Management of UNESCO Sites: the Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and the Historic Centre of Prague

Saint Petersburg and Prague are rapidly developing cities and there is a need to form effective measures to maintain the valuable cultural heritage that they have. This research addresses the analysis of the management of UNESCO Sites in Saint Petersburg and Prague since the 1990s. The results of the research show how managers manage the preservation of cultural heritage, what problems they face. Based on a comprehensive analysis of UNESCO’s activities and authorities, there will be a list of points that need to be developed further, and which problems require additional measures. Many researchers examine the sights included in the UNESCO list, but only a few analyse the management of St. Petersburg and Prague World Heritage Sites. There is a gap and this research is aimed to fill in many aspects: revealing the role of UNESCO in two cities, analyze the functioning the historic centres as UNESCO Sites (exploring opportunities and challenges, identify of UNESCO status effect) and formulate proposals for improving the implementation of the preservation cultural policy. The study was conducted using the following methods and techniques: comparative analysis, policy and history approach, source criticism, and statistical analysis.