Petersburg, crucible of cultural revolution

"One of the most creative periods of Russian culture and the most energized period of the Revolution coincided in the fateful years 1913-1931. During this time both the Party and the intellectuals of Petersburg strove to transform backward Russia. Yet the end result was the Stalinist culture of the 1930s with its purges. Katerina Clark focuses on the complex negotiations among the extraordinary environment of a revolution, the utopian striving of both politicians and intellectuals, the local culture system, and that broader environment, the arena of contemporary European and American culture."--Page 4 of cover.