It tells about the first attempt to build capitalism in Russia. Time of action - the last three reigns: Alexander II, Alexander III, Nicholas II. Place - St. Petersburg. Then in the capital of Russia there was a situation similar to the current Moscow one: St. Petersburg was a city of visitors. But a century ago, Russian cities were replenished not by migrants from Central Asia and the Caucasus, but by Russian village men. What mechanisms helped or prevented the processing of peasants into metropolitan residents? How was the urban way of life perceived by the villagers? How did men become merchants? How did the merchants go to the "oligarchs"? The book is devoted to these issues.