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Article: On the banks of the Neva: British Merchants in St Petersburg before the Russian Revolution: in the final article in our series on Britain and Russia, Swart Thompstone visits the long-lasting community of Britons in the Russian capital.
- Article from:
- History Today
- Article date:
- December 1, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 History Today Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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FOR TWO CENTURIES after the foundation of St Petersburg ha 1703, the British merchant community- exercised a remarkable influence over the city's economic relations with the wider world. This community operated as a 'City of London' in miniature, and where the merchants led others--diplomats, travellers, soldiers, sailors, engineers, craftsmen and others--followed.
The St Petersburg Exchange, built in the early 19th century and painted in 1891 by Alexander Beggrov. Englishman Edwin Coates working in the works' manager's office of Thornton's thread mill. St Petersburg, shortly before the First World War.
To the English in the sixteenth century the idea of ...