Before you is the history of St. Petersburg as reflected in urban folklore. The story is in some sense “parallel” to the official one. Of course, the emphasis is placed differently. Sometimes events that are not so important for the fate of the city, but are clearly imprinted in the consciousness and memory of its inhabitants, are brought to the fore... The legends, traditions and historical anecdotes set out in the book are an integral part of the history of the city on the Neva. The stories collected are not only real, but also fictional. Moreover, sometimes, due to the whimsical nature of the narrative, it is difficult to even understand where the border lies between historical reality, legend and the author’s version of events. The number of legends and traditions preserved in the memory of St. Petersburg residents is already amazing today. It seems that there is no fact in the history of the city that would not be reflected in folklore. And if we take into account that the density of events occurring on each calendar date in St. Petersburg continues to remain incredibly high, then we can say with confidence that the parallel history that St. Petersburg urban folklore writes will last as long as the city of Petrov has stood on earth. We can only listen carefully to his voice, scrutinize his texts and carefully read his ratings and comments.