One of the main myths about St. Petersburg is that it stands on a swamp. In fact, swamps occupied only part of the city and European engineers fortified the soils by the late 18th century. Nevertheless, memes about the swamp pop up regularly.
St. Petersburg has been renamed three times. It was originally named St. Petersburg in honor of the Apostle Peter, the heaven guardian of Peter the Great. But, in 1914, during World War I, on the wave of anti-German sentiment, Nicholas II issued a decree renaming the city to Petrograd. And, in 1924, already after the Revolution, the Bolsheviks renamed it to Leningrad. The original name was returned to the city in 1991.
St. Petersburg is dubbed the “cultural capital” of Russia, because of the huge number of museums, palaces, parks and universities. So, it seems that all locals, regardless of profession, are willing to discuss poetry and literature for hours.
Dear readers,
Our website and social media accounts are under threat of being restricted or banned, due to the current circumstances. So, to keep up with our latest content, simply do the following:
If using any of Russia Beyond's content, partly or in full, always provide an active hyperlink to the original material.
Subscribe
to our newsletter!
Get the week's best stories straight to your inbox
