Page 41 - (DK Eyewitness) Top 10 Travel Guide - St. Petersburg

Moments in St Petersburg’s History ❮❮ 39

The City’s Name Changes
6 TOP 10 ST PETERSBURG
Founded as St Petersburg, the
city’s name was changed to the more POLITICAL FIGURES
Russian sounding Petrograd in 1914,
then to Leningrad in 1924, after the
death of Vladimir Lenin. Its origi nal
name was restored following the
collapse of the USSR in 1991.
“Criminal” 1990s
7
Immediately after the era of
peres troika, a crimi nal class sprung
up, willing and able to do anything to
build up fortunes. During this period,
St Petersburg earned the reputation Portrait of Lenin by Isaak Brodksy
as the “Crime Capital of Russia”.
1 Peter the Great
Reburial of Nicholas II
8 The driving force behind the city,
Peter the Great ruled Russia from
After the 1917 Revo lution,
Nicholas II and his family were 1682 to 1725.
executed in Yekaterinburg. In 1998, 2 Nicholas II
The last tsar of Russia was killed by the
their remains were reburied in the Bolsheviks after the 1917 Revolution.
Cathedral of SS Peter and Paul
(see pp26–7). 3 Rasputin
A peasant mystic whose scandal ous
lifestyle helped dis credit Nicholas II’s
rule (see p80).
4 Mikhail Bakunin
A revolutionary involved in insur rections
all over Europe, generally considered the
“father of modern anarchism”.
5 Lenin
Leader of the 1917 Revolution and
the first head of the Soviet Union,
Lenin changed Russia forever.
6 Sergey Kirov
Reburial of Nicholas II and his family A Soviet revolutionary whose
300th Anniversary
9 assassination marked the beginning
of a series of purges in the 1930s.
The year 2003 heralded
St Petersburg’s 300th anniversary 7 Anatoly Sobchak
St Petersburg’s first democratically
and saw a long-needed renovation elected mayor took office in 1991 and
of the city. The celebrations were was instrumental in restoring the
attended by the heads of government original name of the city.
from more than 45 countries and 8 Galina Starovoitova
lasted for over ten days. Known for her democratic principles,
Election of Vladimir Putin
0 this politician was assass inated in 1998.
9 Valentina Matvienko
A St Petersburg native, Putin
came into power as Acting President The governor of the city from 2003 to
2011, Matvienko rose to national office
on New Year’s Eve, 1999. He oversaw as Chairman of the Federation Council.
years of economic growth in his first 10 Vladimir Putin
presidential term, but his current term Elected President of the Russian
has seen economic difficulties, with Federation in 2000, Putin spent 2008–
falling oil prices and the imposition 12 as prime minister before regaining
of Western sanctions following the the presidency once more in 2012.
annexation of Crimea in 2014.

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