I began this blog in August 2006 before I arrived in St. Petersburg for four months of research for my dissertation in urban/cultural geography. Since then I have returned twice to Petersburg (March 2007 and July 2008). The blog's current purpose is to make more widely available translated information about current urban activism in St. Petersburg and other cities.
Sunday, October 15, 2006
Pictures for Daily Life in October, Part 1
First, me enjoying the autumn colors from a bench in my favorite park. Second: imperial details on a rare sunny day. Third, the dark facade of Apraskin Yard.
I read a novel by Dostoevsky in high school (The Brothers Karamazov) and decided that I needed to learn Russian. Fortunately, I have a great deal of mental stamina, because I soon found out that you have to study Russian for years to read Dostoevsky successfully. However, wonderful professors and generous friends in Russia, mainly in Leningrad/St. Petersburg, made the whole process thoroughly worth the long hours spent memorizing verb forms and making vocabulary lists.
I first visited Leningrad in summer 1989, although I barely left the hotel on that two-day trip. I returned for four months in the spring of 1990, and again to (renamed) St. Petersburg in fall 1991. I have been visiting the city regularly since then. I visited Petersburg for dissertation research from August-December 2006, in March 2007, and in July 2008. This blog draws on specific information from those three trips, but also on the knowledge of the city that I gained over 20 years of spending time there. It provides updates based on information from a range of news websites and contacts in Petersburg.
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