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The, monument to Peter the Great Swedish colonists built, a fortress, at the mouth of the in 1611, in a land then called, that was inhabited by tribe of. A small town called 'Nyen' grew up around it.

Peter the Great was interested in seafaring and maritime affairs, and he intended to have Russia gain a seaport in order to be able to trade with other maritime nations. He needed a better seaport than, which was on the to the north and closed to shipping for months during the winter. On May 12 [ 1] 1703, during the, captured Nyenskans and soon replaced the fortress.

On May 27 [ 16] 1703, closer to the 5 km (3 mi) inland from the ), on, he laid down the, which became the first brick and stone building of the new city. The city was built by from all over Russia; a number of Swedish were also involved in some years under the supervision of. Tens of thousands of serfs died building the city. Later, the city became the centre of the.

Peter moved the capital from Moscow to Saint Petersburg in 1712, 9 years before the of 1721 ended the war; he referred to Saint Petersburg as the capital (or seat of government) as early as 1704. Map of Saint Petersburg, 1744 During its first few years, the city developed around Trinity Square on the right bank of the Neva, near the Peter and Paul Fortress. However, Saint Petersburg soon started to be built out according to a plan. By 1716 the had elaborated a project whereby the city centre would be located on and shaped by a rectangular grid of canals. The project was not completed, but is evident in the layout of the streets. In 1716, Peter the Great appointed Frenchman as the of Saint Petersburg.

The style of, developed by Trezzini and other architects and exemplified by such buildings as the,,,, became prominent in the city architecture of the early 18th century. In 1724 the, and Academic Gymnasium were established in Saint Petersburg by Peter the Great. In 1725, Peter died at the age of fifty-two. His endeavours to modernize Russia had met with opposition from the —resulting in several attempts on his life and a treason case involving his son.

In 1728, moved his seat back to Moscow. But four years later, in 1732, under Empress, Saint Petersburg was again designated as the capital of the.

It remained the seat of the and the Imperial Court of the, as well as the seat of the Russian government, for another 186 years until the. In 1736–1737 the city suffered from catastrophic fires. To rebuild the damaged boroughs, a committee under commissioned a new plan in 1737.

The city was divided into five boroughs, and the city center was moved to the Admiralty borough, situated on the east bank between the Neva and. Backed by the, as the main square of the Russian Empire it was the setting of many events of historic significance It developed along three radial streets, which meet at the and are now one street known as (which is considered the main street of the city), and. Became dominant in the city during the first sixty years, culminating in the Elizabethan Baroque, represented most notably by Italian with such buildings as the. In the 1760s, Baroque architecture was succeeded. Established in 1762, the Commission of Stone Buildings of Moscow and Saint Petersburg ruled that no structure in the city can be higher than the Winter Palace and prohibited spacing between buildings. During the reign of in the 1760s–1780s, the banks of the Neva were lined with embankments. However, it was not until 1850 that the first permanent bridge across the Neva,, was allowed to open.

Before that, only were allowed. (dug in 1769–1833) became the southern limit of the city. The most prominent neoclassical and architects in Saint Petersburg included: • (,,,, ) • () • (, ) • (Academy of Sciences,, ) • (, ) • () • () • (,,,,, design of many streets and squares) • (, ) • (, ). At the, December 26, 1825.

In 1810, established the first engineering, the in Saint Petersburg. Many monuments commemorate the Russian victory over in the, including the by Montferrand, erected in 1834, and the. In 1825, the suppressed against took place on the in the city, a day after Nicholas assumed the throne.

By the 1840s, neoclassical architecture had given way to various romanticist styles, which dominated until the 1890s, represented by such architects as (,,, ) and (). With the undertaken by in 1861 and an, the influx of former peasants into the capital increased greatly. Poor boroughs spontaneously emerged on the outskirts of the city. Saint Petersburg surpassed Moscow in population and industrial growth; it developed as one of the largest industrial cities in Europe, with a major naval base (in ), river and sea port. The names of saints and, bestowed upon and its (from 1725—a of Russian emperors) coincidentally were the names of the first two assassinated Russian Emperors, (1762, supposedly killed in a conspiracy led by his wife, ) and (1801, and other conspirators who brought to power, the son of their victim). The third emperor's assassination took place in Petersburg in 1881 when fell victim to (see the ). The began in Petrograd when the stormed the On November 7, 1917 ( October 25), the, led by, stormed the in an event known thereafter as the, which led to the end of the post-Tsarist, the transfer of all political power to the, and the rise of the.

After that the city acquired a new descriptive name, 'the city of three revolutions', referring to the three major developments in the political history of Russia of the early 20th-century. In September and October 1917, German troops the and threatened Petrograd with bombardment and invasion. On March 12, 1918, the Soviets transferred the government to Moscow, to keep it away from the state border. During the ensuing, in 1919 general advancing from Estonia repeated the attempt to capture the city, but mobilized the army and forced him to retreat. On January 26, 1924, five days after Lenin's death, Petrograd was renamed Leningrad. Later some streets and other were renamed accordingly. The city has over 230 places associated with the life and activities of Lenin.

Some of them were turned into museums, including the – a symbol of the October Revolution and the oldest ship in the. In the 1920s and 1930s, the poor outskirts were reconstructed into regularly planned boroughs.

Flourished around that time. Housing became a government-provided; many 'bourgeois' apartments were so large that numerous families were assigned to what were called 'communal' apartments ( ).

By the 1930s, 68% of the population lived in such housing. In 1935 a new general plan was outlined, whereby the city should expand to the south. Constructivism was rejected in favor of a more pompous. Moving the city center further from the border with Finland, adopted a plan to build a new city hall with a huge adjacent square at the southern end of, designated as the new main street of Leningrad. After the Second World War, the Soviet-Finnish border moved northwards. Nevsky Prospekt with Palace Square maintained the functions and the role of a city center.

In December 1931, Leningrad was administratively separated from. At that time it included the Leningrad Suburban District, some parts of which were transferred back to Leningrad Oblast in 1936 and turned into,, Pargolovsky District and Slutsky District (renamed Pavlovsky District in 1944). On December 1, 1934,, the popular communist leader of Leningrad, was assassinated, which became the pretext for the. World War II (1941–1945) [ ].

Citizens of Leningrad during the 872-day, in which more than one million civilians died. During, besieged Leningrad following the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941. The siege lasted 872 days, from September 1941 to January 1944. The proved one of the longest, most destructive, and of a major city in. It isolated the city from most supplies except those provided through the across. More than one million civilians were killed, mainly from starvation.

Many others were eventually evacuated or escaped, so the city became largely depopulated. On May 1, 1945, in his Supreme Commander Order No.

20, named Leningrad, alongside,, and, of the war. A law acknowledging the honorary title of 'Hero City' passed on May 8, 1965 (the 20th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War), during the. The of the USSR awarded Leningrad as a Hero City the and the 'for the heroic resistance of the city and tenacity of the survivors of the Siege'. The bearing the was installed in April 1985. Soviet Era Continued (1945–1991) [ ] In October 1946 some territories along the northern coast of the, which had passed to the USSR from Finland in 1940 under the following the, were transferred from Leningrad Oblast to Leningrad and divided into and. These included the town of (renamed in 1948).

Leningrad and many of its suburbs were rebuilt over the post-war decades, partially according to pre-war plans. The 1948 general plan for Leningrad featured radial in the north as well as in the south. In 1953 in Leningrad Oblast was abolished, and parts of its territory, including Pavlovsk, merged with Leningrad.

In 1954 the settlements, and merged with Leningrad. Leningrad gave its name to the (1949–1952), a notable event in the postwar political struggle in the.

It was a product of rivalry between Stalin's potential successors where one side was represented by the leaders of the city organization—the second most significant one in the country after Moscow. The entire elite leadership of Leningrad was destroyed, including the former mayor, the acting mayor Pyotr Sergeevich Popkov, and all their deputies; overall 23 leaders were sentenced to the death penalty, 181 to prison or exile (exonerated in 1954). About 2,000 ranking officials across the USSR were expelled from the party and the Komsomol and removed from leadership positions.

They were accused (almost entirely falsely) of Russian. The underground, designed before the war, opened in 1955 with its first eight stations decorated with and.

However, after the death of Stalin in 1953, the perceived ornamental excesses of the Stalinist architecture were abandoned. From the 1960s to the 1980s many new residential boroughs were built on the outskirts; while the apartment blocks were nearly identical to each other, many families moved there from kommunalkas in the city centre in order to live in separate apartments. Contemporary Era (1991-present) [ ].

View from the Colonnade, St. Isaac's Cathedral, Saint Petersburg On June 12, 1991, simultaneously with the, the city authorities arranged for the mayoral elections and a referendum upon the name of the city.

The turnout was 65%; 66.13% of the total count of votes went to, who became the first directly elected. Meanwhile, economic conditions started to deteriorate as the country tried to adapt to major changes. For the first time since the 1940s, food was introduced, and the city received humanitarian from abroad. This dramatic time was depicted in photographic series of Russian photographer. Economic conditions began to improve only at the beginning of the 21st century.

In 1995 a northern section of the of the was cut off by underground flooding, creating a major obstacle to the city development for almost ten years. In 1996, defeated in the elections for the head of the. The title of the city head was changed from 'mayor' to 'governor'.

In 2000 Yakovlev won re-election. His second term expired in 2004; the long-awaited restoration of broken subway connection was expected to finish by that time. But in 2003 Yakovlev suddenly resigned, leaving the governor's office to. Standard 'Home-Ship' (1970s–1980s) The law on election of the City Governor was changed, breaking the tradition of democratic election by a universal suffrage. In 2006 the re-approved Matviyenko as governor.

Residential building had intensified again; inflated greatly, which caused many new problems for the preservation of the historical part of the city. Although the central part of the city has a designation (there are about 8,000 architectural monuments in Petersburg), the preservation of its historical and architectural environment became controversial. After 2005, the demolition of older buildings in the historical centre was permitted. In 2006 announced an ambitious project to erect a opposite to, which [ ] could result in the loss of the unique line of Petersburg landscape. [ ] Urgent protests by citizens and prominent public figures of Russia against this project were not considered by Governor and the city authorities until December 2010, when after the statement of President, the city decided to find a more appropriate location for this project. In the same year, the new location for the project was relocated to, a historical area northwest of the center city, and the new project would be named. Construction was approved by Gazprom and the city administration and commenced in 2012.

The Lakhta Center would be the first and that is outside of. Geography [ ]. Satellite image of Saint Petersburg The area of Saint Petersburg city proper is 605.8 square kilometers (233.9 sq mi). The area of the federal subject is 1,439 square kilometers (556 sq mi), which contains Saint Petersburg proper (consisting of eighty-one municipal ), nine municipal towns – (,,,,,,,, ) – and twenty-one municipal settlements. Petersburg is situated on the middle lowlands along the shores of the of the, and islands of the river delta. The largest are (besides the between Obvodny canal and, and in the ),, and.

The latter together with and are covered mostly by parks. The, North of the city, is a popular. In the south Saint Petersburg crosses the and meets the. The elevation of Saint Petersburg ranges from the sea level to its highest point of 175.9 meters (577 ft) at the Orekhovaya Hill in the in the south. Part of the city's territory west of is no higher than 4 meters (13 ft), and has suffered from numerous floods. Are triggered by a long wave in the, caused by meteorological conditions, winds and shallowness of the. The four most disastrous floods occurred in 1824 (421 centimeters or 166 inches above sea level, during which over three hundred buildings were destroyed ), 1924 (380 centimeters or 150 inches), 1777 (321 centimeters or 126 inches), 1955 (293 centimeters or 115 inches), and 1975 (281 centimeters or 111 inches).

To prevent floods, the has been constructed. Since the 18th century the terrain in the city has been raised artificially, at some places by more than 4 meters (13 ft), making mergers of several islands, and changing the hydrology of the city. Besides the Neva and its tributaries, other important rivers of the federal subject of Saint Petersburg are, and. The largest lake is Sestroretsky Razliv in the north, followed by, Suzdal Lakes and other smaller lakes. Due to location at ca. 60° N the in Petersburg varies across seasons, ranging from 5 hours 53 minutes to 18 hours 50 minutes. A period from mid-May to mid-July when twilight may last all night is called the.

Main article: Under the, Saint Petersburg is classified as Dfb, a. Distinct moderating influence of the cyclones result in warm, humid and short summers and long, moderately cold wet winters. Climate of Saint Petersburg is close to the climate of, although colder in winter and warmer in summer because of its more eastern location. The average maximum temperature in July is 23 °C (73 °F), and the average minimum temperature in February is −8.5 °C (16.7 °F); an extreme temperature of 37.1 °C (98.8 °F) occurred during the. A winter minimum of −35.9 °C (−32.6 °F) was recorded in 1883. The average annual temperature is 5.8 °C (42.4 °F). The Neva River within the city limits usually freezes up in November–December and break-up occurs in April.

From December to March there are 118 days average with snow cover, which reaches an average snow depth of 19 cm (7.5 in) by February. The frost-free period in the city lasts on average for about 135 days. Petersburg's northern location, its winters are warmer than Moscow's due to the and some influence from Scandinavian winds that can bring temperature slightly above freezing. The city also has a slightly warmer climate than its suburbs.

Weather conditions are quite variable all year round. Average annual varies across the city, averaging 660 millimeters (26 in) per year and reaching maximum in late summer. Soil moisture is almost always high because of lower due to the cool climate. Is 78% on average, and there is on average, 165 days per year. This section needs additional citations for.

Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2017) () The first and fairly rich chapter of the history of the local is the story of the own name of the city itself. The of falls on June 29, when the observes the memory of and. The consecration of the small wooden church in their names (its construction began simultaneously with the citadel) made them the heavenly patrons of the, while St. Peter at the same time became the of the whole city.

In June officially gave the site the name Sankt Pieter Burkh (an emulation of topografical suffix -burg, which refers to fortified towns and places, as Peter was a ) which was subsequently. Passengers Saint Petersburg is the second largest city in Russia. As of the 2017 Rosstat, the federal subject's population is 5,281,579 or 3.6% of the total population of Russia; up from 4,879,566 (3.4%) recorded in the, and up from 5,023,506 recorded in the. Vital statistics for 2016 • Births: 72 879 (13.9 per 1000) • Deaths: 61 459 (11.7 per 1000) • Total fertility rate: 2009 – 1.34 2010 – 1.38 2011 – 1.38 2012 – 1.48 2013 – 1.48 2014 – 1.52 2015 – 1.59 2016 – 1.65(e) The 2010 Census recorded the ethnic composition as follows: Russian 80.1%, 1.3%, 0.8%, 0.6%, 0.6%, Jewish 0.5%, 0.4%, 0.3%, 0.3%, 0.2%, 0.2%, 0.1%, other – 1.3%. The ethnicity of the remaining 13.4% of the inhabitants was not specified. During the 20th century, the city experienced dramatic population changes.

From 2.4 million residents in 1916 its population dropped to less than 740,000 by 1920 during the and. The minorities of Germans, Poles, Finns, Estonians and Latvians were almost completely from Leningrad during the 1930s. From 1941 to the end of 1943, population dropped from 3 million to less than 600,000, as people died in battles, starved to death during the, or were evacuated. After the siege, some of the evacuees returned, but most influx was due to migration from other parts of the Soviet Union. The city absorbed about 3 million people in the 1950s and grew to over 5 million in the 1980s. From 1991 to 2006 the city's population decreased to 4.6 million, while the suburban population increased due to privatization of land and massive move to suburbs. Based on the 2010 census results the current population is over 4.8 million.

The remained lower than the (until the 2012 ); people over 65 constitute more than twenty percent of the population; and the median age is about 40 years. Since 2012 the became higher than the People in urban Saint Petersburg lived mostly in apartments. Between 1918 and the 1990s, the Soviets housing and forced residents to share communal apartments ( ). With 68% living in shared flats in the 1930s, Leningrad was the city in the USSR with the largest number of kommunalkas. Resettling residents of kommunalkas is now on the way out, albeit shared apartments are still not uncommon. As new boroughs were built on the outskirts in the 1950s–1980s, over half a million low income families eventually received free apartments, and about an additional hundred thousand condos were purchased. While economic and social activity is concentrated in the, the richest part of Saint Petersburg, most people live in.

For the first half of 2007, the birth rate was 9.1 per 1000. Religion [ ]. The city assembly meets in the Saint Petersburg is a of Russia (a ). The political life of Saint Petersburg is regulated by the adopted by the city legislature in 1998. The superior executive body is the, led by the (mayor before 1996).

Saint Petersburg has a legislature, the, which is the city's. According to the federal law passed in 2004, heads of federal subjects, including the governor of Saint Petersburg, were nominated by the and approved by local legislatures. Should the legislature disapprove the nominee, the President could dissolve it.

The former governor,, was approved according to the new system in December 2006. She was the only woman governor in the whole of Russia until her resignation on August 22, 2011. Matviyenko stood for elections as member of the Regional Council of Saint Petersburg and won comprehensively with allegations of rigging and ballot stuffing by the opposition. Russian President has already backed her for the position of Speaker to the and her election qualifies her for that job. After her resignation, was appointed as the new acting governor the same day.

In 2012, following passage of a new federal law, restoring direct elections of heads of federal subjects, the city charter was again amended to provide for direct elections of governor. Saint Petersburg city is currently divided into. Saint Petersburg is also the unofficial but de facto administrative centre of, and of the. The moved to Saint Petersburg from Moscow in May 2008.

Saint Petersburg and Leningrad Oblast, being two different federal subjects, share a number of local departments of federal executive agencies and courts, such as court of arbitration, police,, postal service, drug enforcement administration, penitentiary service, federal registration service, and other federal services. Power Machines plant building on Sverdlovskaya embankment in Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg is a major trade gateway, serving as the financial and industrial centre of Russia, with specialisions in oil and gas trade; shipbuilding yards;; technology, including radio, electronics, software, and computers; machine building, heavy machinery and transport, including tanks and other; mining; manufacture; ferrous and nonferrous (production of aluminium alloys); chemicals,, and; publishing and printing; food and catering; wholesale and retail; textile and industries; and many other businesses. It was also home to, one of Russia's two pioneering automobile manufacturers (along with ); it was founded by machine tool and boiler maker G. Lessner in 1904, with designs by, and it survived until 1910.

Ten percent of the world's power are made there at the, which built over two thousand turbines for across the world. Major local industries are,,,,,; also registered in Saint Petersburg are, and among other major Russian and international companies. Saint Petersburg has three large cargo: Bolshoi Port Saint Petersburg,, and. International have been served at the passenger port at on the south-west of. In 2008 the first two berths were opened at the on the west of the island. The new port is part of the city's 'Marine Facade' development project and is due to have seven berths in operation by 2010.

A complex system of riverports on both banks of the are interconnected with the system of seaports, thus making Saint Petersburg the main link between the and the rest of Russia through the. The (Monetny Dvor), founded in 1724, is one of the largest in the world, it mints, medals and badges.

Saint Petersburg is also home to the oldest and largest Russian foundry,, which made thousands of sculptures and statues that are now gracing public parks of Saint Petersburg, as well as many other cities. Monuments and of the Tsars, as well as other important historic figures and dignitaries, and other world famous monuments, such as the sculptures by,,, and others, were made there. In 2007, opened a plant after investing 5 billion roubles (approx. 200 mln dollars) in Shushary, one of the southern suburbs of Saint Petersburg., Hyundai and Nissan have signed deals with the to build their automotive plants in Saint Petersburg too. Automotive and auto-parts industry is on the rise there during the last decade. Saint Petersburg is the location of a significant brewery and distillery industry. It is known as the 'beer capital' of Russia, due to the supply and quality of local water, contributing over 30% of the domestic production of beer with its five large-scale breweries including Europe's second largest brewery, Vena (both operated by BBH),, (both by ) and (SUN-).

The city has a lot of local that produce a broad range of brands. The oldest ones is (founded in 1897). Among the youngest is introduced in Moscow in 1998, which opened in 2006 a new $60 million distillery in Petersburg (an area of 30,000 m 2 (320,000 sq ft), production rate of 22,500 bottles per hour). In 2007 this brand was exported to over 70 countries. Saint Petersburg has the second largest in Russia, including commercial, housing and road construction. In 2006 Saint Petersburg's city budget was 179.9 billion rubles (about 6.651 billion US$ at ), and is planned to double by 2012.

The federal subject's as of 2015 was 3,24 trillion (about 50 billion US$ at ), ranked 4th in Russia, after Moscow,, and, or 580,000 rubles per capita (about 9,500 US$ at ), ranked 12th among Russia's federal subjects, contributed mostly by wholesale and and repair services (24.7%) as well as processing industry (20.9%) and transportation and telecommunications (15.1%). Budget revenues of the city in 2009 amounted to 294.3 billion rubles (about 10.044 billion US$ at 2009 exchange rates), expenses – 336.3 billion rubles (about 11.477 billion US$ at 2009 exchange rates). The budget deficit amounted to about 42 billion rubles. (about 1.433 billion US$ at 2009 exchange rates) Cityscape [ ]. Saint Petersburg has three skyscrapers: Leader Tower (140 m), Alexander Nevsky (124 m) and Atlantic City (105 m) all three being situated far away from the historical centre. Current regulations forbid construction of tall buildings in the city centre. The 310-meter (1,020 ft) tall is the tallest completed structure in the city.

However, there was a controversial project endorsed by the city authorities, and known as the, to build a 396 meters (1,299 ft) skyscraper. In 2008, the included the Saint Petersburg historic skyline on the watch list of the 100 most endangered sites due to the expected construction, which threatens to alter it drastically. The Okhta Center project has been finally cancelled at the end of 2010 and instead of that project is started at the city outskirts. The complex will include 463-metre-tall (1,519-foot) office skyscraper and several low rise mixed use buildings. The Lakhta Center project has caused much less controversy and, unlike the previous unbuilt project, is not seen by as a potential threat to the city's cultural heritage because it is located far away from the historical centre. Skyscraper construction has already started, and the building is set to be completed in 2018. It is assumed that the building will be the tallest in Russia and Europe.

Unlike in Moscow, in Saint Petersburg the historic architecture of the city centre, mostly consisting of and neoclassical buildings of the 18th and 19th centuries, has been largely preserved; although a number of buildings were demolished after the Bolsheviks' seizure of power, during the and in recent years. [ ] The oldest of the remaining building is a wooden house built for in 1703 on the shore of the near Trinity Square. Since 1991 the in Saint Petersburg and Leningrad Oblast have been listed by as a. The ensemble of with the takes a dominant position on along the right bank of the. Each noon a cannon fires a blank shot from the fortress.

The, the largest mosque in Europe when opened in 1913, is situated on the right bank nearby. The, which splits the river into two largest armlets, the and, is connected to the northern bank () via the and occupied by the. The southern coast of along the Bolshaya Neva features some of the city's oldest buildings, dating from the 18th century, including the,, and. It hosts one of two campuses of. On the southern, left bank of the Neva, connected to the spit of Vasilyevsky Island via the, lie the, the vast complex stretching along the, which includes the baroque, former official residence of Russian emperors, as well as the neoclassical. The faces, the city's main square with the., also situated on the left bank of the, is the main avenue in the city. It starts at the and runs eastwards next to.

Nevsky Prospekt crosses the (), (),, the (), meets and proceeds to near the, where it meets and turns to the.,, (former Building in the style),,,,, behind 's statue of,,, and are all situated along that avenue. The, intended to house the relics of, is an important centre of in Russia. It also contains the with graves of many notable Petersburgers. On the territory between the Neva and Nevsky Prospekt the, Mikhailovsky Palace housing the,,,,, and are located.

Many notable landmarks are situated to the west and south of the Admiralty Building, including the,,, famous,,, the largest in the city, and, also known as with the, 18th century equestrian monument to, which is considered among the city's most recognisable symbols. Other symbols of Saint Petersburg include the in the shape of a small ship on top of the Admiralty's golden spire and the golden angel on top of the Peter and Paul Cathedral. The Palace Bridge at night is yet another symbol of the city. Every night during the navigation period from April to November, 22 bridges across the Neva and main canals are drawn to let ships pass in and out of the Baltic Sea according to a schedule. It was not until 2004 that the first high bridge across the Neva, which does not need to be drawn,, was opened. There are hundreds of smaller spanning across numerous canals and distributaries of the Neva, some of the most important of which are the,,,, and.

Due to the intricate web of canals, Saint Petersburg is often called. The rivers and canals in the city centre are lined with granite embankments. The embankments and bridges are separated from rivers and canals.

Southern suburbs of the city feature former imperial residences, including, with majestic fountain cascades and parks,, with the baroque and the neoclassical, and, which contains a domed palace of and one of the largest English-style parks in Europe. Some other residences situated nearby and making part of the world heritage site, including a castle and park in, actually belong to rather than Saint Petersburg. Another notable suburb is with its 19th-century fortifications and naval monuments, occupying the in the Gulf of Finland. Since around the end of the 20th century a great deal of active building and restoration works have been carried out in a number of the city's older districts. The authorities have recently been compelled to transfer the ownership of state-owned private residences in the city centre to private lessors. Many older buildings have been reconstructed to allow their use as apartments and penthouses. Some of these structures, such as the have been recognised as town-planning errors.

The Bolshoi Zal (Grand Hall) of. Saint Petersburg has a significant historical and cultural heritage. The 18th and 19th-century architectural ensemble of the city and its environs is preserved in virtually unchanged form. For various reasons (including large-scale destruction during and construction of modern buildings during the postwar period in the largest historical centers of Europe), Saint Petersburg has become a unique reserve of European architectural styles of the past three centuries. Saint Petersburg's loss of capital city status helped the city to retain many of its pre-revolutionary buildings, as modern architectural 'prestige projects' tended to be built in Moscow; this largely prevented the rise of mid-to-late-20th-century architecture and helped maintain the architectural appearance of the historic city center. Saint Petersburg is inscribed on the World Heritage list as an area with 36 historical architectural complexes and around 4000 outstanding individual monuments of architecture, history and culture. New tourist programs and sightseeing tours have been developed for those wishing to see Saint Petersburg's cultural heritage.

The Small Italian Skylight Room in the. The city has 221 museums, 2000 libraries, more than 80 theaters, 100 concert organizations, 45 galleries and exhibition halls, 62 cinemas and around 80 other cultural establishments. Every year the city hosts around 100 festivals and various competitions of art and culture, including more than 50 international ones.

[ ] Despite the, not a single major theatre or museum was closed in Saint Petersburg; on the contrary many new ones opened, for example a private museum of puppets (opened in 1999) is the third museum of its kind in Russia, where collections of more than 2000 dolls are presented including 'The multinational Saint Petersburg' and '. The museum world of Saint Petersburg is incredibly diverse. The city is not only home to the world-famous and the with its rich collection of, but also the palaces of Saint Petersburg and its suburbs, so-called small town museums and others like the museum of famous Russian writer;, the museum of decorative arts and the museum of professional orientation. The of Saint Petersburg is rich and diverse, with the city now playing host to a number of annual carnivals.

Ballet performances occupy a special place in the cultural life of Saint Petersburg. The Petersburg School of Ballet is named as one of the best in the world. Traditions of the Russian classical school have been passed down from generation to generation among outstanding educators.

The art of famous and prominent Saint Petersburg dancers like,, was, and is, admired throughout the world. Contemporary Petersburg ballet is made up not only of traditional Russian classical school, but also ballets by those like, who expanded the scope of strict classical to almost unimaginable limits. Remaining faithful to the classical basis (he was a choreographer at the ), he combined with the, and then, in turn, with acrobatics, rhythmic gymnastics, dramatic expressiveness,, color, light, and finally with spoken word. Media and communications [ ] All major Russian newspapers are active in Saint Petersburg. The city has a developed telecommunications system.

In 2014, the national operator announced it began a major modernization of the fixed-line network in the city. Television networks that can be received in the city. The (building on the right) Saint Petersburg is home to more than two hundred museums, many of them hosted in historic buildings. The largest of the museums is the, featuring interiors of the former imperial residence and a vast collection of art. The is a large museum devoted specifically to Russian fine art. The apartments of some famous Petersburgers, including,,,,,,,,, as well as some palace and park ensembles of the southern suburbs and notable architectural monuments such as St. Isaac's Cathedral, have also been turned into public museums.

The, with its collection established in 1714 by Peter the Great to collect curiosities from all over the world, is sometimes considered the first museum in Russia, which has evolved into the present-day. The, which has been split from the Russian Museum, is devoted to the cultures of the people of Russia, the and Russian Empire. A number of museums provide insight into the Soviet history of Saint Petersburg, including the Museum of the Blockade, which describes the and the Museum of Political History, which explains many authoritarian features of the.

Other notable museums include the, and,, the,, Museum of the Siege of Leningrad,, the largest non-governmental Museum of contemporary art in Russia, in the and, which includes not only artillery items, but also a huge collection of other military equipment, uniforms and decorations. The main auditorium of the Mariinsky Theatre Among the city's more than fifty theatres is the world-famous (also known as the Kirov Theatre in the USSR), home to the company and opera. Leading ballet dancers, such as,,,, and, were principal stars of the Mariinsky ballet. The first music school, the, was founded in 1862 by the Russian pianist and composer. The school alumni have included such notable composers as,,, and, who taught at the conservatory during the 1960s, bringing it additional fame.

The renowned Russian composer also taught at the conservatory from 1871 to 1905. Among his students were,, and others. The former St. Petersburg apartment of Rimsky-Korsakov has been faithfully preserved as the.

Celebration on the River in Saint Petersburg Dmitri Shostakovich, who was born and raised in Saint Petersburg, dedicated his to the city, calling it the 'Leningrad Symphony'. He wrote the symphony while based in the city during the siege of Leningrad. It was premiered in Samara in March 1942; a few month later, it received its first in the besieged Leningrad at the Bolshoy Philharmonic Hall under the baton of conductor. It was heard over the radio and was said to have lifted the spirits of the surviving population. In 1992, the 7th Symphony was performed by the 14 surviving orchestral players of the Leningrad premiere in the same hall as half a century before. The remained one of the best known in the world under the leadership of conductors and. Mravinsky's term as artistic director of the Leningrad Philharmonic – a term that is possibly the longest of any conductor with any orchestra in modern times – led the orchestra from being a little-known provincial ensemble to it becoming one of the world's most highly regarded orchestras today, especially for the performance of Russian music.

The Imperial Choral Capella was founded and modeled after the royal courts of other European capitals. The, Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg has been home to the newest movements in in the country. The first band in the Soviet Union was founded here by in the 1920s, under the patronage of. The first jazz club in the Soviet Union was founded here in the 1950s and was later named Kvadrat. In 1956 the popular ensemble was founded by and to become the first popular band in the USSR during the 1950s. In the 1960s student rock-groups, and others pioneered a series of unofficial and concerts and festivals. A Tutor For The Renaissance Lute Pdf Reader. In 1972 founded the band, which later grew to huge popularity.

Since then 'Peter's rock' was formed. In the 1970s many bands came out from 'underground' and eventually founded the, which provided a stage to such bands as,, headed by the legendary,,,,, and many other popular groups.

The first Russian-style happening show, mixing over 300 people and animals on stage, was directed by the multi-talented in the 1980s. The annual International Music Festival SKIF () is named after him. In 2004 the was founded, were the SKIF as well as the Electro-Mechanica festival and Ethnomechanica festival takes place. SKIF focuses on and, Electro-Mechanica on and Ethnomechanica on. Today's Saint Petersburg boasts many notable musicians of various genres, from popular Leningrad's,,,, to rock veterans, and.

In the early 2000s on a wave of popularity of,, and there are such groups as,, Psychea,, and. The in Saint Petersburg is famous for spectacular fireworks and a massive show celebrating the end of the. The Saint Petersburg has a longstanding and world famous tradition in literature.

Called it 'The most abstract and intentional city in the world', emphasizing its artificiality, but it was also a symbol of modern disorder in a changing Russia. It frequently appeared to as a menacing and inhuman mechanism. The grotesque and often nightmarish image of the city is featured in Pushkin's last poems, the Petersburg stories of, the novels of, the verse of and, and in the symbolist novel. According to Lotman in his chapter, 'The Symbolism of Saint Petersburg' in Universe and the Mind, these writers were inspired by symbolism from within the city itself. The effect of life in Saint Petersburg on the plight of the poor clerk in a society obsessed with hierarchy and status also became an important theme for authors such as, Gogol and Dostoyevsky. Another important feature of early Saint Petersburg literature is its mythical element, which incorporates and popular, as the stories of Pushkin and Gogol included ghosts returning to Saint Petersburg to haunt other characters as well as other fantastical elements, creating a surreal and abstract image of Saint Petersburg. 20th-century writers from Saint Petersburg, such as,, Andrey Bely and, along with his apprentices, The created entire new styles in literature and contributed new insights to the understanding of society through their experience in this city.

Became an important leader for. Her poem Requiem adumbrates the perils encountered during the Stalinist era. Another notable 20th-century writer from Saint Petersburg is, recipient of the (1987). While living in the United States, his writings in English reflected on life in Saint Petersburg from the unique perspective of being both an insider and an outsider to the city in essays such as, 'A Guide to a Renamed City' and the nostalgic 'In a Room and a Half'. Education [ ]. Leningrad hosted part of the association football tournament during the 1980. The 1994 were also held here.

In boating, the first competition here was the 1703 event initiated by Peter the Great, after the victory over the. Events were held by the Russian Navy since the foundation of the city.:,, the latter is the oldest yacht club in the world.

Fs2crew Pmdg Md-11 Edition Fs9/fsx Combo Pack. In the winter, when the sea and lake surfaces are frozen and yachts and dinghies cannot be used, local people sail. Has been a long tradition, popular among the Tsars and aristocracy, as well as part of. Several historic sports arenas were built for equestrianism since the 18th century, to maintain training all year round, such as the and, among others. Tradition was highlighted by the 1914 international tournament, partially funded by the Tsar, in which the title 'Grandmaster' was first formally conferred by to five players:,,, and. Logo (now demolished) was one of the largest stadiums in the world and home to from 1950 to 1993 and again in 1995. In 1951 a crowd of 110,000 set the single-game attendance record for Soviet football. In 1984, 2007, 2010 and 2011/2012 Zenit were the champions of the and leagues, respectively, and won the Russian Cup in 1999 and 2010, the and the.

The team leader was local player. Zenit currently play their home games. The, which will host matches, is currently under construction. There is also a second professional football club in Saint Petersburg,, which is owned by the historic. Hockey teams in the city include in the, in the, and junior clubs and in the. Is one of the most popular in the, consistently being at or near the top of the league in attendance.

Along with their popularity, they are one of the best teams in the KHL right now, as they have won the twice. Well-known players on the team include,,, and. During the NHL lockout, stars, and also played for the team. They play their home games. The city's long-time basketball team is, which launched the career of. Kondrashin Belov won two championships in the (1975 and 1992), two (1978 and 1987), and a title (2011). They also won the twice (1973 and 1975).

Legends of the club include and. The city also has a new basketball team,. Infrastructure [ ] Transportation [ ]. A section of the Saint Petersburg is a major transport hub. The first Russian railway was built here in 1837, and since then the city's transport infrastructure has continued to develop and keep pace with the growth of the city.

Petersburg has an extensive system of local roads and railway services, maintains a large public transport system that includes the and the, and is home to a number of riverine services that convey passengers around the city efficiently and in relative comfort. The city is connected to the rest of Russia and the wider world by a number of federal highways and national and international rail routes. Serves the majority of air passengers departing from or arriving to the city. Roads and public transport [ ]. Docking in St.Petersburg upon arrival from (2008). Saint Petersburg has an extensive city-funded network of public transport (buses,, ) and several hundred routes served.

Used to be the main mean of transport; in the 1980s this was the largest tram network in the world, but many tracks were dismantled in the 2000s. Buses carry up to three million passengers daily, serving over 250 urban and a number of suburban bus routes. Underground rapid transit system was opened in 1955; it now has 5 lines with 67 stations, connecting all five railway terminals, and carrying 2.3 million passengers daily. Metro stations are often elaborately decorated with materials such as marble and bronze. Are common in the city due to daily commuter traffic volumes, intercity traffic and excessive winter snow. The construction of such as the, completed in 2011, and the, completed in 2017, helped partially reduce the traffic in the city. The controversial, also known as the Moscow-Saint Petersburg Motorway, would connect Saint Petersburg and Moscow by a freeway and is expected to be completed before the.

Construction has started in 2010 and the first sections of the freeway was finished in 2014 and 2015. Saint Petersburg is an important linking to Russia and Eastern Europe. The city is a node of the towards, towards, towards, and and towards, and (north) and towards Moscow and (south). Saint Petersburg public transportation statistics [ ] The average amount of time people spend commuting with public transit in Saint Petersburg, for example to and from work, on a weekday is 69 min.

19.6% of public transit riders, ride for more than 2 hours every day. The average amount of time people wait at a stop or station for public transit is 11 min, while 16.1% of riders wait for over 20 minutes on average every day. The average distance people usually ride in a single trip with public transit is 7 km, while 15.% travel for over 12 km in a single direction. Waterways [ ] The city is also served by passenger and cargo seaports in the of the,, the river port higher up the Neva and tens of smaller passenger stations on both banks of the Neva river.

It is a terminus of both the and waterways. The first high bridge that does not need to be drawn, a 2,824-meter (9,265 ft) long, opened in 2004. Meteor link the city centre to the coastal towns of,,, and from May through October.

In the warmer months many smaller boats and water-taxis maneuver the canals throughout the city. The shipping company operates two ferries that sail from to St Petersburg and from to St Petersburg. The high-speed train runs between Moscow and Saint Petersburg The city is the final destination for a web of intercity and suburban railways, served by five different railway terminals (,,, and ), as well as dozens of non-terminal within the federal subject. Saint Petersburg has international railway connections to, Finland, Berlin, Germany and many former republics of the USSR. The, which was built in 1870 and is 443 kilometers (275 mi) long, has trains running four times a day, in a journey lasting about three and a half hours with the new train. The opened in 1851, and is 651 kilometers (405 mi) long; the commute to Moscow now requires from three and a half to nine hours.

In 2009 launched a high speed service for the Moscow – Saint Petersburg route. The new train, known as, is a derivative of the popular train; various versions of this already operate in some European countries.

It set records for the fastest train in Russia on May 2, 2009, travelling at 281 km/h (174.6 mph) and on May 7, 2009, traveling at 290 kilometers per hour (180 mph). Since December 12, 2010, a joint venture between and, has been running operated high-speed services between Saint Petersburg's and Helsinki's railway stations. These services are branded as 'Allegro' trains. 'Allegro' is known for suffering some big technical problems from time to time, which sometimes result in significant delays and even cancel of tourists' trips. Saint Petersburg is served by, and also by three smaller commercial and cargo airports in the suburbs., which is located near Saint Petersburg but on the Finnish side of the border is also popular among Russian travellers. Pulkovo airport was opened to passengers as a small aerodrome in 1931. As of 2013, the Pulkovo airport, which handles over 12 million passengers annually, is the 3rd busiest in Russia after Moscow's and.

As a result, the steadily increasing passenger traffic has triggered a massive modernization of the entire airport infrastructure. A newly built Terminal 1 of the Pulkovo airport was put into operation on December 4, 2013 and integrated international flights of the former terminal Pulkovo-2. The renovated terminal Pulkovo-1 has been opened for domestic flights as an extension of the Terminal 1 in 2015. There is a regular rapid-bus connection (buses 39, 39E, K39) between Pulkovo airport and the as well as 24/7 taxi service.

Parks [ ] Saint Petersburg is home to numerous parks and gardens, some of the most famous of which are situated in the southern suburbs, including one of the largest in Europe in. Is the largest park within the limits of the city proper, occupying 240 ha. The is the oldest one, dating back to the early 18th century and designed in the regular style. It is situated on the southern bank of the Neva at the head of the Fontanka and is famous for its cast iron railing and marble sculptures. Among other notable parks are the on and the in the south, both commemorating the victory over in the, as well as the occupying and the around the. The most common trees grown in the parks are the,,,,,,,, and. Important dating back to the 19th century are hosted by the and the Park of the Forestry Academy.

In order to commemorate 300 years anniversary of Saint Petersburg a new park was laid out. The park is situated in the north western part of the city. The construction was started in 1995. It is planned to connect the park with the pedestrian bridge to the territory of 's recreation areas.

In the park 300 trees of valuable sorts, 300 decorative apple-trees, 70 limes. 300 other trees and bushes were planted. These trees were presented to Saint Petersburg by non-commercial and educational organizations of the city, its sister-cities, city of Helsinki, heads of other regions of Russia, German Savings Bank and other people and organizations. The The crime dynamic in Saint Petersburg is tightly associated with the general social situation in the country. A sharp spike in the crime level occurred in the late 1980s/early 1990s as a result of the -time turmoils (redistribution of property, privatization, decline of living standards, decrease of the effectiveness of etc.) By then the city had fallen under the control of a number of organized criminal groups such as, Malyshev Gang, and ethnic criminal groups, engaged in,, paying off local government and violent clashes with each other. After the assassinations of City Property Committee chairman and vice-Governor (1997), deputy (1998), acting City Legislature Speaker (1999) and a number of prominent businesspeople, Saint Petersburg was dubbed Capital of Crime in the Russian press.

There were a number of movies filmed in Saint Petersburg about the life of crime, and, reinforcing its image as the Crime Capital of Russia. According to official sources the number of crimes committed by foreigners in Saint Petersburg in 2010 increased by 11.1%. Law enforcement authorities consider this was associated with an increased number of people from some who live in Saint Petersburg illegally.

On the other hand, some media reported that in recent years there had been a notable increase in racially motivated violence, in particular towards. One of the notable groups, Belaya Energia (White Energy, inspired by US ' groups) has reportedly been one of the gangs involved in murdering foreign university students. The official portal of the Government of Saint Petersburg provided data on significant improvements in the crime situation. In particular, it was reported that the number of crimes against tourists had decreased by more than half during 2009–2011. In 2012, Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs warned LGBT travellers about a vaguely worded law in Saint Petersburg that came into effect on March 17, 2012, making it a criminal offence to publicize acts of male or female homosexuality, bisexuality, or transgenderism.

The intention of the law is to protect minors. A Russian travel advisory on the Foreign Affairs website notes that while homosexuality is legal in Russia (it was decriminalized in 1993), LGBT Canadian travellers should avoid 'displaying affection in public, as homosexuals can be targets of violence. Public actions (including dissemination of information, statements, displays or conspicuous behaviour) contradicting or appearing to contradict this law may lead to arrest, prosecution and the imposition of a fine.' Twin towns and sister cities [ ].

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