In a time when our own country is developing rapidly without concern for what it means to be American or what it means to be from any given state, it is refreshing to meet a people who hold the history and culture of their city in the highest esteem. Jason Cummings One of my first impressions of Saint Petersburg was that of the overwhelming influence of antiquity. Regardless of the size or importance of the structure, it was given some decoration to bring it into harmony with the city as a whole. I soon discovered, however, that the wisdom and beauty of the past went much deeper than facades. Many schools in the city are organized following the classical model.
Emphasis is placed upon history, mathematics, and language.
I was shocked and extremely impressed to find students studying a minimum of four languages in middle school. The value and utility of foreign languages is certainly a truth that the United States has lost sight of. In addition to an enormous classical library, the Gimnaziia where I studied displays charming mosaics of classical gods and goddesses. The influence of ancient cultures also permeates the realm of religion. The Russian Orthodox Church, heavily indebted to the Christianity of Byzantium, inherited many of the rituals and customs of the Constantinople of the past.