Museums and popular sites

Peter and Paul Fortress

The ensemble of Peter and Paul Fortress with the Peter and Paul Cathedral takes dominant position on the right bank of the Neva river, across the Winter Palace in the center of the city. A boardwalk was built along a portion of the fortress wall, giving visitors a clear view of the city across the river to the south. On the other bank of the Neva, the spit (Strelka) of the Vasilievsky Island is graced by the former Bourse building (1805–1810), an important lanmark in the style of the Greek Revival, is now home of the Museum of Navy. The spit of the Vasilievsky Island is designed as a classic lawn-park on the waterfront, and is highlighted by two tall and colorful Rostral Columns, decorated with statues and prows of battleships. This is a traditional place for music festivals and public events, such as the White Nights Festival.

The most famous of St. Petersburg's museums is the Hermitage, one of the world's largest and richest collections of Western European art. Its vast holdings were originally exhibited in the Greek Revival building (1838–1852) by Leo von Klenze, now called the New Hermitage. But the first Russian museum was established by Peter the Great in the Kunstkammer, erected in 1718–1734 on the opposite bank of the Neva River and formerly a home to the Russian Academy of Sciences. Other popular tourist destinations include the State Russian Museum and the Summer Garden, the Ethnography Museum (1900–1911), Stieglitz Museum of Applied Arts (1885–1895), the Suvorov Museum of Military History (1901–1904), and the Political History Museum (1904–06).

Cathedrals and temples

Saint Isaac's Cathedral

While many cathedrals and buildings formerly owned by churches and monasteries still belong to the Russian government, since their seizure in 1917, some were eventually returned to congregations. The largest cathedral in the city is St Isaac's Cathedral (1818–1858), it is the biggest gold-plated dome in the world. It was constructed over 40 years under supervision of architects Auguste de Montferrand and Vasily Stasov. The Kazan Cathedral on the Nevsky Prospekt is a national landmark in the Empire style, modeled after St Peter's, Vatican. The Church of the Savior on Blood (1883–1907), is a monument in the old Russian style which marks the spot of Alexander II's assassination. The Peter and Paul Cathedral (1712–1732), a long-time symbol of the city, contains the sepulchers of Peter the Great and other Russian emperors. The St. Nicholas Cathedral and the Great Choral Synagogue are near the Mariinsky Opera Theatre. Most cathedrals and temples operate today as places of worship as well as museums, and there are numerous other places of worship in all major religions.

Of baroque structures, the grandest is the white-and-blue Smolny Convent (1748–1764), later the Smolny Institute, a striking design by Bartolomeo Rastrelli, but never completed. It is followed by the Naval Cathedral of St Nicholas (1753–1762), a lofty structure dedicated to the Russian Navy, the outside being covered with plaques to sailors lost at sea. The church of Sts. Simeon and Anna (1731–1734), St. Sampson Cathedral (1728–1740), St. Pantaleon church (1735–1739), and St. Andrew's Cathedral (1764–1780) are all worth mentioning.

The Neoclassical churches are numerous. Many of them are intended to dominate vast squares, like St. Vladimir's Cathedral (1769–1789), not to be confused with the church of Our Lady of Vladimir (1761–1783). The Transfiguration Cathedral (1827–29) and the Trinity Cathedral (1828–1835, fire-damaged) were both designed by Vasily Stasov. Smaller churches include the Konyushennaya (1816–1823), also by Stasov, the "Easter Cake" church (1785–1787), noted for its droll appearance, St Catherine church on the Vasilievsky Island (1768–1771), and numerous non-Orthodox churches on the Nevsky Prospekt.

The Alexander Nevsky Monastery, intended to house the relics of St. Alexander Nevsky, is graced by two cathedrals and five smaller churches in various styles. The monastery is also one of three main centers of Christian education in Russia, having the Russian Orthodox Academy and Seminary and the residence of the St. Petersburg Patriarch. It is also remarkable for the Tikhvin Cemetery, with graves of such dignitaries as writers Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Ivan Krylov, composers Pyotr Ilyich Tchaykovsky and Modest Mussorgsky, pianist Anton Rubinstein, director Georgy Tovstonogov, actors Fyodor Stravinsky, Vera Komissarzhevskaya, Nikolay Simonov, mayor Anatoly Sobchak and many other notable Russians.

The Grand Choral Synagogue of St. Petersburg is the second largest in Europe. It was opened in 1893, with the building permit obtained in 1869 from the Tsar Alexander II. The Small Synagogue was opened in 1886. On 5 Tamuz 5761 (June 26, 2001), the greater hall ("Bolshoi Zal" in Russian) was reopened after reconstruction.

Palaces of the Tsars

Catherine Palace is one of three Summer Palaces

Saint Petersburg is known as the city of palaces. One of the earliest of these is the Summer Palace, a modest house built for Peter I in the Summer Garden (1710–1714). Much more imposing are the baroque residences of his associates, such as the Kikin Hall and the Menshikov Palace on the Neva Embankment, constructed from designs by Domenico Trezzini over the years 1710 to 1716. A residence adjacent to the Menshikov palace was redesigned for Peter II and now houses the State University.

Probably the most illustrious of imperial palaces is the baroque Winter Palace (1754–1762), a vast stately building with over 600 rooms and dazzlingly luxurious interiors, now housing the Hermitage Museum. The same architect, Bartolomeo Rastrelli, was also responsible for three residences in the vicinity of the Nevsky Prospekt: the Stroganov palace (1752–1754, is now a branch of the State Russian Museum, the Vorontsov palace (1749–1757, now a military school), and the Anichkov Palace (1741–1750, many times rebuilt, now a palace for children). Other baroque palaces include the Sheremetev house on the Fontanka embankment (also called the Fountain House), and the Beloselsky-Belozersky Palace (1846–1848) on the Nevsky Prospekt, formerly a residence of the Grand Duke Sergey Aleksandrovich.

Of Neoclassical palaces, the foremost is St Michael's (or Engineers') Castle, constructed for Emperor Paul in 1797–1801 to replace the earlier Summer Palace. The Tauride Palace of Prince Potemkin (1783–1789), situated near the Smolny Institute, used to be a seat of the first Russian parliament, and now the Assembly of Independent States. Just two blocks from the Hermitage buildings is the Marble Palace, commissioned by Count Orlov and built in 1768–1785 from 44 various sorts of marble to a Neoclassical design by Antonio Rinaldi, it is now part of the State Russian Museum. The Michael Palace (1819–1825), famed for its opulent interiors and named after its first lodger, Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich, now houses the main collections of the Russian Museum.^[7] Also designed in the Neoclassical style is the Yusupov's Moyka palace (built in the 1790s), where Rasputin was killed by Prince Yusupov. Other treasured palaces are the Razumovsky palace (1762–1766); the Shuvalov palace (1830–1838); and the Yelagin Palace (1818–1822), a sumptuous summer dacha of the imperial family, situated on the Yelagin Island. The last Royal residences were built for Nicholas I's children: the Mariinsky Palace (1839–1844), located just opposite St Isaac's Cathedral, is now housing the St. Petersburg City Legislature and Offices of Representatives, the Nicholas Palace (1853–61), and the New Michael Palace (1857-1861). All major palaces are now housing numerous state and private museums and various branches of the government.

Canals and Bridges

Palace Bridge at night. It is one of the most familiar images of the Northern capital of Russia.

Saint Petersburg is built on what originally were more than 100 islands created by a maze of rivers, creeks, canals, gulfs, lakes and ponds and other bodies of water that flow into the Baltic Sea at the mouth of the Neva river.

Peter the Great was designing the city as another Amsterdam and Venice, with canals instead of streets and citizens skillful in sailing. Initially, there were only about ten bridges constructed in the city, mainly across ditches and minor creeks. By Peter's plans, in the summer months, the citizens were supposed to move around in boats, and in the winter months when the water froze to move in sledges. However, after Peter's death, new bridges were built, as it was a much easier way of transportation. Temporary pontoon bridges were built across Neva in the summertime. The largest temporary bridge across the Bolshaya Neva was in operation from 1727 to 1850.

The first permanent bridge of bricks and stones across the main waters of Bolshaya Neva river was the Lieutenant Schmidt Bridge, built from 1843 to 1850, and opened in 1850. A familiar view of St. Petersburg is a drawbridge across the Neva. Every night during the navigation period from April to November, 22 bridges across Neva and main canals are drawn to let ships pass in and out of the Baltic Sea.

Today, there are 342 bridges over canals and rivers of various sizes, styles and constructions, built at different periods. Over 800 smaller bridges over smaller ponds and streams are gracing public parks and gardens, the popular places for entertainment and leisure.

Thanks to the intricate web of canals, St. Petersburg is often called the "Venice of the North" which is a popular poetic name for the northern capital.

Economy

The Old Saint Petersburg Stock Exchange, or Bourse, houses the Central Naval Museum.

St. Petersburg is a major trade gateway, financial and industrial center of Russia specialising in oil and gas trade, shipbuilding yards, aerospace industry, radio and electronics, software and computers; machine building, heavy machinery and transport, including tanks and other military equipment, mining, instrument manufacture, ferrous and nonferrous metallurgy (production of aluminium alloys), chemicals, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, publishing and printing, food and catering, wholesale and retail, textile and apparel industries, and many other businesses. It was also home to Lessner, one of Russia's two pioneering automobile manufacturers (along with Russo-Baltic), Lessner; founded by machine tool and boiler maker G. A. Lessner in 1904, with designs by Boris Loutsky, it survived until 1910.^[46]

10% of the world's power turbines are made here at the LMZ, which built over two thousand turbines for power plants across the world. Major local industries are Admiralty Shipyard, Baltic Shipyard, LOMO, Kirov Plant, Elektrosila, Izhorsky Zavod; also registered in St. Petersburg are Gazprom Neft^{[citation needed]}, Sovkomflot, Petersburg Fuel Company and SIBUR among other major Russian and international companies.

The busy St Petersburg docks at dawn

St. Petersburg has three large cargo seaports: Bolshoi Port St. Petersburg, Kronstadt, and Lomonosov. International cruise liners are served at the passenger port at Morskoy Vokzal on the west end of the Vasilevsky Island. A complex system of riverports on both banks of the Neva river are interconnected with the system of seaports, thus making St. Petersburg the main link between the Baltic sea and the rest of Russia through the Volga-Baltic Waterway.

The Saint Petersburg Mint (Monetny Dvor), founded in 1724, is one of the largest mints in the world, it mints Russian coins, medals and badges. St. Petersburg is also home to the oldest and largest Russian foundry, Monumentskulptura, which made thousands of sculptures and statues that are now gracing public parks of St. Petersburg, as well as many other cties. Monuments and bronze statues of the Tsars, as well as other important historic figures and dignitaries, and other world famous monuments, such as the sculptures by Peter Clodt von Jürgensburg, Paolo Troubetzkoy, Pavel Antokolsky, and others, were made here.

In 2007 Toyota opened a Camry plant after investing 5 billion dollars in Shuishary, one of the southern suburbs of St. Petersburg. General Motors, Hyundai and Nissan have signed deals with the Russian government to build their automotive plants in St. Petersburg too. Automotive and auto-parts industry is on the rise here during the last decade. Saint Petersburg is also 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 Baltika, Vena (both operated by BBH), Heineken Brewery, Stepan Razin (both by Heineken) and Tinkoff brewery (SUN-InBev). St. Petersburg has the second largest construction industry in Russia, including commercial, housing and road construction.

In 2006 Saint-Petersburg's city budget was 179,9 billion rubles, and is planned to double by 2012. The federal subject's gross regional product as of 2005 was 667,905.4 million Russian rubles, ranked 4th in Russia, after Moscow, Tyumen Oblast, and Moscow Oblast, or 145,503.3 rubles per capita, ranked 12th among Russia's federal subjects, contributed mostly by wholesale and retail trade and repair services (24.7%) as well as processing industry (20.9%) and transportation and telecommunications (15.1%).

Crime

The Kresty prison

As in other large Russian cities, Saint Petersburg experiences fairly high levels of street crime and bribery. In addition, in recent years there has been a notable increase in racially motivated violence. On the other hand, unlike in Moscow, there have been no major terrorist attacks in St. Petersburg in recent years.^[43]

At the end of the 1980s – beginning of the 1990s, Leningrad became home to a number of gangs, such as Tambov Gang, Malyshev Gang, Kazan Gang and ethnic criminal groups, engaged in a racket, extortion and violent clashes with each other.^[43]

After the sensational assassinations of City Property Committee Chairman Mikhail Manevich (1997), State Duma deputy Galina Starovoytova (1998), acting City Legislature Speaker Viktor Novosyolov (1999) and a number of prominent businesspeople, Saint Petersburg was dubbed 'Capital of Crime' in the Russian press.

Revolutions

The Church of the Savior on Blood commemorates the spot where Tsar Alexander II was assassinated

Several revolutions, uprisings, assassinations of Tsars and power takeovers in St. Petersburg had shaped the course of history in Russia and influenced the world. In 1801, after the assassination of Emperor Paul I, his son became Emperor Alexander I. Alexander I ruled Russia during the Napoleonic Wars and expanded his Empire by acquisitions of Finland and part of Poland. His mysterious death in 1825 was marked by the Decembrist revolt, which was suppressed by Emperor Nicholas I, who ordered execution of leaders and exiled hundreds of their followers to Siberia. Nicholas I then pushed for Russian nationalism by suppressing non-Russian nationalities and religions.^[9]

Cultural revolution that followed after the Napoleonic wars had further opened St. Petersburg up, in spite of repressions. The city's wealth and rapid growth had always attracted prominent intellectuals, scientists, writers and artists. St. Petersburg eventually gained international recognition as a gateway for trade and business, as well as a cosmopolitan cultural hub. The works of Aleksandr Pushkin, Nikolai Gogol, Ivan Turgenev, Fyodor Dostoyevsky and numerous others brought Russian literature to the world. Music, theatre and ballet became firmly established and gained international stature.

The son of Tsar Nicholas I, Tsar Alexander II, implemented the most challenging reforms^[10] undertaken in Russia since the reign of Peter the Great. The emancipation of the serfs (1861) caused the influx of large numbers of poor into the capital. Tenements were erected on the outskirts, and nascent industry sprang up, surpassing Moscow in population and industrial growth. By 1900, St. Petersburg had grown into one of the largest industrial hubs in Europe, an important international center of power, business and politics, and the 4th largest city in Europe.

With the growth of industry, radical movements were also astir. Socialist organizations were responsible for the assassinations of many public figures, government officials, members of the royal family, and the Tsar himself. Tsar Alexander II was killed by suicide bomber Ignacy Hryniewiecki in 1881, in a plot with connections to the family of Lenin and other revolutionaries. The Revolution of 1905 initiated here and spread rapidly into the provinces. During World War I, the name Sankt Peterburg was seen to be too German, so the city was renamed Petrograd.^[11]

1917 saw next stages of the Russian Revolution^[12], and re-emergence of the Communist party led by Lenin, who declared "All power to the Soviets!"^[13] After the February Revolution, Tsar Nicholas II was arrested and the Tsar's government was replaced by two opposing centers of political power: the "pro-democracy" Provisional government and the "pro-communist" Petrograd Soviet.^[14] Then the Provisional government was overthrown by the Bolsheviks in the October Revolution^[15], causing the Russian Civil War.

The city's proximity to anti-Soviet armies forced communist leader Vladimir Lenin to move his government to Moscow on March 5, 1918. The move was disguised as temporary, but Moscow has remained the capital ever since. On January 24, 1924, three days after Lenin's death, Petrograd was renamed Leningrad. The Communist party's reason for renaming the city again was that Lenin had led the revolution. Deeper reasons existed at the level of political propaganda: Saint Petersburg had stood as the symbol of capitalist culture and the Tsarist empire, but the Soviet empire needed to destroy that.^[16] After the Civil War and murder of Tsar Nicholas II and his family as well as millions of anti-Soviet people, the renaming to Leningrad was designed to destroy last hopes among the resistance and show strong dictatorship of Lenin's communist party and the Soviet regime.^[17][18]