Page 40 - (DK Eyewitness) Top 10 Travel Guide - St. Petersburg

38 ❯❯ The Top 10 of Everything

Moments in
St Petersburg’s History

Painting depicting Bloody Sunday by Ivan Vladimirov
Founding of the City
World War II Siege
1 4
St Petersburg was founded by
The 900-day Siege of
Peter the Great in 1703 as Russia’s Leningrad, which began in 1941
“Window to Europe”. Constructed when Nazi forces encircled the city,
on swamp land, it was built by plunged its three million inhabi tants
thou sands of serfs, many of whom into a living hell. By the time the
perished, their bones laying the siege was finally broken in 1944,
city’s found ations. It became the around two million people had
capital of Russia in 1712, and lost their lives to starvation and
remained so until 1918. bitterly cold winters.
1991 Coup
“Bloody Sunday”
2 5
The military coup occurred
On 9 January 1905, peaceful
demon s trators carrying a petition when hard liners opposed to
to Nicholas II were gunned down President Gorbachev’s reforms
by the army as they marched seized po wer. Supporters of
towards the Winter Palace. Around Gorbachev’s policies gath ered
1,000 demons trators perished. in Palace Square (see p14) to
The aftermath of the horrifying pro test events. The coup was
event led to the 1905 Revolution. even tually defeated.
1917 Revolution
3
Following a series of strikes in
1917, the tsar was forced to abdicate,
and a provisional government
assumed power. This was the signal
for exiled revolutionaries, led by
Vladimir Lenin, to return to Russia,
where they overthrew the fledg ling
govern ment in October, heralding
the start of more than 70 years
of Soviet rule. Protesters in Palace Square in 1991

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