Significant names

Emperor Peter I (1672 - 1725), crowned tzar of Russia in 1682, became Emperor of Russia in 1721, was a grandson of Tzar Michael Romanov (who was chosen to be a Tzar in 1613). Peter opened Russia to the West. He invited the best European engineers, shipbuilders, architects, craftsmen and merchants to come to Russia. Hundreds of Russians were sent to Europe to get the best education and learn different arts and crafts. One of the Peter's main goals was to regain access to the Baltic Sea and Baltic trade. In 1700 he started the Northern War with Sweden, which lasted for 21 year. During the war St. Petersburg was founded (1703) in the Neva River delta. At the end of the war Russia was victorious and conquered the vast lands on the Baltic coast. Russia gained access to European trade and St. Petersburg became her major sea port.

Alexander Menshikov (1673-1729) was a good friend and companion of Peter the Great. He came from a very humble background, but was quickly promoted by Peter and eventually became St. Petersburg's first Governor General. As Governor General he commissioned a large palace on Vasilievsky Island, where he lived till 1727. From 1732 to 1918 the palace was used by a military school, and in 1967 it was given to the Hermitage. Now, with the early 18th century interiors restored, it houses a collection of Russian culture from the early 18th century.

The city was built by a constellation of celebrated international architects, such as Dominico Tresini, Bartholomeo Rastrelli, Giacomo Quarenghi, Jean-Batiste Leblond, Auguste Montferrand and Karl Rossi. The architectural splendour of Russia's new capital was enhanced by sculptors B.K. Rastrelli, Etienne Falconet, P.K. Klodt and many other great artists. St. Petersburg was the capital of the Russian Empire for just over 200 years.

St. Isaac's Cathedral's gilded dome dominates the St. Petersburg skyline, on a clear day it can be seen from miles away. Visitors can climb stairs to the colonnade that runs around the dome to get great views of the city. The inside of the church, built by French-born architect Auguste Montferrand to the main church of the Russian Empire, is a real marvel. It is surrounded by 80 red granite columns that weigh 80 tons each. The cathedral, which can accommodate 14,000 worshipers, now serves as a museum and services are held only on major occasions.

The Admiralty was one of the first structures to be built in St Petersburg. It was designed to be a dockyard, where some of the first ships of Russia's Baltic fleet were built, and also fortified to be an extra defense for the newly obtained Neva delta. Today's Admiralty was built in 1806-23 by Adrian Zakharov. He maintained the original plan of the building, but turned it into a marvelous example of the Russian Empire style, with rows of white columns, plentiful reliefs and statues. The gilded spire of the Admiralty (and particularly its weather-vane korablik - "little ship") is a famous St. Petersburg landmark.

The Mikhailovsky Castle - the name means St. Michael's Castle - bears silent witness to the story of the short, dramatic reign of Emperor Paul I, son of Catherine the Great. Paul came to the throne in the age of 42. He was deeply disliked by the royal guards, so he was constantly afraid of assassins. He ordered a fortified palace, surrounded by deep ditches, to be built for him. But Paul did not live in his new palace for long. In 1801 he was assassinated in his own bedroom by a group of officers who organized a coup, inspired by Paul's son Alexander.

Being so unlike any other Russian city, St. Petersburg has always occupied a prominent place in Russian philosophic thought. It is the scene of numerous literary works and the subject-matter of some of the best poetry. A succession of great Russian writers, from Pushkin to Dovlatov, lived and worked in St. Petersburg. St. Petersburg has always been at the forefront of Russian science, education and art.

The first Russian to join the Academy of St. Petersburg was Mikhail Lomonosov. Lomonosov is an example for the untapped intellectual potential that could have been found in Russia's vast population. At the age of 19 he left the village of his birth at the shores of the White Sea and walked to Moscow, determined to study.

But even under the progressive reforms of Peter the Great the society could not face the prospect of allowing a poor fisherman's son to enter a university. By disguising his family background Lomonosov managed to enter the Slavonic-Greek-Latin Academy. Under great financial hardship and harassed by his fellow students he completed its eight-year course in five years. Eventually his academic gifts could no longer be ignored, and in 1741, in the age of 30 he was admitted to the Academy. Seven years later he was given funds to build a laboratory, where within three years he performed and documented over 4,000 experiments.

Today Lomonosov's name is linked to the several fields of earth sciences, including geography, geology and oceanography. Lomonosov participated in research voyages into the Arctic Seas and into Russia's northern regions. In his publications he showed great interest in assessing Russia's mineral wealth and promoting the development of new industries. Lomonosov was one of the most gifted scientists of the Enlightenment. His humanist ideals and materialist outlook continued to make him enemies among the Russian nobility, but his achievements were recognized in Europe through his election as Fellow of the Swedish Academy of Sciences and of the Academy of Bologna. When he died Empress Catherine had no choice but to agree to a state funeral for him, but confiscated all his works and locked them away in the imperial archives.

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