Sociology

Russia in the 20th Century and even today is considered a superpower, but in the early 19th century, it was the definition of what is today deemed Third World country.  It was far behind every Western country in terms of the industrial revolution. The revolution was far away and could barely be comprehended by the governing officials let alone the backward common people of Russia. Just because it was a backward land does not mean that there was nothing going on.  Russian literature, myths, symbols and imperialism was growing in the last 20 years of the 19th century with its center being St. Petersburg, the reason for the explosion of the modern Russian intellectual explosion.

Peter I started the city of St. Petersburg to be the center of naval operations and trading with its easy access to the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Finland.  The new city was to take the place as the capital.  Moscow was part of the old Russia. St. Petersburg would be the new more European Russia.  However, it was a Russian city and the Russian Tsar used his power to force labor in stone masonry and to drain the swamps surrounding the city.  He forced nobles and serfs to move to the city, even putting a moratorium on stone building until his city was completed.

The traditional styles of Russian building were against the law. All buildings had to be built within a specific ratio to the street and have Western facades.  However, the indoor of each building was not regulated and many buildings that were beautiful on the outside were slums on the inside. People revolted, but the squirmishes were put down quickly, and in the end St. Petersburg became the literary and intellectual capital of Russia.

In 1833, Alexander Pushkin wrote the poem The Bronze Horseman to tell the story of Peter I and his plan for the wonderful and modern city of St. Petersburg.  It tells the history of the city and the ways in which the eccentric views of the Tsar and leaders created the Westernized city and abandoned Moscow.  It is a tale of happiness and woe, but it is the true tale of St. Petersburg.

Amsterdam Summary
Amsterdam was built along the lines of the old rules but was based on the modern business practices and capitalism.  Amsterdam took over as the leader of commerce, given the power back to the north and away from the Genoese and Italy. While it did not happen overnight, the resurgence of the Dutch in trade and commerce, and their power to lead in trade was a surprise throughout the Mediterranean

Holland was considered by most of the trade leaders to be a poor country that could not care for even a quarter of its own citizens.  The land was harsh and often flooded. However, the soil was better than anyone believed, and the pastures were nutrient rich for the flocks of sheep and herds of cattle.  The small villages could be known for their vegetables and butter and their agricultural purposes, mainly the cash crops that were easy to raise, easy to reap and sold for much. By the 1600s the Dutch had far outmatched the English for the dying of cloth and England finally had to give in and accept the fact.
Each town was its own sovereign, but the different towns worked together to protect its peoples and its land. With this new found solidarity, Amsterdam, with it old world charm and its Venetian water ways were considered the center of this new partnership and its close proximity to the ocean and trade routes. It also meant that the immigration of workers created a population explosion.  Rather than discriminating against the immigrants, The Dutch gave them the menial jobs the Dutch people did not want, and these immigrants worked hard and earned a good living even though the majority lived in what would be considered slums. With plenty of workers the Dutch found their ground and created the Dutch Fleet and focused on fishing as well, thereby securing their place as a leader in commerce and trade in Europe and the Mediterranean.
 
Railroad Station Summary
Before the industrialization, the main source of travel by land was the stagecoach.  The roads and landscape was created by or at least molded partially by the movement of people in stagecoaches and wagons. The stagecoach was normally attached to a specific inn or tavern, from which it got its name, and since it was part of an inn, it was usually located in the center of the city.

With industrialization came the railroad, which was build outside the city limits and seemed almost as a horrible scar on the landscape of the city. As the cities sprawled outward, they eventually incorporated the railway yard.  These areas tended to be more industrialized and commercial, but they were also the areas in which slums were built and the poor lived, hence the saying of being from the wrong side of the tracks.

Architecturally the railway stations were made of steel and glass and stone, one side facing the city while the other side faced the farm land and fields of the countryside. This design feature was really the outgrowth of the increase in railway travel and the need for multiple platforms and many more passengers and trains on a daily basis. Through this two-faced perspective the railway became the gateway of the city, where the city met the countryside, and were the travelers could see both. Also the separation of the waiting rooms in the reception building and the platforms of the train hall created a different kind of gateway that could only be accessed at specific times for specific trains.  As the stations became more modern, the gateway of the reception building and train hall platforms faded away, and only the station, in and of itself, is the gateway in modern rail travel.