«Saint-Petersburg is vain!»

Myths about the Northern capital, if not the most grandiose of all the myths created in the 18 - the beginning of 20 century, were determined by the attitude to Peter I and his reforms. Petersburg from the beginning, has become a focus of not only features, but also the contradictions of the Russian historical development. Appeal to the legends and mythological features of the history of Saint-Petersburg, have no direct analogies neither in one of the European literatures, continues in our time. «Window to Europe» it turned out the window first of all in Russia itself, in the midst of the contradictions of its historical and social life. The essay begins a series of «Horrors of Petersburg», based on historical realities.