The second largest city and largest seaport of Russia, St. Petersburg lies on the Gulf of Finland. Capital of czarist Russia for more than 200 years, St. Petersburg, renamed Leningrad in 1924, resumed its original name in September 1991. A showcase of 18th-century palaces and churches, it remains a center of modern culture, learning, and industry. St. Petersburg lies in the delta of the Neva River. Spreading over mainland and some 40 islands, it is cut by 80 river branches and canals and is linked by more than 300 bridges. The city is subject to flooding from waves on the Gulf of Finland backing into the river. Although St. Petersburg is among the northernmost of the world's large cities, the moderating effect of the warm waters of the Baltic Sea gives it a comparatively mild climate. Temperatures average 64° F (18° C) in July and 18° F (–8° C) in January. The Neva River is frozen from about November through March. High humidity, fog, and heavy rainfall are common. A special feature of St. Petersburg summers is the period of “white nights” in late June, when—because the city is so close to the Arctic Circle—only a brief period of twilight intervenes between sunset and sunrise. The city's ornate buildings and squares, erected by Peter the Great and his successors in the 18th century, have been carefully preserved (see Peter the Great). Palaces and other public buildings are grouped around squares or along distinctive avenues. The hub of the city is the Admiralty, one of the original sections of the city, on the south bank of the Neva. The broad avenues of downtown St. Petersburg converge there. Just upriver, the Winter Palace, former residence of the czars, houses the Hermitage Museum. Directly across the main channel of the Neva from the Admiralty is Vasilyevski Island, the largest of the city's islands. Just upriver, on Zayachy (Hare) Island, is the Peter and Paul Fortress, which was begun in 1703. Today it is used as a historical museum. Within the fortress complex is the St. Peter and St. Paul Cathedral, burial place of the czars. Many of the people of St. Petersburg live in large-scale housing developments, built since 1920 on the outskirts of the city. Electric trains carry commuters from the suburbs into the central city. Within the downtown area, people travel on streetcars and subways (opened in 1955). A favorite shopping boulevard is the Nevsky Prospekt, famed for its large department stores. The 945-foot (288-meter) tower of St. Petersburg Television is the city's highest structure. Lenin Park features the St. Petersburg Zoo, the botanical gardens, a planetarium, and several theaters and movie houses. Popular summer jazz concerts take place in the garden of Pioneers' Palace, while inside are a planetarium, a puppet theater, and a dance hall. Visitors enjoy the Summer Garden surrounding Peter the Great's Summer Palace. The white nights of midsummer are the occasion for a week-long citywide festival of music and the arts. Kirov Stadium seats 80,000 people. Nearby are smaller sports facilities and a seaside park. International athletic meets are held at the Winter Stadium. The Yubileiny (Jubilee) Sports Palace was opened in 1967, and a new multipurpose sports hall, seating 25,000, was built for the 1980 Olympic Games. St. Petersburg is one of the great cultural centers of Europe. Peter Tchaikovsky and Dimitri Shostakovich are two of many famous composers who spent their lives in the city and studied at the Conservatory. A statue of Nikolai Rimski-Korsakov, who taught at the Conservatory, stands near the entrance. The St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra performs at the Philharmonia Concert Hall. The largest concert hall in the city, the October Great Concert Hall, seats 4,000. Ballet and theater are active in St. Petersburg. The dancers Anna Pavlova, Vaslav Nijinsky, and Galina Ulanova all studied ballet at the Ballet School. The Mariinsky (formerly Kirov) Opera and Ballet Theater was the starting place for the careers of Ulanova, Rudolf Nureyev, and Mikhail Baryshnikov. The Pushkin Theater performs classical and modern drama. Experimental productions are featured at the Gorki Drama Theater. The outstanding art museum of Russia is the Hermitage. Founded in 1764, it has a huge collection of Russian, Oriental, and western European art. The State Russian Museum houses a collection of Russian paintings. The Academy of Arts includes two museums as well as a school of painting, sculpture, and architecture. In literature, too, St. Petersburg carries on traditions of eminence established when St. Petersburg was the capital of czarist Russia. A statue of Aleksander Pushkin commemorates one of St. Petersburg's most important authors. Others include Fedor Dostoevski, Nikolai Gogol, Maksim Gorki, and Ivan Turgenev. The Saltykov-Shchedrin Public Library has one of the country's largest collections from czarist times. The Kalinin Polytechnic Institute and the Lensoviet Technological Institute are among the city's more than 40 colleges. Zhdanov State University succeeded the University of St. Petersburg, founded in 1819. EconomySt. Petersburg is a leader in the production of modern heavy machinery and equipment, including turbines, turbogenerators, and nuclear-powered equipment. St. Petersburg's shipyards produce large-capacity tankers, fish-processing ships, and nuclear-propelled icebreakers. Other products include tractors and subway cars, sophisticated laboratory instruments, and clothing. Industrial products may be shipped by water either inland or out to the Baltic Sea. St. Petersburg is linked by water routes from the Baltic Sea to the Caspian and the Black and Azov seas. Substantial new port construction on the Gulf of Finland began in the 1980s. St. Petersburg is served by Pulkovo Airport, 11 miles (18 kilometers) south of the city center. Government and HistoryGreater St. Petersburg is divided into 21 administrative districts, including five suburbs. The center of government is in the former Maryinski Palace on St. Isaac's Square. The Smolny, seat of the first Soviet government in 1917, served as local headquarters for the Communist party until 1991. The city was founded as St. Petersburg at the beginning of the 18th century by Peter the Great, who wanted to “open a window to Europe.” Thus it is younger than most great European cities. Peter began construction of the Peter and Paul Fortress in 1703 and moved his imperial court there in 1712. The early 19th century was marked by crises. In November 1824 the Neva rose above its usual level and flooded half the city. A year later a group of noblemen, the Decembrists, rose in an unsuccessful revolt against the czars. The first railroad in Russia linked St. Petersburg with Tsarkoye Selo (now Pushkin) in 1837. Industrial growth followed. By 1862 there were some 300 factories in the city. Worker unrest laid the groundwork for revolution. On Bloody Sunday in January 1905, workers demonstrating outside the Winter Palace were shot and killed by czarist soldiers. In 1914, at the beginning of World War I, the city's name was changed to the more Russian-sounding Petrograd. Cold, hungry, and worn by war, revolutionaries of Petrograd deposed the czar in March 1917. They established a provisional government, which in turn was replaced by a Communist regime that took power through Lenin's leadership in the October Revolution of 1917. After Lenin's death in 1924, the new name Leningrad was adopted. (See also Lenin.) World War II brought extreme hardship to the people of Leningrad. From 1941 until 1943, the city was besieged by German and Finnish soldiers. During that period electric power and transportation were wiped out and water had to be carried from the river. Some 17,000 citizens were killed by bombs, while as many as 640,000 more died of starvation during the siege. After the war, extensive housing construction was undertaken. In 1991 the name of the city was changed back to St. Petersburg. (See also Russia; Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.) Population (2001), 4,628,000. |