Today my classmate gave a presentation on St. Petersburg and psychological movements of the time period such as Romanticism and Realism. The aspect of the presentation that gave me the most insight into the novel, Crime and Punishment, was the information on St. Petersburg. After the death of Tzar Nicholas I, St. Petersburg morphed from its previous militaristic state under the reign of Tzar Alexander II. He moved away from the militaristic society and abolished serfdom. This resulted in many peasants flooding the cities in search of better job opportunities. This major shift of immigration resulted in immense poverty in the cities. Tenement houses were the main style of housing that allowed for large amounts of people to live in very tight
