Petersburg and Moscow. The dispute of the two capitals

Since the time, as the great reformer Peter I transferred the capital of his state to the banks of the Neva, the rivalry of two Russian capitals - ancient but unfading Moscow and forever young St. Petersburg has not stopped. There were always those for whom the superiority of the Neva capital was indisputable, and those who considered the focus of all the best of the pioneer.
"In Moscow, the soul of Russia, Petersburg is a cold and alien city for us, ”one assured. “Moscow is the capital of idleness and superstition, only with St. Petersburg Russia will move along the path of progress and prosperity,” others said.
This dispute has not stopped for more than 300 years. The voices of its participants - writers, literary critics, publicists - sound on the pages of this book. For the first time they are collected in such a volume, first placed in the context of works of fine art - after all, artists also did not remain aloof from an old dispute.
On whose side is it true, each reader, of course, will decide for himself. But to the arguments of both side it is worth listening, and then, perhaps, it will be easier to find answers to some acute questions of our modernity.
Compiled by Zhukov K. S