The Semi-Peripherality Discourse and Water Infrastructure in St. Petersburg/Leningrad (1864-1927)

Abstract

The article deals with the discourse of semi-peripherality, which had a significant impact on the urban culture of St. Petersburg-Petrograd-Leningrad generally and on the construction of urban infrastructure, such as the sewerage system, in particular. Prior to the revolution, the sewerage project had been discussed for more than forty years, but construction was not completed until the rule of Stalin. The notion of semi-periphery complements the well-known term of backwardness, and also contributes to the discussion of the “centre-periphery” dichotomy in the history of urban infrastructure in Eastern Europe.