At the ball in St. Petersburg, you can see all kinds of appearances: Germans, Swedes, Livonians, Finns, Kalmyks, Tatars, and so on.
Of course, this is not to say that the ladies of St. Petersburg aren't beautiful, but due to the blending of these ethnic bloodlines with the Slavs, the pure original Slav beauty has gradually faded in Russia's capital.
Many people who first come to St. Petersburg have the same doubt as Arthur, wondering with contradictory thoughts in their minds — St. Petersburg might be Russia's capital, but it seems a bit unlikely that St. Petersburg is Russia.
Even Tsar Nicholas I himself admitted, "St. Petersburg is Russian, but it is not Russia."
The ladies of St. Petersburg are indeed beautiful, but they are not beautiful enough to be Russian.
Only at this ball in Moscow today did Arthur finally see the Slavic beauties that he believed should appear.
