St. Petersburg

About the City

The city of St. Petersburg was founded on May 27, 1703, on lands which had belonged to the Russian fiefdom of Velikiy Novgorod since ancient times. The founder of St. Petersburg, Peter the First, set out to modernize Russia’s economy by forming a closer economic, cultural and technical bond with the more developed nations of Europe. St. Petersburg, which became the capital of Russia in 1712, was assigned the role of the nation’s vanguard in science, culture, industry and transportation.

The repeal of serfdom and the reforms that followed in the 1860s and 1870s promoted the transformation of St. Petersburg into a bustling capitalist city chock-filled with industries and specialist training facilities. Foreign capital flowed into the city. Nobel, Ericsson, Siemens, Kersten, and many other western entrepreneurs established their factories in St. Petersburg.

On March 2, 1917, the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II abdicated the throne. The same day, the Russian Parliament formed a provisional government which, however, failed to diffuse the tensions fueled by the adversities of World War I. An armed revolt in October 1917 brought a Communist government to power which, on March 1, 1918, moved to Moscow. From then on, Moscow became the national capital once again.

On June 22, 1941, the Russian part of WWII commonly known as the Great Patriotic War, broke out. Bombs began dropping on the buildings and streets of Leningrad as early as July 18. The city was first shelled on September 4. Four days later, the Nazis laid siege to Leningrad. Communication with the city was only possible by Lake Ladoga and by air. The unprecedented 900-day siege of Leningrad began. Hundreds of thousands of people perished from cold, starvation, and bombardment, but the city survived and triumphed. The siege was broken in 1943, and fully lifted on the 27 th of January 1944. Reconstruction of the city’s industry, public works, museums and libraries began immediately. Leningrad was awarded the title of «Hero City» for its heroism in the war.

St. Petersburg was built according to a rigorous plan designed in 1712. The wide Neva and many smaller rivers and man-made canals organically blended into the cityscape, and determined the size and direction of the city’s main avenues. In 1865, the city was divided into 12 administrative parts. At present, St. Petersburg consists of 19 administrative districts.

St. Petersburg, Russia’s second largest city after Moscow, is the administrative center of the Northwestern Federal District, which also incorporates the Republics of Karelia and Komi, the Regions of Arkhangelsk, Vologda, Kaliningrad, Leningrad, Murmansk, Novgorod, and Pskov, and the Nenets Autonomous Area.

The area of St. Petersburg totals 606 square kilometers. Together with its closest suburbs on the lowlands along the Neva and the coast of the Gulf of Finland, it is 1,439 sq. km. The city is 44 km long from north to south, and 25 km wide from west to east. The population currently stands at 4.6 million, or about 3.2% of the population of Russia.

St. Petersburg’s budget projections for 2004 envision Rbl 81.988 billion in revenue and Rbl 85.687 billion in expenditure. The city’s 2004 budget prioritizes social spending.

St. Petersburg boasts an advanced infrastructure where the public and private sectors operate as partners in various economic, scientific and social fields. In 2003, the city’s Gross Regional Product (GRP) totaled 4% of Russia’s GDP, placing St. Petersburg third after Moscow and the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous District. Last year, St. Petersburg accounted for 3.9% of Russia’s industrial output (sixth largest among Russian regions), 4.8% of new housing delivered for occupancy, and 3.7% of the national retail turnover. St. Petersburg has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country: 0.8%. There are 23 small businesses per 1000 residents in St. Petersburg compared to 22 in Moscow and only 5 to 7 in Russia overall. 12.5% of all small businesses operating in Russia are based in St. Petersburg. The number of small businesses increased more than tenfold in the city between 1992 and 2003. Around 581,600 people are employed by small businesses in St. Petersburg.

St. Petersburg, a busy trading city, has shown a steady improvement in its international trade turnover, reaching US $8.5 billion in 2003 vs. US $6.6 billion in 2002. The city exported US $2.7 billion worth of products to more than 160 countries in 2003. Imports climbed 18% last year to a total of US $5.8 billion. St. Petersburg’s key trade partners last year were Germany, Finland, the US, China, and India. The highest percentage of the city’s exports went to India, China, Finland and Germany, while the bulk of imports came from Germany, Finland and the US. St. Petersburg is home to some 700 large and medium-sized foreign-owned businesses. The city has recently opened representative missions abroad.

Cooperation with partner cities plays an important role in St. Petersburg’s international relations. St. Petersburg currently partners with 71 cities outside Russia.

Many international organizations are represented in St. Petersburg, including the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of the CIS, TACIS St. Petersburg Technical Office, Information Office of the Nordic Council of Ministers, and a number of foreign cultural missions such as the Goethe Institute (German Culture Center), the French Institute (L’Institut Francais), the British Council, the US Culture & Information Center, and the Institute of Finland, as well as representative offices of foreign cities (Stockholm and Helsinki), chambers of commerce, international financial institutions, associations, UN bodies, and international corporate centers.

There are 46 accredited consular institutions in St. Petersburg.

Being in itself an administrative region of Russia, St. Petersburg promotes its international ties by taking part in the forums and activities of the regional organizations of Baltic Sea nations, including the Council of Baltic Sea States, the Nordic Council of Ministers, the Organization for Sub-Regional Cooperation of Baltic Sea States, the Union of Baltic Cities, the Conference of Key Baltic Cities, the Forum of the Maritime Regions of Europe, the Commission for Tourism in Baltic Sea States, and the Association of Chambers of Commerce of the Baltic Region.

St. Petersburg is an active member of the Northern Forum, an international intergovernmental organization established in 1991. In 1998, St. Petersburg was granted associated membership in the Eurocities Association, and joined the International Association of Congresses and Conferences.

It is no surprise that UNESCO recognizes St. Petersburg as the world’s 8 th most popular and attractive travel destination. The city was created by the best architectural talent of Russia, Italy, France, Germany, Holland, and Sweden. There is hardly a nation in Europe whose eminent architects or civil engineers did not contribute to St. Petersburg.

There are more than 140 hotels in St. Petersburg, catering to all budgets.

3.1 million foreign travelers visited St. Petersburg in 2003, compared to 2.7 million in 2002.

There are three airports and five railway stations in St. Petersburg. Air routes link St. Petersburg with over 80 destinations around the world, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, including 65 cities in Russia and the CIS, and 16 countries in Europe and Asia. Headquartered in St. Petersburg, Pulkovo Airlines has 41 representative offices in Russia and abroad. St. Petersburg has a merchant and passenger seaport, and a river terminal.

St. Petersburg’s seaport, one of Russia’s largest, is a modern, rapidly growing multifunctional complex of international significance, linked to other international ports by 18 regular lines. St. Petersburg is a major transit hub for seven key cargo flows essential to the Eurasian integration process: Baltic Bridge, Hansean Route, Northern Ray, Far Eastern Ray, Asian Ray, Southeastern Ray, and Southern Ray. The European E-18 highway linking Scandinavia with central Russia traverses St. Petersburg.

St. Petersburg is a treasure-trove of world and Russian culture, home to unique historical and cultural heritage; more than 80% of 18 th and 19 th-century landmarks in the city are original creations.

Libraries. St. Petersburg boasts 2000 library collections numbering millions upon millions of volumes, including manuscripts, rare and valuable editions, and international scientific literature. The city’s largest book depository, the Russian National Library founded in 1795 as the Imperial Public Library, is one of the largest and most versatile in the world. The Library of the Russian Academy of Sciences, founded in 1714 with books from Peter I’s personal library, now contains 16 million volumes, 1/3 of them in foreign languages. It was in St. Petersburg that Russia’s earliest libraries were founded at the beginning of the 18 th century.

Museums. There are over 250 museums in St. Petersburg. The city is rightfully proud to be the home of the Hermitage and the Russian Museum, which are among the largest museums in the world. The Hermitage's collection of world art surpasses that of the Louvre. One of the oldest museums in the world, the Hermitage occupies five historical buildings in the city center, including the Winter Palace, the former royal residence. The National Russian Museum, the largest depository of Russian art in the world, marked its 100 th anniversary in March 1998. Like the Hermitage, the Russian Museum is housed in five historical buildings. Other major St. Petersburg museums are St. Isaac's Cathedral, St. Petersburg History Museum, Ethnography Museum, Naval Museum, and Museum of Theater Arts, to name a few. There are some 45 modern art galleries and exhibition venues in the city.

Theaters. There are more than 80 theater companies in St. Petersburg, including world-renowned former royal theatres, Mariinsky (formerly Kirov) Theatre, Mussorgsky Maly Opera & Ballet Theatre, and Alexandrinsky Drama Theatre. Other domestically and internationally acclaimed companies include Maly Drama, Bolshoi Drama, Boris Eifman’s Ballet, and Zazerkalye Opera Theatre for Children.

Music. St. Petersburg is a very musical city. Apart from the above-mentioned theaters, which host music performances, there are many music arenas in the city, including the renowned Shostakovich Philharmonic Hall, Glinka Cappella, Children's Philharmonic Hall, and Russia’s only Jazz Philharmonic Hall. St. Petersburg hosts some 100 music festivals every year, most of them international.

Education. There are more than 2,000 educational institutions in St. Petersburg employing 73,230 teachers and attended by 1.5 million students.

St. Petersburg is, without exaggeration, Russia’s Mecca for science and education. The scope and influence of the city’s scientific and educational potential (15% of Russia’s total) transcend national borders. There are 46 public and 30 private universities and colleges in St. Petersburg.

Healthcare. There are 122 hospitals and outpatient clinics in St. Petersburg. The city has 177 medical professionals per 10,000 residents.

Media. There are about 1,000 mass media outlets in St. Petersburg, including 26 radio stations, 16 TV channels (excluding cable and satellite), 40 electronic news agencies, and scores of daily, weekly and monthly papers, magazines and journals. The city’s 11 largest newspapers circulate 1.8 million copies daily between them. Its eight largest weeklies circulate 1.3 million copies a week. The readership totals 3.5 million. The St. Petersburg Times is an English-language newspaper catering to the city’s expatriate community.

Sports. St. Petersburg has upwards of 3,000 sports facilities, including 105 sports schools, 15 sports schools for children and teens, and 2 Olympic Reserve schools.

The best young athletes are sponsored by the federal government to go to special boarding schools, where they receive comprehensive education as well as athletic training. These schools are overseen by the Municipal Medical Center for Athletes.

138 Olympic champions have lived in St. Petersburg throughout its history.