More history, yay! History of Sennaya Ploshad

In Russia, there is a street that is very, very famous called Sennaya Ploshad, literally translating to dried grass (a.k.a. hay). For those who remember Bruce and the Bruces, there were four rivers that St. Petersburg was built on, and each of these rivers acted as a dividing line between the classes: the tsars, the noblemen, the merchants, and the poor.

Sennaya Ploshad was the division between the merchants and the poor, as well as the stomping grounds of Dostoevsky for its unique social make-up. This street was the stomping grounds of both the criminal and common classes, with pickpockets and prostitutes cozying up to common people looking for cheaper prices on the market.

The street was famous for its rampant crime, and in fact, there was a "mystical" building that was claimed to be the door to another world, because people would walk into the building and (if I understood my host mother correctly) would never walk out. Dead people were found there, and it was part of what made the area so famous.

On a much less depressing note...

Paris once gave Saint Petersburg glass columns with all the countries of the world as a gift, and they placed them in the square of Sennaya Ploshad. Unfortunately, these columns were more made for Paris and less for Saint Petersburg, and with all the traffic, they started falling and breaking. Soon, the glass columns became a safety hazard, and Paris took them back.

A brilliant demonstration:

At first, the French are all like,

Because apparently, I have a ridiculous fondness for illustrating things with pictures.

 And then, the glass columns are all like,

The first ever Glass Monster, courtesy of Google Images and Paint.

 So then, the French are all like,

And that's how I see history.