St Petersburg: Shadows of the Past
*Starred Review* The city of St. Petersburg was founded by Czar Peter the Great in 1703, and he viewed it as a window to the West that would enhance his drive to modernize Russia. Indeed, visitors from the West, viewing the wide avenues, magnificent museums, and elegant architecture, often commented on the cosmopolitan nature of the city, contrasting it with a more insular, even dreary, Moscow. Kelly is professor of Russian at Oxford and lives both in Oxford and St. Petersburg. In this excellent examination of the history, art, and everyday life of its citizens, she paints a much more nuanced and interesting portrait of this city on the Baltic. Based on personal experiences, her conversations with friends and acquaintances, and her knowledge of the history and culture, she describes St. Petersburg as a surprisingly inward-looking city, still dealing with problems from the Soviet era, including the prolonged siege by the Nazis and the postwar Stalinist purges. Kelly pays ample tribute to the beauty and artistic glitter, but she also covers a city plagued by a host of typical urban problems, including the squalor of the poorer neighborhoods. This is a well-written and honest look at a large, fascinating, and rapidly evolving city. --Jay Freeman