Aleksandr Petrosyan, the invisible hero of today's story, is the chronicler of these colorful people. He lives in Saint Petersburg (Peter, as the locals call it), Russia's second-biggest city, and has accumulated quite an impressive archive of the city's unique people.

Aleksandr Petrosyan, the invisible hero of today's story, is the chronicler of these colorful people. He lives in Saint Petersburg (Peter, as the locals call it), Russia's second-biggest city, and has...