The onion dome which frames this image is divided between traditional Russia on the right and a more Enlightened Europe on the left. This is a metaphor for the boundary separating Russia from western influence, a policy maintained by the Romanovs. Peter (ruled 1682-1725) is the central figure in this image. Seated between the two from his "window on the West" vantage point, he serves as a bridge between the two cultures. The Tsar's body language is an important visual cue; when looking westward, Peter gestures that he welcomes military technology and technique, aristocratic manners, as well as science and art. Note that the symbols for these products of western culture are geographically referenced: military techniques from the German area, aristocratic manners from France, art from Italy. Although these cultural influences flow eastward, they are swept into the foreign ghetto, quite separate from the rest of Russian culture. When looking westward, Peter appears as an enlightened despot, smiling paternalistically, dressed in Western styles and without a beard.

His gaze eastward is quite different. He wears the beard and dress of a traditional Orthodox tsar. His facial expression and body language are autocratic and ruthless rather than enlightened. Peasants bow in submission, unaware of western influence. Traditional Russian religious iconography and architectural styles seem untouched by Western modes; only within the ghetto do these influences thrive. To the south, Cossacks keep a watchful eye on the Turks.