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A symposium will help mark significant anniversaries celebrated this year by the Florida and Russian cities.
By WAVENEY ANN MOORE, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published March 2, 2003
ST. PETERSBURG -- A three-day symposium to celebrate Florida's St. Petersburg and St. Petersburg, Russia, will begin tonight at Eckerd College.
The sessions will present parallel historical events in the two cities, and include a film and discussions. The event is an important acknowledgement of the special relationship between the two cities, said Bill Parsons, professor of history and Russian studies at Eckerd College.
"We have had contacts in the past, and that will be one of the things emphasized," he said.
The two cities are celebrating anniversaries this year. Florida's St. Petersburg will mark its incorporation 100 years ago. The Russian city will celebrate the 300th anniversary of its founding by Russian Czar Peter the Great. Mayor Rick Baker will visit St. Petersburg, Russia, for its celebration.
The program for this week is as follows:
"Tocobagan Florida: The Final Years," 7 tonight, by Ray Arsenault, the John Hope Franklin professor of Southern history at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg; "St. Petersburg, Russia: The Early Years," 8 tonight, by James Cracraft, University of Illinois at Chicago. Both sessions will be held in the Dendy-McNair auditorium, Eckerd College, 4200 54th Ave. S.
"Florida in the Napoleonic Age," noon, Monday , by Jane Landers, Vanderbilt University; "Tchaikovsky and Tolstoy Interpret the Napoleonic Age in Russia," 1 p.m., by Bill Parsons; Downtown Walking Tour, including a visit at the St. Petersburg Museum of History, 3:30 p.m. Tour begins at the entrance to Demens Landing. $5. "The 'City' by the Bay: St. Petersburg, Florida, in the Early 20th Century," 7 p.m., by Ray Arsenault. All talks will be held at the USF/Florida Marine Research Institute auditorium, 140 Seventh Avenue S, St. Petersburg.
A luncheon will be held in the Flamingo Room of the Continuing Education Center at Eckerd College, noon, Tuesday . $15. Call (727) 864-8231 by noon Sunday
"Last Glory Days: St. Petersburg, Russia, in the Silver Age, 1896-1914," Suzanne Massie, author of Land of the Firebird and Pavlovsk, 1:30 p.m. Tuesday; The Nine Hundred Days, Film and discussion on Leningrad in World War II, 3:30 p.m. Discussion led by Demyan Belyaev, graduate student from St. Petersburg, Russia, now studying at Harvard University, 3:30 p.m. Both sessions will be held in the Dendy-McNair auditorium, Eckerd College.
"The Two St. Petersburgs: 2003," a panel discussion. Panelists will include Mayor Rick Baker, Bill Parsons, Ray Arsenault and Suzanne Massie. Poet Peter Meinke will read his two anniversary poems.
The symposium is open to the public. It is being sponsored by Eckerd College, the University of South Florida St. Petersburg, Russian Heritage and the Florida Humanities Council.