Editing Russian Ark (section)

== Plot ==
On a winter's day, a small party of men and women arrive by horse-drawn carriage to a minor side entrance of the Winter Palace, dressed in the style of the early 19th century to attend a ball hosted by the [[Alexander I of Russia|Emperor Alexander I]]. The narrator (whose [[Perspective (graphical)|point of view]] is always in first-person) meets another spectral but visible outsider, "the European", and follows him through numerous rooms of the palace. "The European", a 19th-century French diplomat who appears to be the [[Marquis de Custine]], has nothing but contempt for Russians; he tells the narrator that they are unable to create or appreciate beauty as "Europeans" do, as demonstrated by the European treasures around him. Each room manifests a different period of Russian history, although the periods are not in chronological order.

Featured are [[Peter the Great]] harassing and striking one of his generals; a spectacular presentation of operas and plays in the era of [[Catherine the Great]]; an imperial audience in which [[Nicholas I of Russia|Tsar Nicholas I]] is offered a formal apology by [[Fath-Ali Shah Qajar|the Shah of Persia]], represented by his grandson [[Khosrow Mirza]], for the death of ambassador [[Alexander Griboyedov]] in 1829; the idyllic family life of [[Nicholas II of Russia|Tsar Nicholas II]]'s [[Nicholas II of Russia#Children|children]]; the ceremonial changing of the various regiments of [[Russian Imperial Guard|the Imperial Guard]]; contemporary tourists visiting the palace; the museum's [[Joseph Orbeli|director]] whispering the need to make repairs during the rule of [[Joseph Stalin]]; and a desperate [[Saint Petersburg|Leningrad]]er making his own coffin during the [[Siege of Leningrad|900-day siege]] of the city during [[World War II]].

A grand ball follows, held in the [[Neva Enfilade of the Winter Palace#The Nicholas Hall|Nicholas Hall]], with many of the participants in spectacular period costume and a full orchestra conducted by [[Valery Gergiev]] featuring music by [[Mikhail Glinka]], then a long final exit with a crowd down [[Jordan Staircase of the Winter Palace|the grand staircase]]. The European tells the narrator that he belongs here, in the world of [[Romanov Tercentenary|1913]] where everything is still beautiful and elegant, and does not want to go any further. The narrator then walks backwards out the hallway and sees many people from different time periods exiting the building together. As he watches them, the narrator quietly departs the procession, leaves the building through a side door and looks out upon the [[Neva|River Neva]].