Saint Petersburg

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Saint Petersburg (English) Санкт-Петербург (Russian)
The English Embankment with Saint Isaac's Cathedral
Location of Saint Petersburg in Europe
Coordinates 59°56′N 30°20′E / 59.933, 30.333Coordinates: 59°56′N 30°20′E / 59.933, 30.333
Coat of Arms	Flag
City Day: May 27
Political status Federal district Economic region	Federal city Northwestern Northwestern
Code	78
Area
Area	606 km² (234 sq mi)
Population (as of the 2002 Census)
Population - Rank - Density	4,661,219 inhabitants 2nd 7,691.8/km² (19,921.7/sq mi)
Government
Head	Valentina Matviyenko (UR)
Legislative body	Legislative Assembly
Charter	Charter of Saint Petersburg
Events
Founded	May 27, 1703
Became the capital of Russia	May 8, 1713
Renamed Petrograd	August 31, 1914
Capital moved back to Moscow	1918
Renamed Leningrad	January 26, 1924
Renamed St. Petersburg	September 6, 1991
Other information
Postal code	190000–199406
Dialing code	+7 812
Official website
http://eng.gov.spb.ru/ http://www.st-petersburg.ru/en/

Saint Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг (help·info), tr.: Sankt-Peterburg, IPA: [sankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk]) is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the east end of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. St. Petersburg's informal name, Piter (Пи́тер), is based on truncated by people difficult German speech old city name Питер-Бурх.^{[citation needed]} The city's other names were Sankt-Piter-Burh (Са́нкт-Питер-Бу́рх, 1703), Petrograd (Петрогра́д, 1914–1924) and Leningrad (Ленингра́д, 1924–1991).^[1]

Founded by Tsar Peter the Great on May 27, 1703, it was the capital of the Russian Empire for more than two hundred years (1713-1728, 1732-1918). St. Petersburg ceased being the capital in 1918 after the Russian Revolution of 1917.^[2] It is Russia's second largest and Europe's fourth largest city (by city limit) after Moscow, London and Paris. At latitude 59°56′N, Saint Petersburg is the world's largest city north of Moscow (55°45′N). 4.6 million people live in the city, and over 6 million people live in the city's vicinity. Saint Petersburg is a major European cultural center, and important Russian port on the Baltic Sea. The city, as federal subject, has a total area of 1,439 square kilometres (556 sq mi).

St. Petersburg is often argued to have the image of being the most Western European styled city of Russia.^[3] Among cities of the world with over one million people, Saint Petersburg is the northernmost. The Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments constitute a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Russia's political and cultural center for 200 years, the city is impressive, and is sometimes referred to in Russia as "the Northern Capital" (северная столица, severnaya stolitsa). A large number of foreign consulates are located in Saint Petersburg. The Constitutional Court of Russia will move to Saint Petersburg from Moscow in May 2008.

Contents 1 History 2 Geography 2.1 Climate 3 Demographics 4 Government 5 Crime 6 Economy 7 Transportation 8 Built environment and landmarks 8.1 Canals and Bridges 8.2 Palaces of the Tsars 8.3 Cathedrals and temples 8.4 Museums and popular sites 8.5 Monuments and sculptures 8.6 Suburban parks and palaces 9 Culture 9.1 Music 9.2 Movies 9.3 Literature 9.4 Sports 9.5 Notable people 9.6 Honors 10 Education and science 11 Sister cities 12 Gallery 13 See also 14 Sources 15 References 16 Further reading 17 External links

[edit] History

Main article: History of Saint Petersburg

On May 1, 1703 Peter the Great took the Swedish fortress of Nyenskans and the city Nyen on the Neva river. On May 27, 1703 (May 16, Old Style) he founded Saint Petersburg after reconquering the Ingrian land from Sweden in the Great Northern War. He named the city after his patron saint, the apostle Saint Peter. The original name Sankt Pieterburg (pronounced Sankt Piterburh) was borrowed from Dutch (Modern Dutch Sint-Petersburg).^[4]

The new city's first building was the Peter and Paul Fortress, it originally also bore the name of Sankt Pieterburg. It was laid down on Zaiachiy (Hare's) Island, just off the right bank of the Neva, three miles (5 km) inland from the gulf. The marshland was drained and the city spread outward from the fortress under the supervision of German and Dutch engineers whom Peter had invited to Russia.^[5] Substantial immigration of educated professionals eventually turned St. Petersburg into a much more cosmopolitan city than Moscow and the rest of Russia. Peter's efforts to push for modernization in Moscow and the rest of Russia were completely misunderstood by the old-fashioned Russian nobility and eventually failed. This resulted in considerable opposition, including several attempts on his life and a treason case involving his own son.^[6]

Peter moved the capital from Moscow to St. Petersburg in 1712, nine years before the Treaty of Nystad. In 1728 Peter II of Russia moved the capital back to Moscow. But four years later, in 1732, St. Petersburg again became the capital of Russia and remained the seat of the government for about two centuries.

Peter's daughter, Empress Elizabeth, reigned from 1740 to 1762. She supported the Russian Academy of Sciences and completed both the Winter Palace and the Summer Palace, which then became residencies of Empress Catherine the Great, who reigned for 34 years, from 1762 to 1796. Under her rule, which exemplified that of an enlightened despot, more palaces were built in St. Petersburg than in any other capital in the world.^[7]

The son of Tsar Nicholas I, Tsar Alexander II, implemented the most challenging reforms^[8] undertaken in Russia since the reign of Peter the Great. The emancipation of the serfs (1861) caused the influx of large numbers of poor into the capital. Tenements were erected on the outskirts, and nascent industry sprang up, surpassing Moscow in population and industrial growth. By 1900, St. Petersburg had grown into one of the largest industrial hubs in Europe, an important international center of power, business and politics, and the 4th largest city in Europe.

Tsar Alexander II was killed by suicide bomber Ignacy Hryniewiecki in 1881, in a plot with connections to the family of Lenin and other revolutionaries. The Revolution of 1905 initiated here and spread rapidly into the provinces. During World War I, the name Sankt Peterburg was seen to be too German, so the city was renamed Petrograd.^[9] 1917 saw next stages of the Russian Revolution,^[10] and re-emergence of the Communist party led by Lenin, who declared "All power to the Soviets!"^[11]

The city's proximity to anti-Soviet armies forced communist leader Vladimir Lenin to move his government to Moscow on March 5, 1918. The move was disguised as temporary, but Moscow has remained the capital ever since. On January 24, 1924, three days after Lenin's death, Petrograd was renamed Leningrad. The Communist party's reason for renaming the city again was that Lenin had led the revolution.

St. Petersburg was devastated by Lenin's Red Terror^[12] then by Stalin's Great Purge^[13] in addition to crime and vandalism in the series of revolutions and wars. Between 1917 and the 1930s, about two million people fled the city, including hundreds of thousands of intellectuals and aristocracy, who emigrated to Europe and America. At the same time many political, social and paramilitary groups had followed the communist government in their move to Moscow, as the benefits of capital status had left the city. In 1931 Leningrad administratively separated from Leningrad Oblast.

During World War II, Leningrad was surrounded and besieged by the German Wehrmacht from September 8, 1941 to January 27, 1944. By Hitler's order the Wehrmacht constantly shelled and bombed the city and systematically isolated it from any supplies, causing death of more than 1 million civilians in 3 years; 1942 alone saw 650,000 people die.^[14]

As a result of the Nazi siege, about 1.2 million of 3 million Leningrad civilians lost their lives because of bombardment, starvation, infections and stress. Hundreds of thousands of unregistered civilians, who lived in Leningrad prior to WWII, had perished in the Nazi siege without any record at all. About 1 million civilians escaped with evacuation, mainly by foot. After two years of the siege, Leningrad became an empty "ghost-city" with thousands of ruined and abandoned homes.

For the heroic resistance of the city and tenacity of the survivors of the Siege, Leningrad was the first city in the former USSR to be awarded the title Hero City in 1945. Some performance and cinema theatres were opened for public by the middle of 1946, and in May of 1947 the famous fountains of the Peterhof park were re-constructed from ruins and opened for public again. The war damaged the city and killed many old Petersburgers who had not fled after the revolution and did not perish in the mass purges before the war. Leningrad and many of its suburbs were rebuilt over the post-war decades, partially according to the pre-war plans. In 1950 the Kirov Stadium was opened and soon set a record when 110,000 fans attended a football match.

The Leningrad Metro, which was designed before the war in the 1930s, was finally completed and opened in 1955 with its first seven stations decorated with marble and bronze. Population of Leningrad with suburbs had increased rapidly in the 10 post-war years from under 0.8 million to about 4 million.

During the late 1940s and 1950s, the entire political and cultural elite of Leningrad suffered from more harsh repressions under dictatorship of Stalin,^[15] hundreds were executed and thousands were imprisoned in repressions known as the Leningrad Affair.^[16] Independent thinkers, writers, artists and other intellectuals were attacked, magazines "Zvezda" and "Leningrad" were banned, Akhmatova and Zoshchenko were repressed,^[17] and tens of thousands Leningraders were exiled to Siberia.

On June 12, 1991, the day of the first Russian presidential election, in a referendum 54% of voters chose to restore the name "Saint Petersburg" (change later occurring on September 6, 1991). In the same election Anatoly Sobchak became the first democratically elected mayor of the city.^[18] Leningrad Oblast retained its name after a popular vote. It is a separate federal subject of Russia of which the city of St. Petersburg is the capital.

In 1996, Vladimir Yakovlev was elected the head of the Saint Petersburg City Administration, and changed his title from "mayor" to "governor." In 2003, Yakovlev resigned a year before his second term expired. Valentina Matviyenko was elected governor. In 2006 she was reapproved as governor by the city legislature. The Constitutional Court of Russia is scheduled to move to the former Senate and Synod buildings at the Decembrists Square in St. Petersburg by 2008. The move will partially restore Saint Petersburg's historic status, making the city the second judicial capital.

[edit] Geography

Main article: Geography of Saint Petersburg

The area of Saint Petersburg city proper is 605.8 km² (233.9 sq mi). The area of the federal subject is 1,439 km² (556 sq mi), which contains the Saint Petersburg proper, and suburban towns (a.o. Kolpino, Krasnoye Selo, Kronstadt, Lomonosov, Pavlovsk, Peterhof, Pushkin, Sestroretsk and Zelenogorsk), all together over 20 municipalities and rural localities.

Saint Petersburg is situated on the middle taiga lowlands along the shores of the Neva Bay of the Gulf of Finland, and islands of the river delta. The largest are Vasilyevsky island (besides the artificial island between Obvodny canal and Fontanka, and Kotlin in the Neva Bay), Petrogradsky, Dekabristov and Krestovsky. The latter together with Yelagin and Kamenny island are covered mostly by parks. The Karelian Isthmus, north of the city, is a popular resort area. In the south Saint Petersburg crosses the Baltic-Ladoga Klint and meets the Izhora Plateau.

The elevation of Saint Petersburg ranges from the sea level to its highest point of 175.9 m (577 ft) at the Orekhovaya Hill in the Duderhof Heights in the south. Part of the city's territory west of Liteyny Prospekt is no higher than 4 m (13 ft) above sea level, and has suffered from numerous floods. Floods in Saint Petersburg are triggered by a long wave in the Baltic Sea, caused by meteorological conditions, winds and shallowness of the Neva Bay. The most disastrous floods occurred in 1824 (421 cm/13.8 ft above sea-level^[19]), 1924 380 cm/12.5 ft, 1777 321 cm/10.5 ft, 1955 293 cm/9.6 ft and 1975 281 cm/9.2 ft. To prevent floods, the Saint Petersburg Dam has been under construction since 1979.^[20]

Since the 18th century the terrain in the city has been raised artificially, at some places by more than 4 m (13 ft), making mergers of several islands, and changing the hydrology of the city. Besides Neva and its distributaries, other important rivers of the federal subject of Saint Petersburg are Sestra, Okhta and Izhora. The largest lake is Sestroretsky Razliv in the north, followed by Lakhtinsky Razliv, Suzdal Lakes and other smaller lakes.

St. Petersburg's position on the latitude of ca. 60° N causes variation in day length across seasons, ranging from 5:53 to 18:50. Twilight may last all night in early summer, from June to mid-July, the celebrated phenomenon known as the white nights.

[edit] Climate

Saint Petersburg experiences a humid continental climate of the cool summer subtype (Köppen: Dfb), due to the distinct moderating influence of the Baltic Sea cyclones. Summers are typically cool, humid and quite short, while winters are long, cold, but with frequent warm spells. The average daily temperature in July is 22 °C (72 °F); summer maximum is about 34 °C (93 °F), winter minimum is about −27 °C (−17 °F). The record low temperature is −35.9 °C (−33 °F), recorded in 1883. The average wholeyear temperature is +4 °C (39 °F). The River Neva within the city limits usually freezes up in November-December, break-up occurs in April. From December to March there are 123 days average with snow cover, which reaches the average of 24 cm (9 in) by February. The frost-free period in the city lasts on average for about 135 days. The city has a climate slightly warmer than its suburbs. Weather conditions are quite variable all year round.^[21]

Average annual precipitation varies across the city, averaging 600 mm (24 in) per year and reaching maximum in late summer. Soil moisture is almost always high because of lower evapotranspiration due to the cool climate. Air humidity is 78% on average, while overcast is 165 days a year on average.

Weather averages for Saint Petersburg
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	8.6 (47)	10.2 (50)	14.9 (59)	25.3 (78)	30.9 (88)	34.6 (94)	34.3 (94)	33.5 (92)	30.4 (87)	21.0 (70)	12.3 (54)	10.9 (52)	34.6 (94)
Average high °C (°F)	-4.8 (23)	-4.6 (24)	0.0 (32)	7.4 (45)	14.7 (58)	19.4 (67)	22.0 (72)	20.1 (68)	14.5 (58)	7.7 (46)	1.6 (35)	-2.5 (28)	8.1 (47)
Average low °C (°F)	-10.5 (13)	-10.6 (13)	-6.9 (20)	-0.2 (32)	5.7 (42)	10.8 (51)	13.9 (57)	12.5 (55)	7.9 (46)	2.8 (37)	-2.4 (28)	-7.3 (19)	1.4 (35)
Record low °C (°F)	-35.9 (-33)	-35.2 (-31)	-29.9 (-22)	-21.8 (-7)	-6.6 (20)	0.1 (32)	4.9 (41)	1.3 (34)	-3.1 (26)	-12.9 (9)	-22.2 (-8)	-34.4 (-30)	-35.9 (-33)
Precipitation mm (inches)	37 (1.5)	30 (1.2)	34 (1.3)	33 (1.3)	37 (1.5)	57 (2.2)	77 (3)	80 (3.1)	69 (2.7)	66 (2.6)	55 (2.2)	50 (2)	625 (24.6)
Source: Pogoda.ru.net[22] 2007-07-29

[edit] Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg is the second largest city in Russia. The 2002 census recorded a population of the federal subject of 4,661,219, or 3.21% of the total population of Russia. The 2002 census recorded twenty-two ethnic groups of more than two thousand persons each. The ethnic composition was: Russian 84.72%, Ukrainian 1.87%, Belarusians 1.17%, Jewish 0.78%, Tatar 0.76%, Armenian 0.41%, Azeri 0.36%, Georgian 0.22%, Chuvash 0.13%, Polish 0.10%, and many other smaller ethnic groups, while 7.89% of the inhabitants declined to state their ethnicity.^[25]

The 20th century saw hectic ups and downs in population. From 2.4 million in 1916 it had dropped to less than 740,000 by 1920 during the Russian Revolution of 1917 and Russian Civil War. The sizeable minorities of Germans, Poles, Finns, Estonians and Latvians were almost completely expelled from Leningrad by the Soviet government during the 1930s.^[26] From 1941 to the end of 1943, population dropped from 3 million to less than 700,000, as people died in battles, starved to death during the Siege of Leningrad, or were evacuated. After the siege, some of the evacuees returned, but most influx was due to migration from other parts of the Soviet Union. The city absorbed about 3 million people in the 1950s and grew to over 5 million in the 1980s. From 1991 to 2006 the city's population decreased to the current 4.6 million, while the suburban population increased due to privatization of land and massive move to suburbs.^[23][27] The birth rate remains lower than the death rate; people over 65 constitute more than twenty percent of the population; and the median age is about 40 years.^[28]

People in urban Saint Petersburg live mostly in apartments. Between 1918 and the 1990s, the Soviets nationalised housing and forced residents to share communal apartments (kommunalkas). With 68% living in shared flats in the 1930s, Leningrad was the city in the USSR with the largest number of kommunalkas. Resettling residents of kommunalkas is now on the way, albeit shared apartments are still not uncommon. As new boroughs were built on the outskirts in the 1950s-1980s, over half a million low income families eventually received free apartments, and about an additional hundred thousand condos were purchased by the middle class. While economic and social activity is concentrated in the historic city centre, the richest part of Saint Petersburg, most people live in commuter areas. For the first half of 2007, the birth rate was 9.1 per 1000.^[29]

[edit] Government

Further information: Government in Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg is a federal subject of Russia.^[30] The political life of Saint Petersburg is regulated by the city charter adopted by the city legislature in 1998.^[31] The superior executive body is the Saint Petersburg City Administration, led by the governor (mayor before 1996). Saint Petersburg has a single-chamber legislature, the Saint Petersburg Legislative Assembly.

According to the federal law passed in 2004, heads of federal subjects, including the governor of Saint Petersburg, are nominated by the President of Russia and approved by local legislatures. If the legislature disapproves the nominee, it is dissolved. The current governor, Valentina Matviyenko, was approved according to the new system in December 2006.

Saint Petersburg city is currently divided into eighteen districts.

Saint Petersburg is also the administrative center of Leningrad Oblast, and of the Northwestern Federal District.^[32]

Saint Petersburg and Leningrad Oblast, being two different federal subjects, share a number of local departments of federal executive agencies and courts, such as court of arbitration, police, FSB, postal service, drug enforcement administration, penitentiary service, federal registration service, and other federal services.

[edit] Crime

As in other large Russian cities, Saint Petersburg experiences fairly high levels of street crime and bribery. In addition, in recent years there has been a notable increase in racially motivated violence. On the other hand, unlike in Moscow, there have been no major terrorist attacks in St. Petersburg in recent years.^[33]

At the end of the 1980s – beginning of the 1990s, Leningrad became home to a number of gangs, such as Tambov Gang, Malyshev Gang, Kazan Gang and ethnic criminal groups, engaged in a racket, extortion and violent clashes with each other.^[33]

After the sensational assassinations of City Property Committee Chairman Mikhail Manevich (1997), State Duma deputy Galina Starovoytova (1998), acting City Legislature Speaker Viktor Novosyolov (1999) and a number of prominent businesspeople, Saint Petersburg was dubbed 'Capital of Crime' in the Russian press.^[34][35]

[edit] Economy

Further information: Economy of Saint Petersburg

St. Petersburg is a major trade gateway, financial and industrial center of Russia specialising in oil and gas trade, shipbuilding yards, aerospace industry, radio and electronics, software and computers; machine building, heavy machinery and transport, including tanks and other military equipment, mining, instrument manufacture, ferrous and nonferrous metallurgy (production of aluminium alloys), chemicals, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, publishing and printing, food and catering, wholesale and retail, textile and apparel industries, and many other businesses. It was also home to Lessner, one of Russia's two pioneering automobile manufacturers (along with Russo-Baltic), Lessner; founded by machine tool and boiler maker G. A. Lessner in 1904, with designs by Boris Loutsky, it survived until 1910.^[36]

10% of the world's power turbines are made there at the LMZ, which built over two thousand turbines for power plants across the world. Major local industries are Admiralty Shipyard, Baltic Shipyard, LOMO, Kirov Plant, Elektrosila, Izhorsky Zavod; also registered in St. Petersburg are Gazprom Neft^{[citation needed]}, Sovkomflot, Petersburg Fuel Company and SIBUR among other major Russian and international companies.

St. Petersburg has three large cargo seaports: Bolshoi Port St. Petersburg, Kronstadt, and Lomonosov. International cruise liners are served at the passenger port at Morskoy Vokzal on the west end of the Vasilevsky Island. A complex system of riverports on both banks of the Neva river are interconnected with the system of seaports, thus making St. Petersburg the main link between the Baltic sea and the rest of Russia through the Volga-Baltic Waterway.

The Saint Petersburg Mint (Monetny Dvor), founded in 1724, is one of the largest mints in the world, it mints Russian coins, medals and badges. St. Petersburg is also home to the oldest and largest Russian foundry, Monumentskulptura, which made thousands of sculptures and statues that are now gracing public parks of St. Petersburg, as well as many other cties. Monuments and bronze statues of the Tsars, as well as other important historic figures and dignitaries, and other world famous monuments, such as the sculptures by Peter Clodt von Jürgensburg, Paolo Troubetzkoy, Pavel Antokolsky, and others, were made there.

In 2007 Toyota opened a Camry plant after investing 5 billion dollars in Shuishary, one of the southern suburbs of St. Petersburg. General Motors, Hyundai and Nissan have signed deals with the Russian government to build their automotive plants in St. Petersburg too. Automotive and auto-parts industry is on the rise there during the last decade. Saint Petersburg is also known as the "beer capital" of Russia, due to the supply and quality of local water, contributing over 30% of the domestic production of beer with its five large-scale breweries including Europe's second largest brewery Baltika, Vena (both operated by BBH), Heineken Brewery, Stepan Razin (both by Heineken) and Tinkoff brewery (SUN-InBev). St. Petersburg has the second largest construction industry in Russia, including commercial, housing and road construction.

In 2006 Saint-Petersburg's city budget was 179,9 billion rubles,^[37] and is planned to double by 2012. The federal subject's gross regional product as of 2005 was 667,905.4 million Russian rubles, ranked 4th in Russia, after Moscow, Tyumen Oblast, and Moscow Oblast,^[38] or 145,503.3 rubles per capita, ranked 12th among Russia's federal subjects,^[39] contributed mostly by wholesale and retail trade and repair services (24.7%) as well as processing industry (20.9%) and transportation and telecommunications (15.1%).^[40]

[edit] Transportation

The city is a major transport hub. The first Russian railroad was built here, in 1837. Today, St. Petersburg is the final destination of the Trans-Siberian railroad and a web of intercity and suburban railways, served by five different railway terminals (Baltiysky, Finlyandsky, Ladozhsky, Moskovsky, and Vitebsky),^[41] as well as dozens of non-terminal railway stations within the federal subject. Saint Petersburg has international railway connections to Helsinki, Finland, Berlin, Germany, and all former republics of the USSR. The Helsinki railroad was built in 1870, 443 km (275 mi), commutes three times a day, in a journey lasting about five and a half hours. The Moscow-Saint Petersburg Railway opened in 1851, 651 km (405 mi); the commute to Moscow now requires about four and a half to nine hours.^[42] Saint Petersburg is also served by Pulkovo International Airport,^[43] and by three smaller commercial and cargo airports in the suburbs. There is a regular, 24/7, rapid-bus transit connection between Pulkovo airport and the city center.

The city is also served by the passenger and cargo seaports in the Neva Bay of the Gulf of Finland, Baltic Sea, the river port higher up Neva, and tens of smaller passenger stations on both banks of the Neva river. It is a terminus of the Volga-Baltic and White Sea-Baltic waterways. In 2004 the first high bridge that doesn't need to be drawn, a 2,824 m (9,265 ft) long Big Obukhovsky Bridge, was opened. Meteor hydrofoils link the city centre to the coastal towns of Kronstadt, Lomonosov, Peterhof, Sestroretsk and Zelenogorsk from May through October.

Saint Petersburg has an extensive city-funded network of public transport (buses, trams, trolleybuses) and several hundred routes served by marshrutkas. Trams in Saint Petersburg used to be the main transport; in the 1980s, Leningrad had the largest tramway network in the world, but many tramway rail tracks were dismantled in the 2000s. Buses carry up to 3 million passengers daily, serving over 250 urban and a number of suburban bus routes. Saint Petersburg Metro underground rapid transit system was opened in 1955; it now has four lines with 60 stations, connecting all five railway terminals, and carrying 2.8 million passengers daily. Metro stations are decorated in marble and bronze. The 5th metro line is scheduled to open in 2008.

Traffic jams are common in the city, because of narrow streets, parking sites along their edges, high daily traffic volumes between the commuter boroughs and the city centre, intercity traffic, and at times excessive snow in winter. Five segments of the Saint Petersburg Ring Road were opened between 2002 and 2006, and full ring is planned to open in 2010.

Saint Petersburg is part of the important transport corridor linking Scandinavia to Russia and Eastern Europe. The city is a node of the international European routes E18 towards Helsinki, E20 towards Tallinn, E95 towards Pskov, Kiev and Odessa and E105 towards Petrozavodsk, Murmansk and Kirkenes (north) and towards Moscow and Kharkiv (south).

[edit] Built environment and landmarks

Further information: Landmarks of Saint Petersburg

The majestic appearance of St. Petersburg is achieved through a variety of architectural details including long, straight boulevards, vast spaces, gardens and parks, decorative wrought-iron fences, monuments and decorative sculptures. The Neva River itself, together with its many canals and their granite embankments and bridges gives the city a unique and striking ambience.

St. Petersburg's position below the Arctic Circle, on the same latitude as nearby Helsinki, Stockholm, Aberdeen and Oslo (60° N), causes twilight to last all night in May, June and July. This celebrated phenomenon is known as the "white nights". The white nights are closely linked to another attraction — the eight drawbridges spanning the Neva. Tourists flock to see the bridges drawn and lowered again at night to allow shipping to pass up and down the river. Bridges open from May to late October according to a special schedule between approximately 2 a.m. and 4:30 a.m.

The historical center of St. Petersburg, sometimes called the outdoor museum of Architecture^{[citation needed]}, was the first Russian patrimony inscribed on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.

The "historic skyline" of St. Petersburg was included in the World Monuments Fund's 2008 Watch List of the 100 Most Endangered Sites in the world because the Russian oil company Gazprom announced that it would be building a 300-meter-high tower in the city. This project, if completed, would drastically alter the skyline and set a worrying precedent for future development in the historic city. The building of this structure could also jeopardize the city's status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

[edit] Canals and Bridges

Main article: List of bridges in Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg is built on what originally were more than 100 islands created by a maze of rivers, creeks, canals, gulfs, lakes and ponds and other bodies of water that flow into the Baltic Sea at the mouth of the Neva river.

Peter the Great was designing the city as another Amsterdam and Venice, with canals instead of streets and citizens skillful in sailing. Initially, there were only about ten bridges constructed in the city, mainly across ditches and minor creeks. By Peter's plans, in the summer months, the citizens were supposed to move around in boats, and in the winter months when the water froze to move in sledges. However, after Peter's death, new bridges were built, as it was a much easier way of transportation. Temporary pontoon bridges were built across Neva in the summertime. The largest temporary bridge across the Bolshaya Neva was in operation from 1727 to 1850.

The first permanent bridge of bricks and stones across the main waters of Bolshaya Neva river was the Lieutenant Schmidt Bridge, built from 1843 to 1850, and opened in 1850. A familiar view of St. Petersburg is a drawbridge across the Neva. Every night during the navigation period from April to November, 22 bridges across Neva and main canals are drawn to let ships pass in and out of the Baltic Sea.^[44]

Today, there are 342 bridges over canals and rivers of various sizes, styles and constructions, built at different periods. Over 800 smaller bridges over smaller ponds and streams are gracing public parks and gardens, the popular places for entertainment and leisure.

Thanks to the intricate web of canals, St. Petersburg is often called the "Venice of the North" which is a popular poetic name for the northern capital.

[edit] Palaces of the Tsars

Saint Petersburg is known as the city of palaces. One of the earliest of these is the Summer Palace, a modest house built for Peter I in the Summer Garden (1710–1714). Much more imposing are the baroque residences of his associates, such as the Kikin Hall and the Menshikov Palace on the Neva Embankment, constructed from designs by Domenico Trezzini over the years 1710 to 1716. A residence adjacent to the Menshikov palace was redesigned for Peter II and now houses the State University.

Probably the most illustrious of imperial palaces is the baroque Winter Palace (1754–1762), a vast stately building with over 600 rooms and dazzlingly luxurious interiors, now housing the Hermitage Museum.^[7] The same architect, Bartolomeo Rastrelli, was also responsible for three residences in the vicinity of the Nevsky Prospekt: the Stroganov palace (1752–1754, is now a branch of the State Russian Museum, the Vorontsov palace (1749–1757, now a military school), and the Anichkov Palace (1741–1750, many times rebuilt, now a palace for children). Other baroque palaces include the Sheremetev house on the Fontanka embankment (also called the Fountain House), and the Beloselsky-Belozersky Palace (1846–1848) on the Nevsky Prospekt, formerly a residence of the Grand Duke Sergey Aleksandrovich.

Of Neoclassical palaces, the foremost is St Michael's (or Engineers') Castle,^[7] constructed for Emperor Paul in 1797–1801 to replace the earlier Summer Palace. The Tauride Palace of Prince Potemkin (1783–1789), situated near the Smolny Institute, used to be a seat of the first Russian parliament, and now the Assembly of Independent States. Just two blocks from the Hermitage buildings is the Marble Palace, commissioned by Count Orlov and built in 1768–1785 from 44 various sorts of marble to a Neoclassical design by Antonio Rinaldi, it is now part of the State Russian Museum. The Michael Palace (1819–1825), famed for its opulent interiors and named after its first lodger, Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich, now houses the main collections of the Russian Museum.^[7] Also designed in the Neoclassical style is the Yusupov's Moyka palace (built in the 1790s), where Rasputin was killed by Prince Yusupov. Other treasured palaces are the Razumovsky palace (1762–1766); the Shuvalov palace (1830–1838); and the Yelagin Palace (1818–1822), a sumptuous summer dacha of the imperial family, situated on the Yelagin Island. The last Royal residences were built for Nicholas I's children: the Mariinsky Palace (1839–1844), located just opposite St Isaac's Cathedral, is now housing the St. Petersburg City Legislature and Offices of Representatives, the Nicholas Palace (1853–61), and the New Michael Palace (1857-1861). All major palaces are now housing numerous state and private museums and various branches of the government.

[edit] Cathedrals and temples

While many cathedrals and buildings formerly owned by churches and monasteries still belong to the Russian government, since their seizure in 1917, some were eventually returned to congregations. The largest cathedral in the city is St Isaac's Cathedral (1818–1858), it is the biggest gold-plated dome in the world. It was constructed over 40 years under supervision of architects Auguste de Montferrand and Vasily Stasov. The Kazan Cathedral on the Nevsky Prospekt is a national landmark in the Empire style, modeled after St Peter's, Vatican. The Church of the Savior on Blood (1883–1907), is a monument in the old Russian style which marks the spot of Alexander II's assassination. The Peter and Paul Cathedral (1712–1732), a long-time symbol of the city, contains the sepulchers of Peter the Great and other Russian emperors. The St. Nicholas Cathedral and the Great Choral Synagogue are near the Mariinsky Opera Theatre. Most cathedrals and temples operate today as places of worship as well as museums, and there are numerous other places of worship in all major religions.

Of baroque structures, the grandest is the white-and-blue Smolny Convent (1748–1764), later the Smolny Institute, a striking design by Bartolomeo Rastrelli, but never completed. It is followed by the Naval Cathedral of St Nicholas (1753–1762), a lofty structure dedicated to the Russian Navy, the outside being covered with plaques to sailors lost at sea. The church of Sts. Simeon and Anna (1731–1734), St. Sampson Cathedral (1728–1740), St. Pantaleon church (1735–1739), and St. Andrew's Cathedral (1764–1780) are all worth mentioning.

The Neoclassical churches are numerous. Many of them are intended to dominate vast squares, like St. Vladimir's Cathedral (1769–1789), not to be confused with the church of Our Lady of Vladimir (1761–1783). The Transfiguration Cathedral (1827–29) and the Trinity Cathedral (1828–1835, fire-damaged) were both designed by Vasily Stasov. Smaller churches include the Konyushennaya (1816–1823), also by Stasov, the "Easter Cake" church (1785–1787), noted for its droll appearance, St Catherine church on the Vasilievsky Island (1768–1771), and numerous non-Orthodox churches on the Nevsky Prospekt.

The Alexander Nevsky Monastery, intended to house the relics of St. Alexander Nevsky, is graced by two cathedrals and five smaller churches in various styles. The monastery is also one of three main centers of Christian education in Russia, having the Russian Orthodox Academy and Seminary and the residence of the St. Petersburg Patriarch. It is also remarkable for the Tikhvin Cemetery, with graves of such dignitaries as writers Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Ivan Krylov, composers Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Modest Mussorgsky, pianist Anton Rubinstein, director Georgy Tovstonogov, actors Fyodor Stravinsky, Vera Komissarzhevskaya, Nikolay Simonov, mayor Anatoly Sobchak and many other notable Russians.

The Grand Choral Synagogue of St. Petersburg is the second largest in Europe. It was opened in 1893, with the building permit obtained in 1869 from the Tsar Alexander II. The Small Synagogue was opened in 1886. On 5 Tamuz 5761 (June 26, 2001), the greater hall ("Bolshoi Zal" in Russian) was reopened after reconstruction.

Two small churches in the early Gothic Revival style, both designed by Yuri Felten, are the St John the Baptist (1776–1781) and the Chesmenskaya (1777–1780). The late 19th century and early 20th century temples are designed in the Russian Revival or Byzantine Revival styles. Saint Petersburg Mosque (1909–1920), once the largest in Europe, is modeled after the Gur-e Amir Mosque in Samarkand.

St Petersburg Buddhist temple was the first in Europe. Construction was funded by subscriptions of the Dalai Lama and Russian and Mongolian Buddhists; the structure was inaugurated in the presence of Itigilov in 1914 and served as a valuable resource to transient Buryats, Kalmyks and other Buddists during World War I. It did not function from 1935 to 1991, when the lamas passed into gulags, and temple and its grounds were used for secular purposes. In 1991 the St. Petersburg datsan was reopened for worship.

[edit] Museums and popular sites

The ensemble of Peter and Paul Fortress with the Peter and Paul Cathedral takes dominant position on the right bank of the Neva river, across the Winter Palace in the center of the city. A boardwalk was built along a portion of the fortress wall, giving visitors a clear view of the city across the river to the south. On the other bank of the Neva, the spit (Strelka) of the Vasilievsky Island is graced by the former Bourse building (1805–1810), an important lanmark in the style of the Greek Revival, is now home of the Museum of Navy. The spit of the Vasilievsky Island is designed as a classic lawn-park on the waterfront, and is highlighted by two tall and colorful Rostral Columns, decorated with statues and prows of battleships. This is a traditional place for music festivals and public events, such as the White Nights Festival.

The most famous of St. Petersburg's museums is the Hermitage, one of the world's largest and richest collections of Western European art. Its vast holdings were originally exhibited in the Greek Revival building (1838–1852) by Leo von Klenze, now called the New Hermitage. But the first Russian museum was established by Peter the Great in the Kunstkammer, erected in 1718–1734 on the opposite bank of the Neva River and formerly a home to the Russian Academy of Sciences. Other popular tourist destinations include the State Russian Museum and the Summer Garden, the Ethnography Museum (1900–1911), Stieglitz Museum of Applied Arts (1885–1895), the Suvorov Museum of Military History (1901–1904), and the Political History Museum (1904–06).

The imperial government institutions were housed in stately buildings, such as the General Staff building on the Palace Square (1820–1827), with a huge triumphal arch in the centre, the Senate and Synod buildings on the Senate Square (1827–1843), the Imperial Cabinet (1803–1805) and the City Duma (1784-87) on the Nevsky Prospekt, the Assignation Bank (1783–1790), the Customs Office (1829–1832), and the masterpiece of Russian architecture: the Admiralty (1806–1823), one of the city's most conspicuous landmarks. Most of Imperial palaces and state buildings were designed by reputable architects invited by the Russian Tsar's from European capitals, such as Domenico Trezzini, Giacomo Quarenghi, Thomas de Thomon, Bartholomeo Rastrelli, Carlo Rossi and other foreign architects who settled in St. Petersburg and worked on numerous large-scale projects. Next came the generation of Russian-born architects and engineers, such as Zakharov, Stasov, Voronikhin, Starov, and other Russians who studied abroad and returned to work in St. Petersburg.

The former imperial capital is rich in science and educational institutions. Saint Petersburg State University is based on Vasilievsky Island and in Peterhof. The university's spacious baroque edifice of Twelve Collegia (1722–1744) was designed by Domenico Trezzini. The Academy of Arts (1764–1788), an exceedingly handsome structure, overlooks a quayside adorned with genuine Egyptian griffins and sphinxes. The Smolny Institute (1806–1808), originally the first school for Russian women, was Lenin's headquarters during the Russian Revolution of 1917, is now the office of the Governor. The Catherine's Institute (1804–1807), also designed by Quarenghi, is now the Russian National Library. Another Neoclassical building by Quarenghi, a roomy Horse Guards Riding School (1804–1807), is now the Central Exhibition Hall.

Some historic shops and storehouses are landmarks in their own right, such as the monumental New Holland Arch (1779–1787) and adjacent walls of the New Holland isle. The Merchant Court on the Nevsky Prospekt (1761–1785), also designed by Jean-Baptiste Vallin de la Mothe, houses the largest extant 18th century shopping mall and supermarket in the world, now rebuilt and updated with several coffee bars and a metro station. Nearby are the Circular Market, erected in 1785–1790, and the Passage, one of the great covered arcades of the mid-19th century.

Nevsky Prospekt is the main avenue of St. Petersburg connecting the Winter Palace with the ancient monastery at Alexander Nevsky Lavra. Nevsky is the busiest shopping destination and the prime center of entertainment and nighlife. Shopping malls, department stores, business centers, built in a variety of styles, include the Eliseev emporium, the House of Books, The Passage, and more.

St Petersburg is a home to more than 50 theatres. The oldest is the Hermitage Theatre, a private palatial theatre of Catherine the Great, still preserving the complex stage machinery of the 18th century. The Alexandrine Theatre, built in 1828–1832 by Carlo Rossi, was named after the wife of Nicholas I. Most famous outside Russia is the Mariinsky Theatre (former Kirov Theatre of Opera and Ballet), which has been styled the capital of the world ballet. The Ciniselli Circus is one of the oldest circus buildings in the world. The Opera House at Saint Petersburg Conservatory, the first in Russia, was founded in 1861 by Anton Rubinstein and bears the name of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov; its alumni include Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev, and Shostakovich who also taught here.

[edit] Monuments and sculptures

Probably the most familiar symbol of St Petersburg is the equestrian statue of Peter the Great, known as the Bronze Horseman and installed in 1782 on the Senate Square. Considered the greatest masterpiece of the French-born Etienne Maurice Falconet, Aleksandr Pushkin's poem about the statue figures prominently in the Russian literature under the name of The Bronze Horseman.

The Palace Square is dominated by the unique Alexander Column(1830–1834), the tallest of its kind in the world and so nicely set that no attachment to the base is needed. A striking monument to Generalissimo Suvorov, represented as a youthful god of war, was erected in 1801 on the Field of Mars, formerly used for military parades and popular festivities. Saint Isaac's Square is graced by the Monument to Nicholas I (1856–1859), which was spared by Bolshevik authorities from destruction as the first equestrian statue in the world with merely two support points (the rear feet of the horse).

The public monuments of St Petersburg also include Mikeshin's circular statue of Catherine II on the Nevsky Avenue, fine horse statues on the Anichkov Bridge, a Rodin-like equestrian statue of Alexander III by Paolo Troubetzkoy, and the Tercentenary monument presented by France in 2003 and installed on the Sennaya Square.

Some of the most important events in the city's history are represented by particular monuments. The Russian victory over Napoleon, for example, was commemorated by the Narva Triumphal Gate (1827–1834), and the victory in the Russo-Turkish War, 1828-1829 — by the Moscow Triumphal Gates (1834–1838). Following this tradition, the Piskarevskoye Cemetery was opened in 1960 as a monument to the victims of the 900-Day Siege.

[edit] Suburban parks and palaces

St. Petersburg is surrounded by imperial residences, some of which are inscribed in the World Heritage list. These include: Peterhof, with the Grand Peterhof Palace and glorious fountain cascades; Tsarskoe Selo, with the baroque Catherine Palace and the neoclassical Alexander Palace; and Pavlovsk, which contains a domed palace of Emperor Paul (1782–1786) and one of the largest English-style parks in Europe.

Much of Peterhof and Tsarskoe Selo had to be restored after being dynamited by the retreating Germans in 1944. Other imperial residences have yet to be revived to their former glory. Gatchina, lying 45 km (28 mi) southwest of St Petersburg, retains a royal castle with 600 rooms surrounded by a park. Oranienbaum, founded by Prince Menshikov, features his spacious baroque residence and the sumptuously decorated Chinese palace. Strelna has a hunting lodge of Peter the Great and the reconstructed Constantine Palace, used for official summits of the Russian president with foreign leaders.

Other notable suburbs are Shlisselburg, with a medieval fortress, and Kronstadt, with its 19th century fortifications and naval monuments. Catherinehof, originally intended as a garden suburb, was engulfed by the city in the 19th century.

[edit] Culture

Main article: Society and culture in Saint Petersburg

[edit] Music

St. Petersburg has always been known for its high-quality cultural life. Among the city's more than fifty theaters is the world-famous Mariinsky Theater (also known as the Kirov Theater in the USSR ), home to the Mariinsky Ballet company and opera. Leading ballet dancers, such as Vaslav Nijinsky, Anna Pavlova, Rudolph Nureyev, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Galina Ulanova and Natalia Makarova, were principal stars of the Mariinsky ballet.

Dmitri Shostakovich was born and brought up in St. Petersburg, and dedicated his Seventh Symphony to the city, calling it the "Leningrad Symphony." He wrote the symphony while in Leningrad during the Nazi siege. The 7th symphony was premiered in 1942; its performance in the besieged Leningrad at the Bolshoy Philharmonic Hall under the baton of conductor Karl Eliasberg was heard over the radio and lifted the spirits of the survivors;^[45] each musician received 125 grams (4 oz) of bread after the premiere. In 1992 a reunion performance of the 7th Symphony by the (then) 14 survivors was played in the same hall as they done half a century ago.^[46] The Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra remained one of the best known symphony orchestras in the world under the leadership of conductors Yevgeny Mravinsky and Yuri Temirkanov.

Choral music has a great tradition here. The Imperial Choral Capella was founded and modeled after the royal courts of other European capitals. The Male Choir of St Petersberg moved to the City of St Petersberg in the 18th century from Moscow. At the end of the 19th century the choir numbered 90. 40 adults and 50 boys (women were not admitted). Of the 22 basses, 7 were profundi capable of reaching bottom G easily. These unique voices are produced on Russian soil to this day.^[47] This March 2008, St. Petersburg will play host to the premiere of Philadelphia composer,Joseph Hallman's Cello Concerto. This piece was written for Alisa Weilerstein and the St. Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic.

St. Petersburg has been home to the newest movements in popular music. The first jazz band in the Soviet Union was founded here by Leonid Utyosov in the 1920s, under the patronage of Isaak Dunayevsky. The first jazz club in the Soviet Union was founded here in the 1950s, and later was named jazz club Kvadrat. In 1956 the popular ensemble Druzhba was founded by Aleksandr Bronevitsky and Edita Piekha, becoming the first popular band in the 1950s USSR. In the 1960s student rock-groups Argonavty, Kochevniki and others pioneered a series of unofficial and underground rock concerts and festivals. In 1972 Leningrad University student Boris Grebenshchikov founded the band Aquarium, that later grew to huge popularity. Since then the "Piter's rock" music style was formed.

In the 1970s many bands came out from "underground" and eventually founded the Leningrad rock club which has been providing stage to such bands as Piknik, DDT, Kino, headed by the legendary Viktor Tsoi, Igry, Mify, Zemlyane, Alisa and many other popular groups. The first Russian-style happening show Pop mekhanika, mixing over 300 people and animals on stage, was directed by the multi-talented Sergey Kuryokhin in the 1980s.

Today's St. Petersburg boasts many notable musicians of various genres, from popular Leningrad's Sergei Shnurov and Tequilajazzz, to rock veterans Yuri Shevchuk, Vyacheslav Butusov and Mikhail Boyarsky. The Palace Square was stage for Paul McCartney, Rolling Stones, Scorpions and other stars.

The White Nights Festival in St. Petersburg is famous for spectacular fireworks and massive show celebrating the end of school year.

[edit] Movies

Over 250 international and Russian movies were filmed in St. Peterburg.^[48] Well over a thousand feature films about tsars, revolution, people and stories set in St. Petersburg were produced worldwide, but were not filmed in the city. First film studios were founded in St. Petersburg in the 1900s, and since the 1920s Lenfilm has been the largest film studio based in St. Petersburg. Earliest films that became known internationally were often based on famous literary works set in St. Petersburg, such as Fyodor Dostoevsky's The Idiot and a few versions of Anna Karenina (a Russian and a French film, each of 1911).

The first foreign feature movie filmed entirely in St. Petersburg was the 1997 production of Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, starring Sophie Marceau and Sean Bean, and made by international team of British, American, French and Russian filmmakers. The filming was made at such locations as Palace Embankment, The Winter Palace, Yusupov Palace, Catherine Palace, Peterhof, Pavlovsk Palace, Mariinsky Theatre and other famous landmarks and streets of St. Petersburg.

Soviet-made films, such as the trilogy of "Maksim" by director Grigori Kozintsev may show the complex history of St. Petersburg with some propagandistic tone. Many foreign films, such as Nicholas and Alexandra, Rasputin, Anastasia, are focused on the story of the Tsars. Film Noi vivi, based on the novel We the Living by Ayn Rand, comments on Italian politics by way of featuring the October Revolution. The story of Anastasia is best known by the 1956 version starring Ingrid Bergman and the 1997 cartoon. The Russian Ark, filmed entirely in Hermitage, shows the life of the Tsars and their entourage in the original interiors of the Winter Palace. Der Untergang was also filmed in Petersburg because several buildings on Shkapina Street resembled the center of Berlin of 1945. Leningrad about the Siege of Leningrad was released in 2007, and Giuseppe Tornatore's film on the same theme is currently in production and planned for release in 2008.

St. Petersburg is a set for Interdevochka (also Интердевочка or Intergirl), featuring impressive shots of the city. The cult comedy Irony of Fate (also Ирония судьбы, или С лёгким паром!) is set in St. Petersburg and pokes fun at Soviet city planning. The 1985 film White Nights starring Mikhail Baryshnikov and Gregory Hines, received considerable Western attention for having captured genuine Leningrad street scenes at a time when filming in the Soviet Union by Western production companies was generally unheard of. Other movies include GoldenEye (1995), Midnight in St. Petersburg (UK, 1996), and Brother (1997). Onegin (1999 featuring Ralph Fiennes, Liv Tyler and Lena Heady) is based on the Pushkin poem and showcases many tourist attractions. The Stroll (2003) by Aleksei Uchitel featured many attractions of the city with Irina Pegova playing the role of a mysterious, well endowed and enchanting Russian beauty. Two Brothers and A Bride (2002), originally titled A Foreign Affair and starring David Arquette, is a comedy about brothers seeking a mail order bride in St. Petersburg and end up finding much more. The popular TV series Master and Margarita was filmed partly in St. Petersburg. Several international film festivals are held annually, such as the International Film Festival in Saint Petersburg, since its inauguration in 1993 during the White Nights.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Literature

St. Petersburg has a longstanding and world famous tradition in literature. Dostoyevsky called it “The most abstract and intentional city in the world," emphasizing its artificiality, but it was also a symbol of modern disorder in a changing Russia. It frequently appeared to Russian writers as a menacing and inhuman mechanism. The grotesque and often nightmarish image of the city is featured in Pushkin's last poems, the Petersburg stories of Gogol, the novels of Dostoyevsky, the verse of Alexander Blok and Osip Mandelshtam, and in the symbolist novel Petersburg by Andrey Bely. According to Lotman in his chapter, 'The Symbolism of St. Petersburg' in Universe and the Mind, these writers were inspired from symbolism from within the city itself. The themes of water and the conflict between water and stone, interpreted as the conflict between nature and the artificial, and also the theme of theatricality, in which St. Petersburg's building facades and massive boulevards create a stage designed for spectators became important themes for these writers. The effect of life in St. Petersburg on the plight of the poor clerk in a society obsessed with hierarchy and status also became an important theme for authors such as Pushkin, Gogol, and Dostoyevsky. Another important feature of early St. Petersburg literature is its mythical element, which incorporates urban legends and popular ghost stories, as the stories of Pushkin and Gogol included ghosts returning to St. Petersburg to haunt other characters as well as other fantastical elements, creating a surreal and abstract image of St. Petersburg.

Twentieth century writers from St. Petersburg, such as Vladimir Nabokov, Andrey Bely and Yevgeny Zamyatin, along with his apprentices, The Serapion Brothers, created entire new styles in literature and contributed new insights to the understanding of society through their experience in this city. Anna Akhmatova became an important leader for Russian poetry. Her poem Requiem focuses on the tragedies of living during the time of the Stalinist terror. Another notable 20th century writer from St. Petersburg is Joseph Brodsky, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature (1987). While living in the United States, his writings in English reflected on life in St. Petersburg from the unique perspective of being both an insider and an outsider to the city in essays such as, "A Guide to a Renamed City" and the nostalgic "In a Room and a Half".^[49]

[edit] Sports

Main article: Sport in Saint Petersburg

St. Petersburg hosted part of the football (soccer) tournament during the 1980 Summer Olympics. The 1994 Goodwill Games were held here.

The first competition here was the 1703 rowing event initiated by Peter the Great, after the victory over the Swedish fleet. Yachting events were held by the Russian Navy since the foundation of the city. Equestrianism has been a long tradition, popular among the Tsars and aristocracy, as well as part of the military training. Several historic sports arenas were built for Equestrianism since the 18th century, to maintain training all year round, such as the Zimny Stadion and Konnogvardeisky Manezh among others.

Chess tradition was highlighted by the 1914 international tournament, in which the title "Grandmaster" was first formally conferred by Russian Tsar Nicholas II to five players: Lasker, Capablanca, Alekhine, Tarrasch and Marshall, and which the Tsar had partially funded.

Kirov Stadium (now demolished) was one of the largest stadiums anywhere in the world, and the home to FC Zenit Saint Petersburg in 1950-1989 and 1992. In 1951 the attendance of 110,000 set the record for the Soviet football. Zenit recently became champions of the Russian Premier League. Zenit now plays their home games at Petrovsky stadium

[edit] Notable people

Main article: List of People in St. Petersburg

As Russia's political and cultural center for 200 years, and its second-largest city, a great many politicians, businessmen, artists, writers, athletes and scientists were born and/or have lived in Saint Petersburg.

[edit] Honors

A asteroid 2046 Leningrad discovered in 1968 by Soviet astronomer Tamara Mikhailovna Smirnova is named after the city, when its name was Leningrad.^[50]

[edit] Education and science

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Saint Petersburg has long been a leading center of science and education in Russia and houses the following institutions:

• Russian Academy of Sciences (1724)
• Saint Petersburg State University (founded 1724)
• Saint Petersburg Naval Academy (founded 1700s)
• Saint Petersburg State Pediatric Medical Academy (1925)
• Russian Academy of Arts (founded 1757)
• Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet
• Saint Petersburg Medical-Surgical Academy (founded 1798)
• Saint Petersburg Mining Institute (Горный институт) (founded 1773)
• Saint Petersburg State Institute of Technology (1828)
• Pulkovo Observatory (1839)
• Ivan Pavlov's Medical Academy and research center. (founded 1880s)
• Saint Petersburg Conservatory (1862)
• Alexander Military Law Academy (founded 1867)
• Saint Petersburg State Electrotechnical University (1886)
• Saint Petersburg Polytechnical University (1899)
• State Marine Technical University (Корабелка) (1899)
• Saint Petersburg State University of Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics (1900)
• Saint Petersburg State University of Engineering and Economics (1906)
• St. Petersburg State Medical Academy (1907)
• Saint Petersburg State Technical University of Telecommunications
• Saint Petersburg Pharmaceutical Academy
• Saint Petersburg Academy of Pediatrics and Maternity (founded 1900)
• Saint Petersburg Theatre Academy (former Tenishev's College) (1899)
• Saint Petersburg Academy of Film and Television
• Russian State University of Pedagogy (Herzen University) (1800s)
• St. Petersburg State University of Culture and Arts (1918)
• Saint Petersburg State University of Economics and Finance (Финэк) (1930)
• Baltic State Technical University ("ВОЕНМЕХ") (1932)
• St. Petersburg Aerospace University (Mozhaysky University)
• Smolny College (1999)
• Vavilov Institute of Plant Industry
• Admiral Makarov Maritime Academy
• European University at St. Petersburg

[edit] Sister cities

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This is a list of all sister cities to Saint Petersburg. There is a complete list on the official portal of the City Government, listing both sister cities and partnership ties.^[51] To see more, see List of twin towns and sister cities in Russia.

Antwerp, Belgium (since 1958) Bangkok, Thailand (since 1997) Barcelona, Spain (since 1984) Mumbai, India (since 1963) Warsaw, Poland (since 1997) Havana, Cuba (since 2000) Hamburg, Germany (since 1957) Gdańsk, Poland (since 1961) Goteborg, Sweden (since 1962) Dresden, Germany (since 1961) Zagreb, Croatia (since 1968) Isfahan, Iran (since 1999) Quebec City, Quebec, Canada (since 2002) Cape Town, South Africa (since 2001) Colombo, Sri Lanka (since 1997) Kotka, Finland (since 1997) Los Angeles, USA (since 1990)[52] Manchester, England, United Kingdom (since 1956) Melbourne, Australia (since 1989)[53] Mikkeli, Finland (since 1996) Milan, Italy (since 1961) Florence, Italy (since 2001)[54] Venice, Italy (since 2006)[55] Montevideo, Uruguay (since 1998) Aarhus, Denmark (since 1989) Osaka, Japan (since 1961)[56] Oslo, Norway (since 2002)[57]

Paris, France (since 1991) Nice, France (since 1997) Bordeaux, France (since 1991) Lyon, France (since 1993) Le Havre, France (since 1965)[58] Piraeus, Greece (since 1965) Plovdiv, Bulgaria (since 2001) Rishon LeZion, Israel (since 1966)[59] Prague, Czech Republic (since 1992) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (since 1986) Rotterdam, Netherlands (since 1966) Thessaloniki, Greece (since 2002) Santiago, Cuba Istanbul, Turkey (since 1990) Košice, Slovakia (since 1995)[60] Stockholm, Sweden (since 1992) Tampere, Finland (since 1993) Turku, Finland (the first one, since 1953) Daegu, South Korea (since 1997)[61] Helsinki, Finland (since 1993) Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam (since 1977) Chengdu, People's Republic of China (since 1998) Shanghai, People's Republic of China (since 1959) Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom (since 1995) The cities of the CIS countries and the Baltic countries: Almaty, Kazakhstan (since 1996) Baku, Azerbaijan (since 1998) Dushanbe, Tajikistan (since 1999) Yerevan, Armenia (since 1997) Vilnuis, Lithuania (since 2002)[62] Riga, Latvia (since 1997) Lviv, Ukraine (since 2006)[63] Sevastopol, Ukraine (since 2000) Tbilisi, Georgia (since 1999)

• State of Maryland, USA^[64]
• Lansing, Michigan, USA (since 1992)^[65]
• Galveston, Texas, USA ^[66]

Saint Petersburg has a "twin city" relationship with:

• St. Petersburg, Florida

[edit] Gallery

Peter the Great's Palace, built in 1714-1725 in Peterhof	Menshikov Palace, the seat of the first Governor	Narva Triumphal Gate at the Stachek Square.	The Winter Palace was stormed by Bolshevik communists at night in October 1917
The cruiser Aurora, symbol of the October Revolution, now a museum	The monument to Sergey Kirov on Kirov Square of Saint Petersburg	Civilians struggled to survive during the Nazi siege of Leningrad	Survivors of the Nazi bombings of Leningrad in WWII
Bombings of the Nevsky prospekt. Nazi bombings killed thousands of civilians in Leningrad	Hotel Pribaltiyskaya	Hotel Astoria in winter	Quarenghi's original design for the Smolny Institute, the office of the Governor
The Trinity Bridge	Griboyedov Canal	Peter the Great's bridge (former Bolsheokhtinsky)	Kunstkamera, Palace Bridge, a rostral column and the spire of Peter and Paul Cathedral
Peter's Summer Palace in the Summer Garden	St. Michael's Castle	The church of Sts. Simon and Anna, the patrons saints of Empress Anna (1734, designed by Mikhail Zemtsov)	Saint Petersburg Mosque (opened in 1913)
Spire of the Russian Admiralty	Arch of the New Holland Island	The State Russian Museum, former Mikhailovsky Palace	Nevsky Prospekt at night
Alexandrine Theatre is the oldest Russian Drama theatre, named after Pushkin	The building of the Mining Academy (1811) is a Neoclassical masterpiece by Andrey Voronikhin.	The Twelve Collegia building of St. Petersburg State University	The Pulkovo Observatory

[edit] See also

• Treaty of Saint-Petersburg, a list of the treaties concluded in Saint-Petersburg.
• City directory of Ves Petersburg

[edit] Sources

[edit] References

• Нежиховский Р. А. Река Нева и Невская губа, Leningrad, Гидрометеоиздат, 1981.
• Oleg Kobtzeff, "Espaces et cultures du Bassin de la Neva: représentations mythiques et réalités géopolitiques", in-Saint-Petersbourg: 1703-2003, Actes du Colloque international, Université de Nantes, Mai 2003, ouvrage coordonné par Walter Zidaric, CRINI, Nantes, 2004. ISBN 2-9521752-0-9
• Dmitri Volkogonov Stalin: Triumph and Tragedy, 1996, ISBN-10: 0761507183
• Edvard Radzinsky Stalin: The First In-depth Biography Based on Explosive New Documents from Russia's Secret Archives, 1997, ISBN-10: 0385479549
• Stalin and the Betrayal of Leningrad by John Barber: [14]
• Acton, Edward, Vladimir Cherniaev, and William G. Rosenberg, eds. A Critical Companion to the Russian Revolution, 1914-1921 (Bloomington, 1997)
• Edward Acton Rethinking the Russian Revolution 1990 Oxford University Press ISBN 0713165308
• Voline The Unknown Revolution Black Rose Books
• Pipes, Richard. The Russian Revolution (New York, 1990)
• Figes, Orlando. A People's Tragedy: The Russian Revolution 1891-1924, : ISBN 0-14-024364
• Reed, John. Ten Days that Shook the World. 1919, 1st Edition, published by BONI & Liveright, Inc. for International Publishers. Transcribed and marked by David Walters for John Reed Internet Archive. Penguin Books; 1st edition. June 1, 1980. ISBN 0-14-018293-4.
• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

[edit] Further reading

• Amery, Colin, Brian Curran & Yuri Molodkovets. St. Petersburg. London: Frances Lincoln, 2006. ISBN 0711224927.
• Bater, James H. St. Petersburg: Industrialization and Change. Montreal: McGuill-Queen’s University Press, 1976. ISBN 0773502661.
• Berelowitch, Wladimir & Olga Medvedkova. Histoire de Saint-Pétersbourg. Paris: Fayard, 1996. ISBN 2213596018.
• Buckler, Julie. Mapping St. Petersburg: Imperial Text and Cityshape. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2005 ISBN0691113491.
• Clark, Katerina, Petersburg, Crucible of Revolution. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1995.
• George, Arthur L. & Elena George. St. Petersburg: Russia's Window to the Future, The First Three Centuries. Lanham: Taylor Trade Publishing, 2003. ISBN 1589790170.
• Glantz, David M. The Battle for Leningrad, 1941-1944. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2002. ISBN 0700612084.
• Hellberg-Hirn, Elena. Imperial Imprints: Post-Soviet St. Petersburg. Helsinki: SKS Finnish Literature Society, 2003. ISBN 9517464916.
• Knopf Guide: St. Petersburg. New York: Knopf, 1995. ISBN 0679762027.
• Eyewitness Guide: St. Petersburg.
• Lincoln, W. Bruce. Sunlight at Midnight: St. Petersburg and the Rise of Modern Russia. New York: Basic Books, 2000. ISBN 0465083234.
• Lubbeck, William; Hurt, David B. At Leningrad's Gates: The Story of a Soldier with Army Group North. Philadelphia, PA: Casemate, 2006 (hardcover, ISBN 1-932033-55-6).
• Orttung, Robert W. From Leningrad to St. Petersburg: Democratization in a Russian City. New York: St. Martin’s, 1995. ISBN 0312175612.
• Ruble, Blair A. Leningrad: Shaping a Soviet City. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1990. ISBN 0877723478.
• Shvidkovsky, Dmitry O. & Alexander Orloff. St. Petersburg: Architecture of the Tsars. New York: Abbeville Press, 1996. ISBN 0789202174.
• Volkov, Solomon. St. Petersburg: A Cultural History. New York: Free Press, 1995. ISBN 0028740521.
• St. Petersburg:Architecture of the Tsars. 360 pages. Abbeville Press, 1996. ISBN-10: 0789202174
• Saint Petersburg: Museums, Palaces, and Historic Collections: A Guide to the Lesser Known Treasures of St. Petersburg. 2003. ISBN 1593730004

[edit] External links

• Official presentation of Saint Petersburg
• Official Portal of the City Government: Saint Petersburg
• Encyclopaedia of Saint Petersburg
• Saint Petersburg (Russia) travel guide from Wikitravel
• Saint Petersburg in 1900
• St. Petersburg in Architecture
• The World Monuments Fund's 2008 Watch listing for Saint Petersburg
• Saint Petersburg is at coordinates 59°56′N 30°20′ECoordinates: 59°56′N 30°20′E

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