It is the second most populous city in Russia, with 5,026,000 inhabitants and a metropolitan area of 5.85 million. It is located in the Region of Leningrad, name that shared with the city during the Soviet time (1924-1991). The other names of the city were Petrograd and Leningrad, after the death of Lenin, January 24, 1924 until September 6, 1991.

It was founded by Zar Peter the Great on May 27, 1703 with the intention of turning it into Russia's window into the Western world. From then on it became capital of the Russian Empire for more than two hundred years.

When the Russian Revolution broke out, the city was the center of the rebellion. In March 1918 the capital was transferred to Moscow. In January 1924, after the Bolshevik victory, the creation of the Soviet Union (1922) and the death of Lenin (1924), St. Petersburg changed its name to Leningrad in his honor.

During World War II, the 29-month site of Leningrad took place, in which the Germans constantly bombed the city and blocked it so that it could not be supplied. After the defeat of Germany in 1945, the city was named Heroic City by the Soviet authorities. When the USSR disappears the city was renamed St. Petersburg and became an important economic and political center of present-day Russia.

St. Petersburg is now the second largest city in the Russian Federation and one of the largest in Europe. The center of the city and other monuments of its surroundings have been considered a World Heritage Site by UNESCO since 1990.3 St. Petersburg is also the seat of the Constitutional Court of Russia.

Compartir / Share