History of St Petersburg

St Petersburg, founded by Peter the Great in 1703, underwent three name changes and witnessed three revolutions. St Petersburg built as the window on the west, became the capital of Russia in 1712 and thus replaced Moscow. By Peter’s death in 1725, in the city lived around 40,000 people.

St Petersburg was the seat of the Russian Government until the communist revolution in 1917. In 1918, the capital of Russia moved back to Moscow. A few years earlier, in 1914, when Germany declared war on Russia, the city’s name was changed to Petrograd (the name can be literally translated as Peter’s city). Petrograd existed only untill 1924. When the Russian revolutionary leader Lenin died in 1924 the city name was changed again, now to Leningrad.

During World War II, Leningrad suffered greatly, as it was besieged by the Germans from September, 1941, to January, 1944. The 900-day siege left 2 million people dead. Leningrad that was largely destroyed came to be known as Hero City.

In 1991, the city was returned its original name – St Petersburg. A new page in the history of St Petersburg was begun.