ST. PETERSBURG - Russia Travel Guide | Around The World
Saint Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петерб́ург Sankt-Peterburg;) is a world-class destination and Russia's second largest city, with a population of more than 5 million perched at the eastern tip of of the Baltic Sea and the Neva River.
The city was formerly known as Petrograd (Петрогр́ад), and later Leningrad (Ленингр́ад).
This is one of the most breathtakingly beautiful places on earth and virtually any building in the large historic centre, threaded with canals dotted with baroque bridges, can be considered an attraction—and indeed, it is a UNESCO World Heritage site. This is a magical city, with a long list of major attractions. Its Hermitage Museum, housed in the Winter Palace of the Romanov Dynasty, is both one of the world's greatest and oldest collections of art, treasure, and antiquities, and one of its most beautiful buildings.
Founded by Peter the Great in 1703, in the territory of the Inkeri town of Nien which was a capital of Finno-Ugric province Ingermanland which was part of Novgorod Republic, and Sweden. The first settlements in this region date from 2500 years ago. Archaeologists found old graves full of izhora silver treasures, also korela-inkeri epos of Kalevala halfly was written near Sester river, modern Sestroretsk. In this time the lifestyle of aborigines was very different it was forest people which lived in tunnels underground, famous for hunting, mushroom medicine, and making steel. It was place of joining three finno ugric subethnosos suomi Inkeri and Karela, St Petersburg the former home of the tsars and the centre of imperial Russian culture, Saint Petersburg was known as The Venice of the North in its heyday. Re-christened Petrograd during the first World War, the city was renamed Leningrad in 1924 in honour of communist revolutionary and founder of the Soviet Union, Vladmir I. Lenin. Bombed, besieged and starved during World War II, the city took a back seat to Moscow during the Soviet-era.
Saint Petersburg is nicknamed the 'Venice of the North'
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the city has rapidly been making up for lost time and is by far the most cosmopolitan and Western of Russia's cities. Renamed once more in the aftermath of the fall of the Soviet Union, most Russians know it as Piter (Питер), a familiar diminutive of Saint Petersburg.
During the hardship years of Yeltsin's presidency, much of the city was controlled by the infamous Tambov gang, but have since reduced in influence. With world-class architecture, astonishing views and friendly people, there's lots to do here.
Russian visa requirements are complex but are not hard to manage with some online research. See the Get In section of the article on Russia for information.
A visa is not required for a trip of less than 72 hours if you arrive in St. Petersburg by ferry or by cruise liner and you have a pre-arranged program of excursions by an approved local company. This kind of visa for cruise passengers is called Blanket visa and can be ordered online at Russian travel agency.
Pulkovo Airport (IATA: LED), 20km south of the city centre, serves many international and domestic destinations. A new terminal opened in 2014. There is unlimited free Wi-Fi. The airport has business lounges that are free for first and business class travelers but are available for use by all passengers upon payment of a fee. The lounges include snacks, drinks, televisions, and showers.
Except during the winter, the 9 low bridges in St. Petersburg are drawn during the night to allow for the passage of boat traffic. Therefore, if you don't make it to the side of the river where you are staying before the bridges are drawn and there are no high bridges to cross, you will be stuck until the bridges are lowered. Note that there are breaks when some the bridges are lowered in the middle of the night for approximately 30 minutes to briefly allow everyone to get home. The bridge schedule is particularly noteworthy for those staying on Vasilyevsky Island, which is unreachable at certain times of the night. Seeing the bridges drawn in the middle of the night is a must for all visitors to the city!
The Bolshoy Obukhovskiy Most, 14km south of the Alexander Nevsky Bridge (Most Aleksandra Nevskogo), is never drawn, allowing for 24-hour crossing of the Neva River. However, the bridge is out of the way and will increase the cost of your taxi or Uber.
Saint Petersburg's metro system is the second largest in Russia, after that of Moscow. The metro is a cheap and effective way to get around the city, and also a major tourist attraction due to the beautiful decorations of the stations. Amateur photography (without a tripod, etc) is allowed, although professional photography is prohibited.
Saint Petersburg | Wikipedia audio article
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Saint Petersburg
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The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
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Saint Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг, tr. Sankt-Peterburg, IPA: [ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk] (listen)) is Russia's second-largest city after Moscow, with 5 million inhabitants in 2012, part of the Saint Petersburg agglomeration with a population of 6.2 million (2015). An important Russian port on the Baltic Sea, it has a status of a federal subject (a federal city).
Situated on the Neva River, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea, it was founded by Tsar Peter the Great on 27 May [O.S. 16 May] 1703. On 1 September 1914, the name was changed from Saint Petersburg to Petrograd (Russian: Петрогра́д, IPA: [pʲɪtrɐˈgrat]), on 26 January 1924 to Leningrad (Russian: Ленингра́д, IPA: [lʲɪnʲɪnˈgrat]), and on 1 October 1991 back to Saint Petersburg. During the periods 1713–1728 and 1732–1918, Saint Petersburg was the capital of Imperial Russia. In 1918, the central government bodies moved to Moscow, which is about 625 km (388 miles) to the south-east.
Saint Petersburg is one of the most modern cities of Russia, as well as its cultural capital. The Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments constitute a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Saint Petersburg is home to the Hermitage, one of the largest art museums in the world.
Many foreign consulates, international corporations, banks and businesses have offices in Saint Petersburg.
St. Petersburg | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
00:01:30 1 Name
00:03:33 2 History
00:03:43 2.1 Imperial era (1703–1917)
00:12:53 2.2 Revolution and Soviet era (1917–1941)
00:16:51 2.3 World War II (1941–1945)
00:18:42 2.4 Post-war Soviet era (1945–1991)
00:21:29 2.5 Contemporary era (1991–present)
00:25:32 3 Geography
00:29:05 3.1 Climate
00:31:12 3.2 Toponymy
00:35:43 4 Demographics
00:39:59 4.1 Religion
00:40:17 5 Government
00:43:07 6 Economy
00:49:37 7 Cityscape
00:58:06 8 Tourism
01:02:05 9 Dramatic Theatre
01:02:30 10 Media and communications
01:03:04 11 Culture
01:03:13 11.1 Museums
01:05:30 11.2 Music
01:11:14 11.3 Film
01:13:19 11.4 Literature
01:15:54 12 Education
01:16:56 13 Sports
01:20:57 13.1 2018 FIFA World Cup
01:21:30 14 Infrastructure
01:21:39 14.1 Transportation
01:22:37 14.1.1 Roads and public transport
01:25:12 14.2 Saint Petersburg public transportation statistics
01:26:06 14.2.1 Waterways
01:27:15 14.2.2 Rail
01:29:32 14.2.3 Air
01:31:02 14.3 Parks
01:33:13 15 Famous people
01:33:51 16 Crime
01:37:12 17 Twin towns and sister cities
01:37:44 18 See also
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain
Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.
Listen on Google Assistant through Extra Audio:
Other Wikipedia audio articles at:
Upload your own Wikipedia articles through:
Speaking Rate: 0.8733509262978975
Voice name: en-US-Wavenet-D
I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
Saint Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг, tr. Sankt-Peterburg, IPA: [ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk] (listen)) is Russia's second-largest city after Moscow, with 5 million inhabitants in 2012, part of the Saint Petersburg agglomeration with a population of 6.2 million (2015). An important Russian port on the Baltic Sea, it has a status of a federal subject (a federal city).
Situated on the Neva River, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea, it was founded by Tsar Peter the Great on 27 May [O.S. 16 May] 1703. During the periods 1713–1728 and 1732–1918, Saint Petersburg was the capital of Imperial Russia. In 1918, the central government bodies moved to Moscow, which is about 625 km (388 miles) to the south-east.
Saint Petersburg is often considered Russia's cultural capital. The Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments constitute a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Saint Petersburg is home to the Hermitage, one of the largest art museums in the world. Many foreign consulates, international corporations, banks and businesses have offices in Saint Petersburg.