The White Night Of St Petersburg

His swift banishment to the far reaches of the vast Russian empire changes his life forever; he'll never have a home again and is moved about the realm like a pawn to prevent his tarnishing of the family name."--Jacket.

Russia is a hot topic these days. Did they or didn't interfere in our elections in 2016? I won't answer that in my book, but, what I will do is give the reader the tools, even the skills, to make that decision for themselves. I have been living and working in Russia since 1994. This book is like a crash course on Russia and what makes Russia do what Russia does. The story does not unfold in a strict flow of time--it is my life and my thoughts and they appear here as they were needed to help me to better understand my "Russian journey," to answer the questions--what is Russia and why am I here?After graduating from high school in 1985, I learned Russian at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California and became a Russian linguist. In 1990. as a 22-year old student at Rutgers University, I was rambunctious and determined to change the world. Instead, I ended up in Leningrad--the Northern Capital of the Soviet Union. It was love at first site. Shortly after the failed coup in Moscow in August 1991, I returned and began my "life" in a Soviet-Russian context. I left again for graduate school at The School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University. With a Master's in my hands, I was filled with the best intentions returning to help the struggling country survive the very difficult period of transition. Grants from the World Bank, Echoing Green and other funds fueled my vision and sure, my "two-cents" might have helped a bit; often it seems, though, that Russia was more helpful in my own survival. Having learned to think, feel, live and express myself in a post-Soviet world that was at times harsh and unforgiving, my 29 years in Russia have never been ones void of adventure.Despite having built major companies and leading brands in the post-Soviet space, I never set out to make lots of money like so many before and after me. My journey has been a love affair with a city that lured me to it since I was as young as ten. Those whispers of history called and called. Today, I am 53 years old and each day surviving Russia has been as unique as that first overcast evening at the Finnish border on June 15, 1990. There always seems to be a backdrop for everything in the country that just somehow makes you stop, take notice and say--Whoa, cool. I have survived three divorces, the death of both parents, grandmothers, the death of a brother and even the loss of a prematurely born child. I had a café called "The Brooklyn Bridge" practically stolen from me by the mafia and my own employees; and yet, here I am still trying to make the city a bit better, a bit more livable. My story is not a political one, however, but one about normal Russians who have crossed my path over the past 29 years. This story also does not delve into my professional accomplishments of the past 15 years (since 2005) despite the "amazing" level some of them have risen to. One thing that was of particular significance for me professionally, however, was the creation of Russia House in Davos during the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting (2016-2018). Russia was officially avoiding Davos and I kept the country present on this world stage by launching "my" version of Russia. "White Nights and Dark Days" has helped me answer the question so many Americans have asked since I first set out for Russia in 1994--"what the hell are you doing in Russia?" I have asked myself this same question countless times --it seems that I might have actually stumbled an answer. If you like to explore other cultures then this book is for you. If you want to learn how to succeed professionally in a foreign culture, give this a read. If you want to take a peak into a journey through a place and a time that few have written about, then "White Nights and Dark Days: A Conversation with St. Petersburg, Russia" is for you.This is a book about survival, about never giving up. It is a book about love.

The bittersweet nature of the tale and its insights into the human heart render it a deeply poignant and unforgettable work of literature. Includes the short story "The Dream of a Ridiculous Man" and a detailed biographical timeline.

In the stories in this volume, Dostoevsky explores both the figure of the dreamer divorced from reality and also his own ambiguous attitude to utopianism, themes central to many of his great novels.

Set in a fascinating alternative world in which ghosts are real, the United States never came into existence and Russia is still ruled by the Romanovs, this sequel to Of Tangible Ghosts and The Ghost of the Revelator continues the adventures of semi-retired spy Dr. Johan Eschbach. His lovely wife Llysette du Boise, a refugee from the burning remains of France and a world-famous novelist, has been invited to provide a command performance for the Russian Imperial household. Johan accompanies her, allowing him to work on the oil concession in Russian Alaska that Columbia so desperately needs and do some spying on the side. Johan's espionage is carried out against the backdrop of the famous white nights of St. Petersburg, the nearly Arctic midsummer when the sun barely dips below the horizon and the sky seems to dissolve in ivory light. But even the oil shortage will fade to insignificance when Johan discovers what new weapons technology the Russians are developing, a threat even more fearsome than the atomic bombs of Austro-Hungary. Working in the tradition of Gordon R. Dickson and Poul Anderson for hard-edged adventure with sophisticated social and political dimensions, Modesitt provides a unique blend of speculation and intrigue that brings the trilogy to a rousing end.

Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky (1821 – 1881), sometimes transliterated Dostoevsky, was a Russian novelist, short story writer, and essayist. Dostoyevsky's literary works explore human psychology in the troubled political, social and spiritual context of 19th-century Russia. This translation by Constance Garnett from the original Russian is widely regarded as a reference. Garnett translated seventy volumes of Russian prose for publication, including all of Dostoyevsky's novels. Dostoyevsky's works of fiction include 17 short stories, in this edition we present 7 stories, including two of his 2 most famous works "White Nights" and "Notes From the Underground": WHITE NIGHTS, NOTES FROM UNDERGROUND, A FAINT HEART, A CHRISTMAS TREE AND A WEDDING, POLZUNKOV, A LITTLE HERO and MR. PROHARTCHIN.