Nevsky Prospekt

“Nothing is better than Nevsky Prospect—in any case, in Petersburg; for it, it’s all… the all-powerful Nevsky Prospect!” (N. V. Gogol) From the very beginning of its creation, Nevsky Prospect seems to have slipped out of its creators’ control—destroying their plans and living an independent life. It was meant to be straight, like an arrow, but it bends right where it meets today’s Ligovsky Prospect. It was supposed to be merely a road to the city center—the Vasilyevsky Island—but over time it itself turned into the center, the artery of Petersburg. Great scientists, brilliant poets and artists, local madmen, philosophers, performers—all lived here. The unique spirit of Nevsky still permeates the whole city and creates its own, unmistakable Petersburg aura. Inna Soboleva’s new book will take the reader along Nevsky Prospect from the Admiralty to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra and will tell many astonishing stories about houses and people whose destinies have forever been tied to the majestic, all-powerful Nevsky.