When Kevin first visited St Petersburg in 1993, St. Petersburg was caught between the ruins of the Soviet system and the chaos of a new capitalism. Perestroika had opened the door to freedom—but also to lawlessness and gunfire after dark was not unusual. For a visitor, the city felt raw and unpredictable—magnificent by day, dangerous by night—a place where beauty and decay walked arm in arm through the snow. And it is here that Kevin went to visit his friend from Yevgenny Neff, a principal with the legendary Maryinski Ballet. “It was dangerous and intoxicating both at the same time. A unique opportunity to see history in the making and reacquaint with friends from the ballet.”

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