Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg is situated on the Neva River, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. On 27 May 1703, closer to the estuary 5 km inland from the gulf), on Zayachy (Hare) Island, he laid down the Peter and Paul Fortress, which became the first brick and stone building of the new city.

It extends between Finland (to the north) and Estonia (to the south) all the way to Saint Petersburg in Russia, where the river Neva drains into it.

With 5 million inhabitants in 2012, it is Russia's second-largest city after Moscow.

The city of Zelenograd (a part of the federal city of Moscow) and the municipal cities/towns of the federal city of St. Petersburg are also excluded, as they are not enumerated in the 2010 Census as stand-alone localities.

It is also a seat for National Library of Russia and a planned location for the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation.

The National Library of Russia in Saint Petersburg (known as the Imperial Public Library from 1795 to 1917; Russian Public Library from 1917 to 1925; State Public Library from 1925 to 1992 (since 1932 named after M.Saltykov-Shchedrin); NLR), is not only the oldest public library in the nation, but also the first national library in the country.

Saint Petersburg is home to the Hermitage, one of the largest art museums in the world.

The State Hermitage Museum is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

It was founded by Tsar Peter the Great on 27 May 1703 and served as a capital of Russian Tsardom and subsequent Russian Empire in 1713-1918 (being replaced by Moscow for a short period of time in 1728-1730). On 12 May 1703, during the Great Northern War, Peter the Great captured Nyenskans and soon replaced the fortress.

He is also known for founding and developing the city of Saint Petersburg, which remained the capital of Russia until 1917.

With 5 million inhabitants in 2012, it is Russia's second-largest city after Moscow.

The city has served as the capital of a progression of states, from the medieval Grand Duchy of Moscow and the subsequent Tsardom of Russia to the Russian Empire (for the short period of time taking that title from Saint Petersburg in 1728–1730) to the Soviet Union and the contemporary Russian Federation.

Just as Venice is associated with romance, in St. Petersburg the White Nights have a high value for couples in love.

The White Nights Festival is an annual summer festival in Saint Petersburg celebrating its near-midnight sun phenomena due to its location near the arctic circle; each year between around April 21 and August 21, the skies only reach twilight and never reach complete darkness.

The northernmost metropolis in the world, St. Petersburg is often called the Venice of the North or Russian Venice due to its many water corridors, as the city is built on swamp and water.

On 26 January 1924, shortly after the death of Vladimir Lenin, it was renamed to Leningrad, meaning "Lenin's City".

He moved to Saint Petersburg in 1893 and became a senior Marxist activist.

It was founded by Tsar Peter the Great on 27 May 1703 and served as a capital of Russian Tsardom and subsequent Russian Empire in 1713-1918 (being replaced by Moscow for a short period of time in 1728-1730). But four years later, in 1732, under Empress Anna of Russia, Saint Petersburg was again designated as the capital of the Russian Empire.

He moved the capital from Moscow to the new model city of St. Petersburg, which featured much European design.

The Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments constitute a UNESCO World Heritage Site, so it's also referred to as Russia's Culture Capital.

Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments is the name used by UNESCO when it collectively designated the historic core of the Russian city of St. Petersburg, as well as buildings and ensembles located in the immediate vicinity as a World Heritage Site in 1991.

By 1716 the Swiss Italian Domenico Trezzini had elaborated a project whereby the city centre would be on Vasilyevsky Island and shaped by a rectangular grid of canals.

Vasilyevsky Island (Васи́льевский о́стров, Vasilyevsky Ostrov, V.O.) is an island in St. Petersburg, Russia, bordered by the Bolshaya Neva and Malaya Neva Rivers (in the delta of the Neva River) in the south and northeast, and by the Gulf of Finland in the west.

On 27 May 1703, closer to the estuary 5 km inland from the gulf), on Zayachy (Hare) Island, he laid down the Peter and Paul Fortress, which became the first brick and stone building of the new city.

The Peter and Paul Fortress is the original citadel of St. Petersburg, Russia, founded by Peter the Great in 1703 and built to Domenico Trezzini's designs from 1706 to 1740 as a star fortress.

In 1724 the Academy of Sciences, University and Academic Gymnasium were established in Saint Petersburg by Peter the Great.

Saint Petersburg State University (SPbU, Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет, СПбГУ) is a Russian federal state-owned higher education institution based in Saint Petersburg.

In 1716, Peter the Great appointed Frenchman Jean-Baptiste Alexandre Le Blond as the chief architect of Saint Petersburg.

Jean-Baptiste Alexandre Le Blond (1679 – 10 March 1719) was a French architect and garden designer who became the chief architect of Saint Petersburg in 1716.

Swedish colonists built Nyenskans, a fortress at the mouth of the Neva River in 1611, in what was then called Ingermanland, which was inhabited by Finnic tribe of Ingrians.

Nyenschantz (Ниенша́нц, Nienshants; Nyenskans; Nevanlinna) was a Swedish fortress at the confluence of the Neva River and Okhta River, the site of present-day Saint Petersburg, Russia.

The style of Petrine Baroque, developed by Trezzini and other architects and exemplified by such buildings as the Menshikov Palace, Kunstkamera, Peter and Paul Cathedral, Twelve Collegia, became prominent in the city architecture of the early 18th century.

The Peter and Paul Cathedral is a Russian Orthodox cathedral located inside the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Later, the city became the centre of the Saint Petersburg Governorate.

By another edict on June 3, 1710, the governorate was renamed St. Petersburg Governorate after the newly founded city of Saint Petersburg, and in 1721 the former Swedish Duchy of Ingria, and parts of the County of Kexholm and the County of Viborg and Nyslott were formally ceded to Russia by the Treaty of Nystad.

It developed along three radial streets, which meet at the Admiralty building and are now one street known as Nevsky Prospekt (which is considered the main street of the city), Gorokhovaya Street and Voznesensky Prospekt.

Nevsky Prospect is the main street in the city of St. Petersburg in Russia.

Baroque architecture became dominant in the city during the first sixty years, culminating in the Elizabethan Baroque, represented most notably by Italian Bartolomeo Rastrelli with such buildings as the Winter Palace.

Situated between Palace Embankment and Palace Square, in Saint Petersburg, adjacent to the site of Peter the Great's original Winter Palace, the present and fourth Winter Palace was built and altered almost continuously between the late 1730s and 1837, when it was severely damaged by fire and immediately rebuilt.

But four years later, in 1732, under Empress Anna of Russia, Saint Petersburg was again designated as the capital of the Russian Empire.

Much of her administration was defined or heavily influenced by actions set in motion by her uncle, Peter the Great, such as the continuation of lavish architectural advances in St. Petersburg, continued funding of the Russian Academy of Science, and measures which generally favored the nobility, such as the repeal of a primogeniture law in 1730.

The style of Petrine Baroque, developed by Trezzini and other architects and exemplified by such buildings as the Menshikov Palace, Kunstkamera, Peter and Paul Cathedral, Twelve Collegia, became prominent in the city architecture of the early 18th century.

It is located on the Universitetskaya Embankment in Saint Petersburg, facing the Winter Palace.

Swedish colonists built Nyenskans, a fortress at the mouth of the Neva River in 1611, in what was then called Ingermanland, which was inhabited by Finnic tribe of Ingrians.

According to some records, some 25,000 Ingrian Finns have returned or still reside in the Saint Petersburg region.

On 12 May 1703, during the Great Northern War, Peter the Great captured Nyenskans and soon replaced the fortress.

Meanwhile, the forces of Peter I had recovered from defeat at Narva and gained ground in Sweden's Baltic provinces, where they cemented Russian access to the Baltic Sea by founding Saint Petersburg in 1703.

An important Russian port on the Baltic Sea, it has a status of a federal subject (a federal city).

b. According to Article 13 of the Charter of Leningrad Oblast, the governing bodies of the oblast are located in the city of St. Petersburg.