Saint Petersburg, the most beautiful city in Russia according to its inhabitants and a large part of the tourists, its history, its streets, its buildings and every detail makes the city unique.
A city with an exciting history full of great victories and the most difficult challenges and problems.
It was in St. Petersburg that many important events for the country took place, which determined the further course of the development of history not only of the country, but also of the world.
St. Petersburg foundation
The new history of Saint Petersburg begins on May 16, 1703 when construction of the Peter and Paul Fortress began at the request of Tsar Peter I. There are events related to the city since the 9th century that we will not tell in this post.
According to the Tsar’s idea, St. Petersburg was to assume the role of political and cultural capital of the country, to become the “new Rome”. According to the idea, the city should embody the state power and influence of europe: the creation of Peter really made it the Pearl of the North, which justified all the hopes of the great ruler.
Initially, the fortress was founded to control the Neva River and Bolshaya Nevka given the wartime circumstances of that time.
Northern War, key in the history of St. Petersburg
As a result of the Northern War that took place between 1700 and 1721 between Sweden and the countries of Northern Europe, Russia conquered the Neva Valley from the Swedes, where they soon laid the foundations for a new city that later became to the new capital, Saint Petersburg, of the new Russian empire giving its navy access to the Baltic Sea.
The birth of the new imperial city, opened a “window to europe”, Russia finally received sea trade routes with european powers.
The birth of the new European capital
St. Petersburg was officially named the capital in 1712, when by order of Emperor Peter the Great, the royal court and the most important government institutions were transferred from Moscow to the new quarters on the banks of the Neva.
Thus, Pedro I made a declarative turn from the capital to Europe, transferring the values of the empire to the West. Fundamentally new state, cultural, and social models followed.
St. Petersburg legitimately began to bear the name of “European capital”, becoming a small piece of Europe within the country, something new for the Russians of the early 18th century.
Name of the city
- On June 29, 1703, the city received its name in honor of the holy apostle Peter, who became its patron.
- At first, only the fortress bore the name, but later this name was extended to the rest of the city. It is often called Petersburg, or even shortened to Peter.
- In 1914 Nicholas II changed its name to Petrograd.
- On January 26, 1924 the name was changed again, this time to Leningrad, in memory of V. I. Lenin, the founder of the Soviet state just five days after his death.
- June 12, 1991, a social survey was carried out and according to the results, more than half of the inhabitants voted to return the original name to the city, a decision that became real on September 6 of the same year.
Petersburg during World War I
Cause of the war
On June 28, 1914, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne was assassinated in Sarajevo, prompting Austria-Hungary to declare war on Serbia. On July 1, Russia adopted a resolution on a large-scale mobilization of troops.
Germany, being an ally of the Austro-Hungarian state, demanded the cessation of these measures, but Russia refused, so on August 1, 1914, Germany declared war on Russia, which in turn had France and England as allies.
Internal results of the war
With a society divided between those who support the war and others who are against it, the general situation in the Russian capital was not in favor, in 1915: at least 125 strikes were counted in the city with the participation of up to 130 thousand people.
The Bolsheviks, influenced by very active Bolshevik propaganda, coupled with discontent with the autocracy and the disastrous results of the First World War, led, in February 1917, the monarch Nicholas II to renounce the royal throne.
As a domino effect, from Petrograd, then in other cities of the country, soviets were formed, which became the organs of power of the proletariat and the peasantry; thus the dual power was formed. As a result of all subsequent actions, the Bolshevik Party launched a full-scale war to transfer real power to the Soviets.
The history of Saint Petersburg is changed because of the wars
February Revolution became an important step towards socialist revolution in the Russian Empire. The arrival of the leader V. I. Lenin in Petrograd was a great event for the city, where on an impromptu “rostrum”, he made a strong speech calling for a socialist revolution.
The brilliant and powerful agitation of V. I. Lenin led to an armed uprising that took place on October 25, 1917 and was marked in the pages of history by the Great October Revolution. As a result of the struggle, power passed into the hands of the Bolsheviks.
St. Petersburg during the Great Patriotic War
The USSR officially entered the world war II on June 22, 1941. Very little time passed and the war also reached Leningrad, from September 8 of the same year the city began to live under one of the cruelest sieges in the history of the humanity.
Even in the initial stage of the blockade, there was not enough food and fuel in the city for a long isolation. The only contact with the rest of the world was through Lake Ladoga, but even this could not always help the besieged city. A general famine began which, in the cold winter conditions of the first years of the blockade, turned into a real catastrophe.
The blockade lasted until January 1944, leaving a balance of more than 1 million deaths. During the Leningrad-Novgorod operation, the enemy was forced to withdraw 220-280 km from the southern borders of Leningrad; this gave a breath of fresh air to the dying northern capital and inspired hope in the hearts of the townspeople.
On January 27, the day of the lifting of the siege is celebrated. For the heroism shown by the brave defenders of the besieged Leningrad, on May 8, 1965, the city was solemnly awarded the status of Hero City.
Soviet times, part of Saint Petersburg history
- After the destruction suffered by the war, the most bitter time in the history of Saint Petersburg, a large-scale rehabilitation of the city began. In September of the same year of the victory against the Nazis, 1945, the peaceful academic year began and the concert season at the Philharmonic began too.
- Five years after the end of the war, the Kirov stadium began to function. A year later, an important plan for the development of Leningrad was officially adopted. New urban projects began to be reconstructed: Lenin and Kalinin squares, Engels and Stachek avenues, Primorsky and Sredneokhtinsky avenues. The following year, the Pulkovo airport begins to receive the first flights.
- On November 5, 1955, the Leningrad Metro was opened.
- The first Eternal Flame of the country was lit on the Field of Mars as a memory of the brave fighters.
- From the shipyards of the city and for the first time in the world, a nuclear-powered icebreaker with the proud name “Lenin” was launched, and the Kirov plant began to produce the famous Kirovets tractors.
- The year 1960 was marked by the inauguration of the Memorial to the Victims of the Blockade.
- In 1990, the center of Leningrad had the honor of being included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
St. Petersburg in our days
With the collapse of the USSR, the name of Saint Petersburg was recovered.
The 1994 Goodwill Games became an important event for Saint Petersburg. They were inaugurated at the Kirov Stadium by President Boris Yeltsin.
Since 1997, an economic summit has been held, which is also called “Russian Davos”. And in 2006, the G8 summit took place in Strelna.
Every year millions of tourists come to St. Petersburg by all ways, planes, high-speed and classic trains, via highways and thousands of cruise ships that dock each year in the city’s ports.
The palaces and museums today have recovered their shine and glamor that the war took from them but that could never be erased from the memory of their people and from the history books.
In the following posts, we are going to give all who want to travel to Saint Petersburg recommendations in a 5 out of 5 format:
- Unique palaces in the world
- Museums that you cannot leave the city without visiting
- Cathedrals that you cannot miss visiting
- Amazing Gardens to visit in the city
- Unique Places in Saint Petersburg
Travel to Saint Petersburg
You cannot travel to Russia without a multi-day visit to the city of Saint Petersburg, the Venice of the North, the European capital and the most beautiful city in Russia.
With our guides in your language in Saint Petersburg, we will ensure very interesting itineraries that will take you to places of interest and discover all the aspects that anyone who wants to travel to Russia wants to see and enjoy.
Contact us to prepare your travel plan to Russia.
