Built by slave labour in the early years of the 18th century, Saint Petersburg was Peter the Great's so-called 'window on to Europe', a city that would outdo all of Europe in its splendour. But a window works both ways, and as bestselling historian Sinclair McKay writes, St Petersburg has always been a city that has drawn Westerners who wanted to see into Russia. It is also a city where much has happened. It was St Petersburg until 1917, Petrograd after the revolution, Leningrad after Lenin's death in 1924, and St Petersburg once again from 1991. This biography of a city stretches from Peter the Great to Vladimir Putin, who was born and made in St Petersburg. Based on first-hand and many unpublished accounts from figures from all walks of life, this masterpiece reveals the story of the city told from the perspective of the people who lived there.
