Professor Munro of Virginia Commonwealth University has written a fine, well-structured account of the physical face and internal life of Imperial Russia's capital city during the third of a century when it was the residence of, and governed by, Catherine II. While he attempts to resolve old debates in Russia's urban history, a principal theme is a reaffirmation of her 1770 comment that 'she found St. Petersburg built of wood and would leave it dressed in marble.' Having previously published widely on the laws and economic life of 18th century Russia, the author can marshal much secondary literature and impressive archival research to emphasize those arenas within a multi-faceted portrait of the city. Individual chapters describe its population and social structure, its administration in law and practice, the provisioning of its inhabitants, its commercial links to the Russian hinterland and to the outside world, industrial production within its boundaries, and urban planning and construction. A thoughtful epilogue considers alien Petersburg in the context of Russian thought and imagery. The tone is sober, detailed, and serious.
Professor Munro has contributed an essential chapter to the oft-neglected urban history of modern Russia.
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