Diary of a Provincial in St. Petersburg

The MediaBook studio offers one of the best examples of world-class Russian classical literature by the great Russian writer Mikhail Evgrafovich Saltykov-Shchedrin—“A Provincial’s Diary in Petersburg.” The book is read by a popular theater and film actor, Mikhail Roslyakov.

“I’m in Petersburg. Why am I in Petersburg? For what occasion?”—a question, due to the natural imprudence of provincials, I never asked myself while leaving our hated provincial town. We, provincials, rush to Petersburg almost instinctively. We sit, sit— and suddenly we start moving. The governor sits—and suddenly decides: ‘What if I go—maybe there’s something suitable!’ The prosecutor sits—and also decides: ‘What if I go—maybe there’s something suitable!’ A private citizen sits—and then, as if enlightened, starts to set off…

“Are you going to Petersburg?”—“To Petersburg!”—and that’s everything. As if Petersburg itself—simply by its name, its streets, its fog and slush—must somehow solve something, shed light on something. What should it solve? On what should it shed light? Not a single provincial ever tries to make sense of that for himself; instead, with an unconscious confidence, we just repeat to ourselves: well, I’ll go to Petersburg, and then… What then? Listen, like, actively comment! )