 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: April 2003 Annotation: The Companion Guide to St Petersburg has been published in spring2003 to coincide with the tercentenary of the founding of the city.Most visitors to St Petersburg have heard at least four facts about it: that it is 'the Venice of the North'; that a vast number of workmen, perhaps a hundred thousand, died in the early years of its construction; that it was built on uninhabited marshes; and that it was founded on territory which did not and never had belonged to Russia. These 'facts' have one feature in common: none of them is true. Few people can say this with more authority that Kyril Zinovieff, who comes from a family associated with the administration of St Petersburg since the eighteenth century. He recalls being taken as a child in 1917 to see the damage done to the Winter Palace - which he found regettably unspectacular. And more: 'My sister and I may have been two of the last people still alive to have seen Rasputin' is the startling beginning of another chapter. His knowledge of the history of his city, where every stone tells a story, is encyclopaedic; his respect for the spiritual strength of its inhabitants unbounded; he has produced a work of charm, humour and erudition with a unique insight into this amazing city. KYRIL ZINOVIEFF, as Kyril Fitzlyon, has made noted translations from the Russian, including the Diary of Vaslav Nijinsky; this book has been written with JENNY HUGHES, formerly of the Economist and the Guardian. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Travel | Russia - Art | History - General - Travel | Europe - General |
| Dewey: 914.721 |
| LCCN: 2003271693 |
| Series: Companion Guides |
| Physical Information: 1.1" H x 4.2" W x 7" (0.90 lbs) 510 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: This new Companion Guide tells the story and describes the appearance of St Petersburg, capital of Russia for just over two hundred years and about to celebrate the three hundredth anniversary of its foundation. For the first time since the last Emperor, the Head of State is a Petersburger; Vladimir Putin is driving the preparations for the centenary, with an official presidential residence being established in a former Grand Ducal Palace. This Guide combines a physical description of the city with the history of the people who lived and died in it - emperors, politicians, revolutionaries, writers, architects, artists, dancers and ordinary citizens. The two themes are integrated: what you can see now and what has happened there. The treatment is particularly suited to a city in which almost every stone tells a story. The Guide is also practical: it explains how to get to places and how to cope with the language; it provides a table of rulers and another which lists architects by date, style and patron; there are 'virtual reality' plans and maps for the areas covered in each chapter. One of the authors was born in the city and has visited it frequently since 1980. |