The ice palace in St. Petersburg, commissioned by Tsarina Anna Ivanova in 1740 to celebrate the victory over the Turks, was constructed during one of the coldest winters in Europe. The cold became a means with which autocratic rule could be legitimized and power represented. The winter, and even the climate in general, underwent a metamorphosis from being a virtually insurmountable danger to a risk that could be brought under control. Ultimately, however, it was precisely the transitory nature of ice that undermined a successful and lasting presentation of power.
DOI: doi.org/10.5282/rcc/6143