I'm going on the RS Baltic tour (Estonia, Finland & Russia) in late June/early July. Can anyone suggest reading material, preferably fiction, that will enhance my trip?? I still have a few weeks before departure.
I read this novel, "The Siege," years ago but found myself thinking about it several times while in St. Petersburg. It follows a young woman and her family through the siege of Leningrad. http://www.amazon.com/Siege-Novel-Helen-Dunmore/dp/0802139582
Not reading material, but there's a magnificent public television documentary from the mid-90s that explores the development of the Hermitage museum alongside that of the city of St. Petersburg. It's wonderful and gives a lot of background, especially about Peter the Great and Catherine the Great.
You can stream it from archive.org. There are three episodes, but I think only the first two are available. Here are the links:
https://archive.org/details/ALustForArt
https://archive.org/details/TyrantsAndHeroes
~C
The Hermitage video is spectacular ! What a shame that they don't provide the final ( third ) segment . It is undoubtably seminal to understanding Russia in the twentieth century !
Thank you for your suggestions. I will look for The Siege at my library today.