St. Petersburg is one of the youngest of the largest European cities. It was founded on May 27, 1703 by the Russian emperor Peter the Great.

St. Petersburg is the symbol of the European part of Russia and one of the most venerable capitals of the world. Unlike other names of European capitals that consist of one word, the name Sankt-Peterburg consists of three parts each having its own meaning. Sankt from the Latin sanctus meaning holy; Peter, the name of the one of the twelve apostles, also meaning rock in Greek; and burg from the German and Dutch word meaning town. Thus, the name of the young capital unites the names of Peter the Great, his patron saint, as well as cultures of Ancient Greece and Rome, Germany and Holland. The name of the new Russian city and its symbols emphasize the connection with classical Rome the patron saint of which was the apostle Peter. Even the coat of arms of St. Petersburg with its two crossed anchors is remarkably similar to that of the Vatican. The history of the new Russian capital is imprinted in the architectural appearance of the city. The greatest reigns and architectural chefs-d'oeuvre of the 18th-20th centuries are embraced in one chronicle of St. Petersburg.

The main events of the history of St. Petersburg

May 16 (May 27 according to the Julian Calendar), 1703 - Founding of the fortress and the city of St. Petersburg by the emperor Peter I (Peter the Great).
1703-1914 St. Petersburg
1914-1924 Petrograd
1924-1991 Leningrad
1712-1728
and 1732-1918 the capital of Russia
1927-1931 the Administrative Center of the Leningrad Region
1931-1993 the city subject to the Soviet republic
1993-the present the city of the federal significance, a separate administrative unit of the Russian Federation (as Moscow)
1714 the foundation of the Kunstkamera, the first Russian museum of natural history
1721 the title of The Father of the Fatherland was conferred on Peter the Great
1725 Peter the Great died
1757 the Academy of Art was founded
1762 Catherine II ascension to the throne
1764 the foundation of the Hermitage as a palace museum
1795 the foundation of the Public Library
1832 the opening of the Aleksandinsky (Pushkin) Drama Theater
1837 the opening of the first Russian railroad St. Petersburg-Tsarskoe Selo
1851 the opening of the regular railroad line St. Petersburg-Moscow
1881 the assassination of Alexander II
1898 the opening of the Alexander III Russian Museum
1914 St. Petersburg was renamed to Petrograd
1917 the February (Bourgeois) and the October Socialist Revolutions
1924 Petrograd was renamed to Leningrad
September 8, 1941 the beginning of the blockade of Leningrad
January 27, 1944 the total breakage of the blockade of Leningrad
September 6, 1991 the original name of St. Petersburg was restored
 

2003 the 300th anniversary of the foundation of St. Petersburg

In 1712-1917, the city was the capital of the Russian Empire and was the center of innovations and changes in Russia. Three revolutions have taken place here (in 1905-1907, the February Bourgeois Revolution in 1917,and the Great October Social Revolution in 1917).

St. Petersburg suffered greatly during the Civil War in 1917-1922, and especially during the Second World War in 1941-1945 (900 day of the blockade, famine, ruin).

Already in the end of the 19th century, St. Petersburg became the largest in Russia and one of the most important in Europe industrial, credit and stock exchange center. In 1913, there were 1,012 large and medium-scale industrial firms with 234,000 employees.

After the government of the country moved to Moscow in 1918, the Northern Capital became the second to the most important city in Russia.

For the past several years, however, St. Petersburg has been actively restoring its former role of the wide-open "gateway" of Russia on the outer world.