Saint Petersburg
Tsar Peter the Great laid the cornerstone of the Peter and Paul Fortress on the 27th of May 1703. He chose Zayachy Island at the mouth of the Neva River to secure a foothold against Swedish forces during the Great Northern War. Conscripted peasants from across Russia built the city under harsh conditions, with tens of thousands dying in the process. The first brick and stone structure rose quickly as the Tsar renamed the captured Swedish fortress Nyenskans into his namesake. By 1712, he moved the capital from Moscow to this new port city, establishing it as the seat of government for the Russian Empire. The Swiss Italian architect Domenico Trezzini designed an early grid plan centered on Vasilyevsky Island, though only parts were completed. Frenchman Jean-Baptiste Alexandre Le Blond became chief architect in 1716, introducing Petrine Baroque styles seen in the Menshikov Palace and Kunstkamera. Peter died at age fifty-two in 1725 after years of modernizing efforts that faced opposition from the nobility. His son attempted to move the capital back to Moscow in 1728, but Empress Anna restored Saint Petersburg as the imperial seat four years later. It remained the home of the Romanov dynasty for another 186 years until the communist revolution of 1917.
The October Revolution of 1917 saw Bolshevik forces led by Vladimir Lenin storm the Winter Palace. This event ended the provisional government and transferred power to the Soviets, marking the rise of the Communist Party. On the 1st of September 1914, during World War I, the Imperial government had already renamed the city Petrograd to remove German-sounding words from its name. After Lenin's death on the 21st of January 1924, the city was officially renamed Leningrad five days later. Streets and public spaces across the metropolis received new names honoring communist figures instead of their historic titles. By 1935, a general plan outlined expansion southward, rejecting Constructivist architecture in favor of Stalinist pomp. The assassination of Sergey Kirov, the Bolshevik leader of Leningrad, occurred on the 1st of December 1934 under suspicious circumstances. This murder became the pretext for the Great Purge, during which approximately 40,000 people were executed within the city limits. In March 1918, Lenin moved the Soviet government back to Moscow to keep it away from the Finnish border. Anti-communist forces attempted to capture the city in mid-1919 but were forced to retreat to Estonia by Leon Trotsky's army. The name Red Petrograd appeared frequently in newspapers until the official renaming to Leningrad took effect in January 1924.
German forces began besieging Leningrad following the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941. The blockade lasted 872 days, stretching from the 8th of September 1941 to the 27th of January 1944. More than one million civilians died during this period, mostly from starvation and exposure. Food supplies reached the city only through the Road of Life across Lake Ladoga when the lake froze. Incidents of cannibalism occurred among desperate residents, with around 2,000 people arrested for eating other humans. Many others escaped or were evacuated, leaving the city largely depopulated as its population dropped from three million to less than 600,000 between 1941 and 1943. Joseph Stalin named Leningrad a Hero City alongside Stalingrad, Sevastopol, and Odesa on the 1st of May 1945. A law acknowledging this honorary title passed on the 8th of May 1965 during the Brezhnev era. The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet awarded the Order of Lenin and Gold Star medal for heroic resistance. The Hero-City Obelisk bearing the Gold Star sign was installed in April 1985. Dmitri Shostakovich wrote his Seventh Symphony while based in the besieged city, premiering it in Samara in March 1942 before performing it locally under conductor Karl Eliasberg.
A city-wide referendum held on the 12th of June 1991 restored the original name Saint Petersburg with 55% of voters supporting the change. Sixty-six percent of total votes went to Anatoly Sobchak, who became the first directly elected mayor of the city. Economic conditions deteriorated immediately after the vote, forcing food rationing for the first time since the 1940s. Humanitarian aid arrived from abroad as the country adapted to major political changes. Real-estate prices inflated greatly by 2006, creating new problems for preserving historical buildings. In 2003, Governor Valentina Matviyenko resigned, leaving office to her successor Georgy Poltavchenko. A power-sharing agreement signed on the 13th of June 1996 granted autonomy but was abolished on the 4th of April 2002. Direct elections for governor were restored following a federal law passed in 2012. Alexander Beglov was appointed acting governor on the 3rd of October 2018 after Poltavchenko's resignation. The Constitutional Court moved to Saint Petersburg from Moscow in May 2008, while plans existed to relocate the Supreme Court there starting in 2014.
The historic center contains Baroque and Neoclassical buildings mostly preserved from the 18th and 19th centuries. UNESCO listed the ensemble as a World Heritage Site in 1991, covering 36 architectural complexes and around 4000 individual monuments. Tall structures are forbidden within the city center, though three skyscrapers were built far away before 2010: Leader Tower at 140 meters, Alexander Nevsky at 124 meters, and Atlantic City at 105 meters. Gazprom announced an ambitious project in 2006 to build the Okhta Center skyscraper opposite the Smolny Cathedral. Critics warned this could disrupt the architectural harmony of the landscape, leading to urgent protests by citizens and public figures. President Dmitry Medvedev intervened in December 2010, prompting authorities to find a new location for the project. Construction began in 2012 on the Lakhta Center site northwest of the city center. Completed in 2019, the tower stands 462.5 meters tall, making it the tallest building in Russia and Europe outside Moscow. The Saint Petersburg Dam was constructed to prevent floods triggered by long waves in the Baltic Sea. Five disastrous floods occurred between 1777 and 1975, destroying hundreds of buildings during high water events.
The Hermitage Museum houses interiors from the former imperial residence alongside vast art collections. Over two hundred museums exist across the city, including the Russian Museum devoted to fine Russian art. The Kunstkamera established in 1714 by Peter the Great collected curiosities from around the world as Russia's first museum. More than eighty theaters operate within the metropolis, with the Mariinsky Theatre hosting the renowned ballet company. Leading dancers like Vaslav Nijinsky, Anna Pavlova, Rudolf Nureyev, and Mikhail Baryshnikov performed principal roles there. The Saint Petersburg Conservatory founded in 1862 by Anton Rubinstein trained composers such as Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Sergei Prokofiev. Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov taught at the conservatory from 1871 until 1905, mentoring Igor Stravinsky and Alexander Glazounov. Dmitri Shostakovich dedicated his Seventh Symphony to the city after writing it during the siege. The Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra became one of the world's most highly regarded ensembles under conductor Yevgeny Mravinsky. Popular music scenes emerged in the 1970s with bands like Aquarium founded by Boris Grebenshchikov in 1972. The White Nights Festival celebrates the natural phenomenon where summer nights do not get completely dark for a month.
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Common questions
When did Tsar Peter the Great lay the cornerstone of Saint Petersburg?
Tsar Peter the Great laid the cornerstone of the Peter and Paul Fortress on the 27th of May 1703. He chose Zayachy Island at the mouth of the Neva River to secure a foothold against Swedish forces during the Great Northern War.
Why was the city renamed from Saint Petersburg to Leningrad?
The city was officially renamed Leningrad five days after Lenin's death on the 21st of January 1924. This change followed the earlier renaming to Petrograd in 1914 to remove German-sounding words, and it honored the communist leader who died that month.
How long did the siege of Leningrad last during World War II?
The blockade lasted 872 days stretching from the 8th of September 1941 to the 27th of January 1944. More than one million civilians died during this period mostly from starvation and exposure while food supplies reached the city only through the Road of Life across Lake Ladoga when the lake froze.
When was the original name Saint Petersburg restored by referendum?
A city-wide referendum held on the 12th of June 1991 restored the original name Saint Petersburg with 55% of voters supporting the change. Sixty-six percent of total votes went to Anatoly Sobchak who became the first directly elected mayor of the city.
What is the height of the Lakhta Center skyscraper completed in 2019?
Completed in 2019 the tower stands 462.5 meters tall making it the tallest building in Russia and Europe outside Moscow. Construction began in 2012 on the Lakhta Center site northwest of the city center after President Dmitry Medvedev intervened in December 2010 regarding a previous project.