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In the last 150 years of the Russian monarchy, the European situation was changing, industrialization was developing rapidly, the civil class was rising, and modern political thoughts were sweeping across countries, all of which posed challenges to the Romanov dynasty. Just as the monarchy was not static, the Winter Palace and its square also played many roles: it was the residence of the royal family, the stage for the display of imperial power, a training ground for craftsmen and architects, a museum of art, and the center of the capital's civic life. Here, the monarch meets the common people, the palace meets the city. Thousands of people came to St. Petersburg from all over the world to become palace builders, building material suppliers, servants, guard soldiers, artists, cultural relics administrators... Together with the royal family, they staged scenes of carefully choreographed monarchy dramas. And in 1917, when the Bolsheviks occupied the Winter Palace, the stage built, managed and performed by the people was ultimately inherited by the people...