Identifier: russia00dobsrich (find matches)
Title: Russia;
Year: 1913 (1910s)
Authors: Dobson, George Grove, Henry M Stewart, Hugh, 1884-1934 Haenen, F. de
Subjects: Soviet Union -- Description and travel
Publisher: London, A. and C. Black
Contributing Library: University of California Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: MSN

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ERISTICS OF ST. PETERSBURG Peasant element—Migration into and out of the city—Summerworkmen—Barracks and Government buiklings—Workingpopulation—Loinovoi—Izvostchik—Dvornik—Policeman. The great capitals of Europe have now become somuch ahke in all the chief manifestations of citylife and activity that the foreign traveller from oneto the other, once he has noticed the racial differ-ences between their respective inhabitants, is rarelystruck by any other remarkable peculiarities. Hefinds similar fashions in dress, similar vehicles, andmuch the same manners and customs in all o^them. St. Petersburg, however, has not yet gonequite as far as this along the lines of modernuniformity. It still exhibits characteristics ofanother world existing outside, although the imme-diate aim of its foundation over 200 years ago wasprecisely to make it a model European city, andthrough its influence to Europeanize Russia. Sur-vi\als of a more remote and ruder state of things 124 l\ >^*^
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%• A RUSSIAN S1.R\ ANT l.\ SU.M.MKK DRKSS TYPES AND CHARACTERISTICS 125 have not all been swept away by the spurt of pro-gress and improvement during the last few years.The immense inert mass of peasantry in the far-reaching provinces, from which the strength of St.Petersburg is continually recruited, were too muchfor the enterprise of a single reformer, althougha man of such commanding genius and energy asPeter the Great. The drastic measures and expe-ditious methods which that great sovereign em-ployed to make his subjects look and act like otherEuropeans had no effect upon the conservativepeasant. Peter was only able to cut off the beardsand trailing skirts of his courtiers and officials, andin general to remodel the manners of the old boyars.He did this pretty effectually for the upper classes,because they were too small in number and tooclosely interested to offer any effective resistance;but he was naturally quite unable to reform themillions of stolid peasantry, whose descend

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