St. Petersburg's history is rich and truly exciting. The city witnessed so many dramatic events that one can hardly believe that St. Petersburg is not even 300 years old. Founded in 1703 to be the most European city of Russia, it remains Russia's "Window to the West" - just like Peter the Great ment it. St. Petersburg has always welcomed foreigners and newcomers from other parts of Russia. Those people created the cosmopolitan atmosphere which made St. Petersburg so special.

• Introduction
• Pre-history of St. Petersburg
• When and how was St. Petersburg founded?
• The St. Petersburg of Peter the Great
• Elizabethan St. Petersburg: a city of Baroque grandeur
• The "Grand City" of Catherine the Great
• The "City of Order" (1800-1855)
• St. Petersburg on the road to capitalism (1840s -1895)
• "Silver Age" city (turn-of-the-century St. Petersburg)
• Petrograd during WWI and the Revolution (1914-1924)
• A socialist city: Leningrad (1924-1941)
• The 900-day Siege of Leningrad (Blokada)
• Post-war reconstruction
• St. Petersburg today

Learn more about the beautiful St. Petersburg, Russia from "St. Petersburg at Your Fingertips" City Guide

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