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Although gambling was a prominent, not to say infamous, feature of nineteenth-century literary depictions of elite social life, the study of how the social and cultural relevance of certain games developed in the earlier period has been relatively neglected. This article examines the emergence of card-playing as a form of entertainment at the court and amongst the urban elite during the watershed period of the early to mid-eighteenth century as part of a broader engagement with European forms and fashions, catalysed by the reign of Peter I (1689–1725). The emphasis was essentially on the sociable nature of cards, but it was an activity fraught with potential risks for more ‘committed’ players. The Russian state’s role in restricting the potential excesses of any gambling, particularly (but not exclusively) amongst non-elite social groups, reflects the wider European concern about the financial and moral dangers of challenging Fate. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The Summer Gardens in St Petersburg are considered symbolic of Peter I's 'Europeanizing' aims for his 'new' city. While their physical appearance naturally displays the influence and input of foreign personnel, the gardens' role as a social space for the ruler, the court and other privileged groups sheds light on another area of comparison with contemporary European practice. This article examines the social function of the Summer Gardens in the understudied period between Peter I and Catherine II and the access granted to social groups beyond the court elite in the 1750s, albeit with firm restrictions still in place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]