A Bit of St. Petersburg History (and... it's not boring!)

How it was built. Saint-Petersburg is something special. It varies from any place in Russia and, I guess, in the whole world. It was built because of one man's decision, because of his willingness to have a European city in Russia. It was Peter the Great. That man was also quite special: he became an emperor when he was young, the Russian empire was good enough, but he decided to completely improve it. Peter ordered to send the Great Embassy (Velikoe Posolstvo) - about hundred of nobles with ambassadors status, who were wandering round Europe to find out how it was life going over there. Peter pretended to be a worker, serving this embassy - just to feel the real life. When he was back in Russia, he decided to make it like Europe, like Holland and Amsterdam, which he loved the most. He began with the capital. He knew he couldn't improve Moscow which was definitely Russian, so he decided to built a new city. Peter chose nice strategic place at the bank of Baltic sea, but it was a swamp all over there. Without any complain, Peter ordered to get there thousands of peasants to cover the swamp with ground. Thousands of people died because of the hard work. So now, St.-Petersburg is sometimes called the city on bones. Actually there are many myths about the city due to its unnatural history. Many think it's a mad city with all that water, smokes and even nights, which are white - typical place to get mad and commit a suicide. But it is a very poetical too, most of Russian culture and poetry especially was born there. Even nowadays, people in St.Petersburg are considered to be more intelligent, smart and polite while Moscow people are considered to be more business-like, fast and open-minded.

ST. PETERSBURG SPECIAL DATES
1703- The city is founded. The first buildings were the small wooden house for Emperor and port facilities. Russia just won the war with Swedens, and occupied the morth-east part of Baltic seashore. To keep that area the new fort was built.
1712- Russian capital was moved to St.-Petersburg. It wasn't even a city, but just several wooden houses in the swamp. Russian nobles, who basically lived with comfort, had to move to this "capital". The ones who refused were enforced.
1714- The new decision of Peter the Great: the construction of new stone buildings is prohibited all over the Russia, except new capital. All the stones should be bring in St-Petersburg, for new houses building.
1721- The senate in St.-Petersburg proclaimed Peter the Emperor. Officially the title of the Russian governors had been "The Tsar of The Whole Russia", but Peter wanted to differ from the ancestors, so he convoked the best nobles, called them the Senate and ordered to make him an Emperor. They have done this.
1727- The first bridge across Neva river was built. Neva divided city into many parts and for many years different areas of the city were connected just by boats. So bridge-building has became the most important thing to do around the Peeter.
1803- The first Russian round-world sea expedition was started in the city.
1837- The first railway in Russia has begun operating. The route was St.-Petersburg - Tsarskoe Selo (residential of the emperors). For the next decades the rate of "railway length growth" in Russia was the largest in a world.
1863- City sewer system was opened.
1873- First try to use electricity to light the streets.
1882- Phone station was opened.
1895- First car in the city.
1905- First Russian revolution. It was unorganized riot, which was defeated soon.But from that year the feeling of future changes used to be felt in the society. Poeple understood it was really "first" try, the second will be soon.
1914- City was renamed into the Petrograd, because of the war with Prussia, -burg ending was too german for russian capital.
1917- Revolution, the monarchy has been overdrawn. Almost no destruction in the city.
1918- The capital was moved to Moscow. The communists wanted to start life afresh, they can't do it in the city of Emperors and nobles, so they moved capital to not so aristocratic Moscow. A little bit later they renamed St.-Petersburg into the "Leningrad", means town of the Lenin, and began to rename other main cities (Ekaterniburg, Nigny-Novgorod). They thought if there are new names, there will be new life.
1940- Metro was opened in the Leningrad. It was hard to built it, because the city is close to the sea and there are much water in the ground. Besides, stations were planning to use as an air-bomb shelters in a case of war, so St.-Petersburg Metro is really deep.
1941- Leningrad was blocked by Nazi army. Hitler wanted to capture the city and floodedi it (he this city is very important for Russian culture, so he wanted to destroy it fast) by flooding it. Meanwhile by capturing St.-Petersburg, nazi could attack Moscow from the North. But the plans were ruined, although the city was completely blocked and it was servation - Leningrad remained standing. It was striking. People all over the Russia listened to the radio news from blocked Leningrad, everybody wanted desperatly Leningrad to stay and it was greay patriotic feeling, to know it is still fightining. Nowdays you can just say "blockade" in Russia and people all over the country will think about Leningrad and its defenders.
1944-Blockade was raised. Thousands of people died of starvation during that years, and this blocade has become the real honor for people of Russia.
1989- The historical center of the city was added to the UNESCO list of world culture heritage.
2000- The World Hockey Championship took part in the St.-Petersburg. Hockey is very popular in Russia. Basically it is something to be proud of. We know Russians are best in the NHL and Europe (well, we think they are). That championship had to be our triumph, but became our shame, Russian team for the first time in its history became the 11th.
2001- Guide to Saint-Petersburg appeared on WayToRussia.Net Guide to Russia.
2003- Seems to be nice time to visit the city, it will be the celebration of 300 years of St.Petersburg. That's why the city looks like a big construction site now: the streets are being paved, the buildings and the monuments renovated, the new hotels are being built.