St. Petersburg. The very name brings to mind some of Russia’s
greatest poets, writers and composers: Pushkin, Dostoevsky, Tchaikovsky. 56.
The 19th century was a golden age for St. Petersburg’s (圣彼得堡) wealthy
classes. It was a world of ballets and balls, of art and literature, of tea and
caviar (鱼子酱). 57. The golden age ended with the advent of
World War I. Working people were growing more and more discontented. In i917,
Communism came, promising peace and prosperity. St.
Petersburg had become Petrograd in 1914. People wanted a Russian name for their
city. Ten years later, the city’s name changed again, this time to Leningrad.
Then in 1991, Leningraders voted to restore the city’s original name. Some
people opposed the name change altogether. 58. Others thought it was just too
soon. Old, run-down Soviet Leningrad, they said, was not the St. Petersburg of
19th-century literature. What, then, is St. Petersburg In
the confusing post-Communist world, no one really knows. The quiet, if
Soviet-style, dignity is gone. The Communist sayings are down, and gaudy
advertising up. Candy bars and cigarettes are sold from boxy, tasteless kiosks.
And clothing 59. Well, anything goes. Everyone wants to be a little
different. But many people do not know the true meaning of freedom. Personal
crime has gone up, up, up in the past few years. Yet in
spite of this, you can still find some of the city’s grand past. Stand at the
western tip of Vasilievsky Island. To the right is the elegant Winter Palace,
former home of the Czars. Its light blue sides and white classical columns make
it perhaps St. Petersburg’s most graceful building. It houses one of the world’s
most famous art museums: the Hermitage. Inside, 20km of galleries house
thousands of works of art. 60. Look over your right shoulder. The massive
golden dome of St. Isaac’s Cathedral (圣以撒大教堂) rises above the sky- line. You’ll
see, too, why St. Petersburg is called a "float city." Standing there, nearly
surrounded by water, you can see four of the city’s 42 islands.