The Entire History of Petersburg. From the Flood and Varangians to the Lakhta Center and Gastro Bars

The first book about the entire history of St. Petersburg, which will be interesting and understandable to everyone in love with this city!

Lev Lurie — a well-known St. Petersburg publicist and historian, Maria Elkina — an architectural critic with an... impeccable professional reputation and an expert in urban planning. Together, they created the first full-format history of St. Petersburg for a wide audience.

«The Entire History of Petersburg. From the Flood and Varangians to the Lakhta Center and Gastro Bars» covers all stages of the city's development:
- early settlements on the banks of the Neva;
- Petersburg as the capital of the empire;
- the industrialization of the 19th century;
- Soviet Leningrad;
- and the modern multifaceted metropolis.

The authors skillfully combined in their narrative political events and reforms with important cultural milestones and social changes, as well as urban planning solutions and architectural styles.

- Did Domenico Trezzini earn enough?
- Where did Leningrad fashionistas shop in the 1970s?
- What is there in the city that is not found in any other settlement on Earth?

The book is written vividly and passionately, providing not only a deep analysis of the city's past but also its potential future. Color illustrations for each chapter will allow readers to immerse themselves even more in the transformations that St. Petersburg underwent over the centuries.


Lev Lurie and Maria Elkina offer a captivating narrative, rich in interesting facts and at times polemical, about the history and mission of their beloved city. The key to understanding the book is the thesis that the heavier the trials faced by the city, the more pronounced the reverence for its architecture and history became, and the greater meaning the citizens saw in it.