Visit Saint Petersburg Russia

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.

History
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.

The contemporary scene at St. Petersburg may be glimpsed by visitors through the English language newspaper, The St. Petersburg Times.