From 1703 to 1953, the period when Russia was adapting European science and culture to her changing needs, St. Petersburg became the microcosm of the turbulent nation. Alexander Radischev emerged as a founding figure in the liberal tradition of the Russian intelligentsia. Alexander I, Emperor of Russia, began his life as a liberal visionary and ended it as an impassioned champion of the autocratic principle. Under Alexander II, the Trans-Siberian Railway was begun. It is suggested that the abortive revolution of 1905 was the necessary prologue to the successful revolution of 1917. These themes and others are explored.