According to Orlando Figes in Natasha’s Dance, it was so for the revolution that Saint Petersburg was a city to work in and Moscow a city to live in. Peter the Great founded the famous window to the West, and the western influence was clearly felt. But it was also a formal city, with an unfavourable climate. Although it was a new city, Saint Petersburg soon became the subject of legends and ghost stories, such as De Bronzen Ruiter (Pushkin) and De Petersburg’s Verhalen (Gogol).

Moscow was much more provincial and had more eastern influences. The Muscovites were further removed from the Tsar and consequently more anarchist than the inhabitants of St. Petersburg. They did not give themselves over to Napoleon in 1812; they left the city empty and burnt down for Napoleon, who was forced to turn around soon because his troops would not survive the harsh Russian winter in an uninhabited and unstressed city. When the Muscovites returned, they rebuilt their city as ants ( War and Peace ). In Russian style, with wooden houses and ornaments.

Anna Karenina is largely based on three different locations: Moscow, St. Petersburg and the countryside. For now, I focus on the first two, and I try to find out to what extent Tolstoy used the cities to emphasize the character of his protagonists.

Anna

Although Anna’s childhood remains rather mysterious, we may assume that she is originally from Moscow, just like her brother Oblonski. When we get to know her she is married to a respected politician from St. Petersburg and she moves in the highest circles there. She comes to Moscow to save her brother’s marriage. The local beauties are rather provincial against her beautiful appearance and modern clothing. It soon becomes clear that her life is not as perfect as it seems, and in Moscow, she realizes that she hates her life in Petersburg: it seems so distant and cold compared to the warmth she feels in Moscow.

Wronski

It is not surprising then that she falls madly in love with Wronski: just like Anna he probably originates from Moscow, and now he lives in St. Petersburg, where he makes a brilliant career as an officer. When he is in Moscow, he also feels the difference between the cities: in Moscow, the girls are sweet and innocent, and social life in Moscow is much warmer. He gets carried away and although he lived in a man’s world in St. Petersburg, he is now looking for the company of ladies. He falls in love with Kitty first, but when he meets Anna, who is so completely different in Moscow, he is lost.

Oblonski and Karenin

Oblonski and Karenin are opposing characters from Moscow and St. Petersburg, respectively. Oblonski is a real bon-vivant, exuberant, does not work too hard and loves everything that makes life fun. Karenin works very hard lives according to religious rules and does not go public any more than at least is expected of him. Although Oblonski is a real Muscovite, he retains its radiant character as in St. Petersburg, Karenin is much less at ease in Moscow. Oblonski has friends everywhere, but Karenin’s “best friends” are his secretary and his doctor.

Lewin and Kitty

Tolstoy emphasizes that both Lewin and Kitty come from old, noble Moscow families. And although Lewin prefers his estate, he is strongly connected to Moscow. All important events in the lives of Lewin and Kitty take place in Moscow: their skating, both marriage requests, their wedding in the beautifully lit church, and the birth of their first son.

However, Moscow is Saint Petersburg

And so in Anna Karenina, we get the feeling that real life is happening in Moscow, and that life in St. Petersburg is unreal. If Anna had stayed in Moscow, instead of marrying a Petersburg politician, she might have been happy.

“She undressed and entered the bedroom, but the liveliness, which, when she was in Moscow, so unstoppable in her smile and in her eyes sprang up, was now gone. It even seemed as if the fire had been extinguished in her or hidden deep inside her. “

© Elisabeth van der Meer

Photos: old illustrations from Anna Karenina

Books: Anna Karenina (Tolstoy, translated by Wils Huisman) and Natasha’s Dance (Orlando Figes)