George E. Munro is a specialist in eighteenth-century Russian history. His research deals primarily with the social, economic, and cultural life of ordinary Russians.
This book's 10 chapters begin by providing background on St.
Petersburg (founded in 1703) until the beginning of Catherine II's
reign (1762) and end with a look at it at the conclusion of her
rule (1796). They are followed by a chapter on the capital's impact
on the rest of Russia and a conclusion. In between, Munro examines
in thorough detail the city during Catherine's reign, especially
its demographic and social developments, its administration, and
its commerce and industry. The author's chief conclusion is that
Catherine II attempted to thoroughly regulate and develop the
capital for the good of the state and oversaw many changes in this,
her favorite city, but that 'in the final analysis the city took on
a life and will of its own' (p. 281). The czarist government in the
years following Catherine's reign would also discover how difficult
it was to control urbanization. This is a scholarly work based on
thorough archival and other types of research and contains over 80
pages of endnotes, bibliography, and index. There are also useful
maps, charts, and graphs. Summing Up: Recommended.
*CHOICE*
Munro… 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.
*Jahrbucher fur Geschichte Osteuropas*
[Munro] has produced a work that reflects not only a deep love and
reverence for the city [of St. Petersburg], but, more importantly,
his patient and ultimately successful grappling with a mountain of
printed and archival sources. …It is a study shaped like a
sandwich: two excellent slices, presenting an overall view of the
city in 1761 (ch. 1) and in 1795 (ch. 9), enclose a generous and
satisfying filling of seven intervening chapters. These chapters
are devoted to thoroughgoing analyses of, in order, population and
social mix, urban administration on paper and in practice,
commerce, and industry. Each represents a major research triumph, a
sifting of vast and frequently conflicting data, and a convincing
presentation, bolstered by graphs and tables and maps.Munro's
achievement is considerable and confirms his reputation as a major
scholar of eighteenth-century Russia.
*Canadian Slavonic Papers*
The book begins with an enjoyable progulka through the residential,
commercial, industrial, and governmental sections of the city
before 1762. Near the end of the book, another progulka, this time
in 1796, dramatically underscores the complete transformation of
St. Petersburg, both topographically and architecturally. The
chapters in between deftly itemize the elements that contributed to
its becoming Russia's major city and the seventh largest in Europe.
…Munro's study is a welcome addition to the literature on one of
the great cities of the eighteenth-century world.
*The Russian Review*
Munro succeeds in demonstrating that St. Petersburg took on a life
and will of its own, undergoing not simply growth but true
urbanization, and influencing even rural Russia with new ideas,
technology, and economic activities. And this development resulted
not primarily from imperial edicts but from the underlying social
and economic realities that Munro examines. This well-documented
challenge to statist analysis would be beneficial for graduate
students as well as advanced undergraduates.
*Slavic Review*
Munro has been working on this study for many years, and his
thoroughly researched and well-written monograph enhances our
understanding of the values and objectives of Catherine the Great
while providing exceptional detail for those interested in the
history of imperial Russia's great capital.
*American Historical Review*
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