Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the <a href="/facts/List_of_cities_and_towns_in_Russia_by_population/y4efQ8fS">second-largest city in Russia</a> after <a href="/facts/Moscow/AcFYpQUR">Moscow</a>. It is situated on the <a href="/facts/Neva/lIBclcTg">River Neva</a>, at the head of the <a href="/facts/Gulf_of_Finland/rXE4CB5m">Gulf of Finland</a> on the <a href="/facts/Baltic_Sea/jbQJGLQX">Baltic Sea</a>. The city had a population of 5,601,911 residents as of 2021, with more than 6.4 million people living in the <a href="/facts/Saint_Petersburg_metropolitan_area/JpAWaHMm">metropolitan area</a>. Saint Petersburg is the <a href="/facts/List_of_European_cities_by_population_within_city_limits/xgnXxBGC">fourth-most populous city</a> in Europe, the <a href="/facts/List_of_cities_and_towns_around_the_Baltic_Sea/4QDJFItE">most populous city</a> on the Baltic Sea, and the world's <a href="/facts/List_of_northernmost_items/qQgLyxQB">northernmost city</a> of more than 1 million residents. As the former capital of the <a href="/facts/Russian_Empire/hg1g5SpV">Russian Empire</a>, and a <a href="/facts/Ports_of_the_Baltic_Sea/5kHxYbMq">historically strategic port</a>, it is governed as a <a href="/facts/Federal_cities_of_Russia/cwUvqr0V">federal city</a>.
The city was founded by Tsar <a href="/facts/Peter_the_Great/plNUAaWM">Peter the Great</a> on 27 May 1703 on the site of a <a href="/facts/Nyenschantz/9WPBaWEA">captured Swedish fortress</a>, and was named after the apostle <a href="/facts/Saint_Peter/50X8naSm">Saint Peter</a>. In Russia, Saint Petersburg is historically and culturally associated with the birth of the Russian Empire and Russia's entry into modern history as a European <a href="/facts/Great_power/KBtjXLun">great power</a>. It served as a capital of the <a href="/facts/Tsardom_of_Russia/m0scLsSq">Tsardom of Russia</a>, and the subsequent Russian Empire, from 1712 to 1918 (being replaced by Moscow for a short period of time between 1728 and 1730). After the <a href="/facts/October_Revolution/5q9GlMv9">October Revolution</a> in 1917, the <a href="/facts/Bolsheviks/UAHzalnN">Bolsheviks</a> moved their government to Moscow. The city was renamed Leningrad after Lenin's death in 1924. It was the site of the <a href="/facts/Siege_of_Leningrad/uCkWCzu0">siege of Leningrad</a> during <a href="/facts/World_War_II/2efV5L1U">World War II</a>, the most lethal siege in history. In June 1991, only a few months before the <a href="/facts/Belovezha_Accords/GAkuHVLB">Belovezha Accords</a> and the <a href="/facts/Dissolution_of_the_Soviet_Union/Fyn5jw3n">dissolution of the Soviet Union</a>, voters supported restoring the city's original appellation in <a href="/facts/1991_Leningrad_municipal_election/v1PyqQQR">a city-wide referendum</a>.
As Russia's cultural centre, Saint Petersburg received over 15 million tourists in 2018. It is considered an important economic, scientific, and tourism centre of Russia and Europe. In modern times, the city has the nickname of being "the Northern Capital of Russia" and is home to notable <a href="/facts/Government_of_Russia/pGg63WgH">federal government</a> bodies such as the <a href="/facts/Constitutional_Court_of_Russia/fjVlS4WY">Constitutional Court of Russia</a> and the <a href="/facts/Heraldic_Council_of_the_President_of_the_Russian_Federation/CmfTGFpl">Heraldic Council of the President of the Russian Federation</a>. It is also a seat for the <a href="/facts/National_Library_of_Russia/LDn1Bdyp">National Library of Russia</a> and a planned location for the <a href="/facts/Supreme_Court_of_Russia/WlLNbzS2">Supreme Court of Russia</a>, as well as the home to the headquarters of the <a href="/facts/Russian_Navy/6LA3GgUY">Russian Navy</a>, and the <a href="/facts/Leningrad_Military_District/sp3PgjJ2">Leningrad Military District</a> of the <a href="/facts/Russian_Armed_Forces/3MrStW51">Russian Armed Forces</a>. The <a href="/facts/Historic_Centre_of_Saint_Petersburg_and_Related_Groups_of_Monuments/AdIJtPzb">Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments</a> constitute a <a href="/facts/UNESCO/QSbkRv3o">UNESCO</a> <a href="/facts/World_Heritage_Site/6AbWWKV4">World Heritage Site</a>. Saint Petersburg is home to the <a href="/facts/Hermitage_Museum/3lyUByHl">Hermitage</a>, one of the largest <a href="/facts/Art_museum/ppyzn0WM">art museums</a> in the world, the <a href="/facts/Lakhta_Center/YTCAvI9n">Lakhta Center</a>, the <a href="/facts/List_of_tallest_buildings_in_Europe/u6xwMnTX">tallest skyscraper in Europe</a>, and was one of the host cities of the <a href="/facts/2018_FIFA_World_Cup/156gktLT">2018 FIFA World Cup</a> and the <a href="/facts/UEFA_Euro_2020/0B3G9JIb">UEFA Euro 2020</a>.

Saint Petersburg open-in-new

Saint Petersburg