Saint Petersburg

British  

/ ˈpiːtəzˌbɜːɡ /

noun

1. Former names: Petrograd.   Leningrad.  a city and port in Russia, on the Gulf of Finland at the mouth of the Neva River: founded by Peter the Great in 1703 and built on low-lying marshes subject to frequent flooding; capital of Russia from 1712 to 1918; a cultural and educational centre, with a university (1819); a major industrial centre, with engineering, shipbuilding, chemical, textile, and printing industries. Pop: 5 315 000 (2005 est)

2. a city and resort in W Florida, on Tampa Bay. Pop: 247 610 (2003 est)

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Saint Petersburg Cultural  

1. City in northwestern Russia, situated at the head of the Gulf of Finland on both banks of the Neva River and on the islands of its delta; the second-largest city in Russia; a major port, and one of the world's leading industrial and cultural centers.

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Discover More

Because it is so far north, St. Petersburg experiences “white nights” for three weeks in June when the sky never completely darkens.

It is the location of the historic Winter Palace, which was sacked during the Russian Revolution but later became the Hermitage Museum.

The first Russian city modeled after European cities, it was founded in 1703 by Peter the Great, who wanted to make it his “window to the West”; renamed Petrograd at the start of World War I and then Leningrad in 1924 in honor of Lenin.

With the collapse of communism, the city was renamed St. Petersburg.

Example Sentences

Following the overthrow of the Imperial family in 1917 and their execution the following year, it was transferred from Saint Petersburg to Moscow in the 1920s.

From Barron's

“I was dancer once. For the tsar! How beautiful I was. . . . Ah, Saint Petersburg! I never should have left.”

From Literature

On Thursday, Saint Petersburg's court service said Loginova had been detained for 13 days for "disrupting public order" after organising "a mass gathering of at least 70 people."

From Barron's

According to information on his Facebook page, Morozov is a former associate professor at Saint Petersburg State University, one of Russia’s renowned academic institutions.

From Seattle Times

He joined the Saint Petersburg State Forest Technical University and eventually became its vice rector, overseeing research and international affairs.

From Science Magazine