Dueling Capitals

There are practically no examples of Russian urban folklore that contain the names of both Moscow and St. Petersburg without emphasizing their opposition. Moscow’s mercantile arrogance, kneaded on centuries of traditions and grandfathered principles, is counterposed with the aristocratic maximalism of a neophyte, destroying stereotypes with aplomb.

Barely one hundred years after Petersburg was founded, Vladimir Dal recorded the following proverb: Москва создана веками, Питер миллионами. (Moscow was created by centuries, Piter by millions.) Later, this proverb was transformed into Питер строился рублями, Москва – веками. (Piter was built with rubles, Moscow over centuries.) Another proverb speaks of the same controversy in even bolder terms: Москва выросла, Петербург выращен. (Moscow grew, Petersburg was grown.)

Moscow could not forgive the young parvenu who sprung from the marshes so suddenly and was now claiming leadership. In the middle of the 19th century, 150 years after Petersburg was founded, Muscovites still cherished secret hopes that Petersburg “was destined to end its days by sinking back into the Finnish swamps” (Петербургу суждено окончить свои дни, уйдя в финское болото). Slavophiles, one of the two major voices of 19th century Russian philosophy, proclaimed the following war-cry: Да здравствует Москва и да погибнет Петербург! (Long live Moscow and let Petersburg die!)

For their part, Petersburgers called Moscow большая деревня (a big village); its residents were christened пролетарии (proles). Muscovites responded by laughing: “Что за петербуржство?,” (“What sort of Peterbourgeois-ism is that?”), and added the insulting aристократы, (aristocrats).

Dandyish, active, aristocratic Petersburg, arrayed in a gorgeous tail-coat or a dazzling military uniform, is portrayed as the masculine, while decorous and thorough merchant Moscow is female. When, in 1712, Peter married Catherine in Petersburg, a proverb was born: Питер женится, Москву замуж берёт (Piter gets married, Moscow is taken as a wife). In Russian there are two verbs for marriage: выходить (идти) замуж is used for women and жениться (брать кого-то в жёны) for men. In one hundred years time, Vladimir Dal precised: “Питер женится, Москва замуж идёт.” Moscow is no longer “taken” as a wife; it gets married voluntarily.

In the 19th century, Petersburg was in fact a largely male-dominated city, inhabited by bureaucrats, officers, university and cadet college students, factory workers. Over two thirds of Petersburg’s population was male. Even though by the 1970s this difference between Moscow and Petersburg had long vanished, the proverb still resonated: “В Ленинграде женихи, в Москве невесты.” (“Leningrad has grooms, Moscow has brides.”) The proverb spoke probably not of a quantitative, but of a qualitative difference. Young men from Leningrad were highly valued as partners for their education and good manners, while Moscow’s beauties were praised for their thriftiness.

A popular joke, obviously born in Petersburg, speaks of other alleged qualities of Petersburg’s men and Moscow’s women. A woman gets on a tram. A young man gets up from his seat and lets the lady have it. “Are you from Leningrad?” asks the woman. “Yes, I am. But how did you know?” the man replies. “A Muscovite would not let me have his seat,” she replied. “Are you from Moscow?” the young man asked. “Yes,” she said, “but how did you know?” “You did not say ‘thank you.’”

When, in the 1930s, Moscow was again ascendant over Petersburg, new proverbs came to the fore, emphasizing the northern city’s dependence on the capital: В Москве чихнут, в Ленинграде аспирин принимают. (When they sneeze in Moscow, in Leningrad they take aspirin.) Or: В Москве играют, в Ленинграде пляшут. (In Moscow they play music, in Leningrad they dance [to Moscow’s tune].)

The situation started changing again in the middle of the 1990s. Petersburg started being perceived as not yet the capital, but still not quite Russia’s “second city.” The media spoke increasingly of the “two capitals.” The following joke (a weather forecast) spoke of Petersburg’s reemerging self-respect and independence: Завтра в Москве ожидается один градус. В Петербурге – совершенно другой. (Tomorrow it will be one degree in Moscow. In Petersburg it will be something completely different.)

Today, various jokes speak of Moscow’s newly acquired riches and persistent ignorance, as opposed to Petersburg’s higher culture and lower incomes: A москаль (pejorative for Muscovite) comes to Petersburg. A Petersburger asks him a question: “Tell me, do you have palaces and park ensembles in Moscow?” “What do you mean, palaces and parks?” “Well, we’ve got Petergof, Oranienbaum, Tsarskoye Selo, Pavlovsk, Gatchina. What about you?” The Muscovite thinks for a long time and then says with uncertainty: “Barvikha!” [The location for Kremlin leaders’ dachas.]

Today, richer and quicker Muscovites come to Petersburg to do business, while slower and poorer Petersburgers often move to Moscow to seek higher salaries than the city on the Neva can offer. In this respect, natives of the two capitals have become colleagues. But deep in their souls they are bound by stronger and more complex, almost familial ties. The stormy relationship is perhaps best summed up by the following joke: “Who are москали to Petersburgers – brothers or friends?” “Brothers, of course. You choose your friends!”