Petersburg Inside Out. Notes on the Margins of Urban Chronicles

The history of Petersburg is enveloped in myths and legends. Some of them have long been circulating in literature as if they were factual truths. When and in whose honor did our city receive its name? Who and when built... the house of Peter I? Did Mozhaysky's airplane fly? Is it true that Sergey Yesenin was murdered? How many days and nights did the blockade of Leningrad last? On how many islands does Petersburg stand? For each of these questions, there is a common and familiar answer that has made its way into encyclopedias and school textbooks. But this answer is not always correct. In this book, Dmitry Sherikh subjects Petersburg myths to critical analysis, and some he simply debunks. It turns out that the history of Petersburg is not quite as we have known it since childhood. And in some places, it is completely different.