The city was founded in the Neva delta region in 1703 by Piter the Great. But this place was settled by Slavic tribes more than a thousand years ago. The River Neva runs into the Gulf of Finland, and its delta has a very strategically important position. The River was a part of a trade route linking Russian lands with other European countries. Besides, Russians had an exit to the Baltic Sea. But unfortunately, according to Doroshinskaya (1979), in the early 17th century the Kingdom of Sweden occupied these lands (p. 12). The Great Northern War between Russia and Sweden started in 1700. Russians took the exit to the sea back and Russian tsar Peter the Great decided to build a fortress to protect the land. The Peter and Paul fortress was built on May 16 (May 27 new style), 1703; and this date is considered to be the foundation date of the city. The new city was named Saint-Petersburg after the Apostle Saint Peter and not after the tsar's name.

St.-Petersburg became Russia's capital in 1712 after Peter the Great moved the highest governmental institutions and the tsar's family from Moscow to the city. Hundreds of thousands of peasants were settled in the city to help create a huge capital.

Peter the Great published a decree, according to which, everyone who came to a new city had to bring several stones or bricks with himself for the city's construction.

Petersburg in the 18th century (engraving)

Source: Doroshinskaya Y., Kruchina-Bogdanov V. (1979) Lenigrad and its environs.

Many architects such as Leblon and Trezzini were invited to take part in the construction development of the city. Peter the Great tried to create a "regulated city" following one single design as in Venice or Amsterdam.

As Doroshinskaya mentions, "not only was the mapping out and the width of the city's main arteries regulated, but also the architectural make-up of homes of people of different social strata regulated, and later even the heights of buildings were regulated" (p.13).

Everything in the city was oriented to Europe. But there were special architectural features, which made the city unique and different from all other cities. Pushkin, one of the greatest Russian poets and writers, called the city a "window on the West".

The construction of a new city went really fast. During the reign of Peter the Second (1727-1730) the imperial court moved back to Moscow, the construction of St.-Petersburg slowed down. But in three years when Anna Ioannovna becomes a new ruler, St.-Petersburg is a capital of Russia again. Under Anna, "the second great phase of the construction" of the city began, mentions Nordye (1995, p. 15). She hired Rastrelli, an Italian sculptor, to build her a Winter Palace. It was the "first permanent imperial residence of the city" (p.15).

When Catherine II became a ruler of Russia (1762-1796), St-Petersburg "solidified its position as the artistic and political center of the empire" (p. 15).

So many beautiful architectural masterpieces were built - Admiralty, the Nevsky Prospect - the main street now, and of course, the Cathedral of the Smolny Convent, the Stroganov Palace, the Monument to Peter the First - "The Bronze Horseman", the city's finest statue. At the end of Catherine's reign St.-Petersburg became one of the leading cities in the world.

During the reign of Paul I (1796-1801) a mysterious Mikhailovsky Castle was built.

Senate Square on December 14, 1825

Source: Doroshinskaya Y., Kruchina-Bogdanov V. (1979) Lenigrad and its environs.

The city is interesting not only because of its palaces and cathedrals. Kann (1984) named it as "the site of the first revolutionary movement in Russia against autocracy and serfdom" (p.16). Russian revolutionaries wanted to overthrow the imperial system. On December, 1825 a group of guard officers, later known as "Decambrists", marched into Senate Square and demanded a constitutional government (p.16). All of them were arrested and taken to the Peter and Paul Fortress, which served as a prison as well.

Nordbye states that the period from Nikolas I until 1917, when Russian Revolution took place, was "an era of more or less constant political repression of the aristocracy and intelligentsia" (p.17).

St.-Petersburg became an industrial city with a large seaport. The country's first major railroad was built connecting St.-Petersburg and Moscow. The capital became an important scientific and technical center. In St.-Petersburg Mendeleev discovered the chemical periodic table of the elements. It was also a great time of creativity that has given us some of the masterpieces of world literature, music, painting and ballet.

The 20th century saw three Russian revolutions. All of the revolutions took place in St.-Petersburg. The First was the Revolution of 1905 "a bourgeois-democratic movement of the masses" (Doroshinskaya 1979, p. 18). In February, 1917 the second Revolution destroyed the monarchical system. The last revolution was named the Great October Socialist Revolution (in October, 1917), when the world's first socialist state was formed.

In 1914 when Russia went to war against Germany the city was renamed into Petrograd. In March, 1918 Lenin moved the capital of the country to Moscow. After Lenin died in 1924 the city was given his name and became Leningrad.

Bolsheviks speaking at a meeting of workers and soldiers in Petrograd in 1917

Source: Doroshinskaya Y., Kruchina-Bogdanov V. (1979) Lenigrad and its environs.

Leningrad during the blocade

Source: Doroshinskaya Y., Kruchina-Bogdanov V. (1979). Lenigrad and its environs.

During the Soviet power the city rapidly grew up. Scientific research institutes, museums, theaters opened. The city became a center of shipbuilding and industry. People began to arrive to Leningrad from all over the country. According to Nordbye, by 1939 the city had the population of more than 3 million people (p.18).

Leningrad suffered a lot during the Second World War. Leningrad's blockade lasted for 908 days, the German Army laid siege to the city, and hundreds of thousands of people died during the massive air raids and artillery bombardments. This period is known as "The Heroic Defense of Leningrad". The city lost around 1 million inhabitants.

After the war the reconstruction of the city began. Many streets were named after soldiers who defended Leningrad.

In 1991 the original name was returned to the city. Now the population of St.-Petersburg is about 5 million people.