Cracks in the Granite

Abstract

This article explores the 1824 flood in St. Petersburg by focusing on the state response to the flood that presented it as a tragic and natural outcome of constructing a city in a harsh environment. Paternal care elicited support for the regime. However, conquest of nature was central to the autocratic authority and the flood challenged that authority. Granite embankments were the primary symbol of power over nature, yet they failed to stop rising waters in 1824. Engineers offered modern solutions to replace embankments, but granite was essential to the architectural facade even as the population lost faith in granite’s ability to protect the city. The urban and environmental perspective demonstrates the limits of autocratic authority. Tarnished by the flood, the state solicited modern solutions that remained unfulfilled. Ultimately, cost and alteration of the imperial façade proved too much of a price to bear to prevent flood.