Every civilization carries within it a sense of those who went before us; we feel it when we look at old stones, walk along old roads, get the smell of old paper. And history often grants us a key with which to unlock the future.
This book, in its own way, gives us a sense of how we should approach our history. For my own part I am particularly conscious of how it recognizes no borders, going even as far as my own beloved St Petersburg. Tsvetai'eva put it this way: "We are attracted to each other for very good reasons: we did not leave home in order to take but in order to give, and if we have fallen in love with each other, it is because we are different, but more than that, it is because we are well matched.
Vladimir Fedorovski