This entity was founded by Peter I. “from here we will threaten the Swedes”

Peter Romanov inherited the Russian throne at the age of 10, in 1682, and began to rule Russia seven years later. The young tsar was the first of the Russian monarchs to make a detailed trip around Western Europe, and having returned from foreign lands, he began to reshape Russia in a European way, so large-scale, controversially and urgently that he became known as a grandiose reformer, and even expanded the territory of the empire in the Baltic region and strengthened his authority Russian state in the world. Therefore, Peter the Great was nicknamed the Great.

The beginning, it would seem, did not promise a dizzying career for this man. He was born the fourteenth child of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, but was the firstborn of his mother, Tsarina Natalya Naryshkina. One-year-old Peter was given to be raised by nannies, and his education at the time of succession to the throne was weak; he even wrote with errors throughout his life. But the boy was unusually inquisitive and successfully mastered many sciences, both in childhood and in adulthood, in practice. The story of how Tsar Peter, in simple clothes, along with the peasants, planed and sawed at foreign shipyards, learning the ship craft, is indicative.

In the likeness foreign systems Peter made from Russian Empire a regular police state, divided it into provinces; He dressed the shaven gentlemen in foreign clothes, changed the calendar, founded the first Russian newspaper and in 1724 founded the Academy of Sciences. The progressive emperor also ordered the founding of new cities, not like those usual for free Mother Rus', chaotic and variegated, but according to civilized laws - pre-planned, topographically verified, adapted for communications and roads. The sovereign "tested" the project in the southern coastal city of Taganrog, and was going to build the capital there, but the war with the Turks there adjusted the plans. After the first fitting in the likeness of Taganrog urban planning, Peter the Great erected his glorious brainchild - St. Petersburg.

What other cities arose in our country thanks to this emperor? Peter also put his royal hand to several settlements, sometimes notable, but which did not become cities. "Evening Moscow" I found information about the creations of the Petrovs, which received the status of cities in ancient times or in modern history. Let's arrange them according to the chronology of their foundation.

1. Petrovsk, Saratov region

The successful campaign against Azov inspired the young tsar to build a fortress on the Medveditsa River, a tributary of the Don-Batyushka in the Saratov region. It was necessary to protect the territory from attacks by Crimean Tatars and roaming robbers. The sovereign issued a corresponding decree on November 15, 1697. And six months later a quadrangular fortress was founded there. Merchants and handicrafts began to develop there, and an entire Petrovsky district was formed. Now it is the administrative center of the Petrovsky district of the Saratov region with a population of approximately 30 and a half thousand residents. And the main attractions of the townspeople are the monument to Peter the Great on the station square, created by the sculptor A. Drozdov, the century-old church in the name of the icon of the Kazan Blessed Virgin Mary and the Church of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

2. Taganrog, Rostov region

In the story about this city, there is an incredible number of uses of the word “for the first time.” Taganrog was founded in 1698 by Peter the Great and became the first naval base of Russia, the first Russian port on the open sea coast, the first city in Russia built according to a regular plan, Taganrog harbor is the first in the world built not in a natural bay, but in the open sea , this is the first city of the Russian Empire, where a commercial court was introduced in 1808, it was the only one not capital city with the Italian opera, and in 1699 the first penal colony in the history of Russia was established in the region, and Taganrog became its center. The city is located on the Miussky Peninsula of Taganrog Bay Sea of ​​Azov, the historical part is on Cape Taganiy Rog with a lighthouse. In fact, it's quite Big city- a peninsula, except for one direction, no matter where you go, you will come out to the sea. Once upon a time, nobles, officials and clergy were exiled there, as well as captured Turks and Tatars, Swedes and Balts. Greek and Italian merchants, Armenian and Jewish merchants and nobility flocked there by sea. So the national flavor of the population of about 300,000 current residents is unique. In Taganrog, researchers identified Pushkin's Lukomorye; Many world-famous celebrities were born or lived there, from emperors and military leaders to writers, composers, and artists. During the Great Patriotic War during the three-year occupation, the most powerful anti-fascist underground of the South operated there; on November 3, 2011, Taganrog was assigned honorary title"City military glory".

3. Kamensk-Uralsky, Sverdlovsk region

The city was founded in 1701 by decree of Emperor Peter the Great and at first for two centuries it was known for the Kamensk state-owned iron foundry, which produced the best cannons in the world. The ore in those places lay close to the surface and was easily mined by hand. The servants of the Dalmatovsky monastery noticed this and legally registered the lands for themselves. But soon Tsar Peter also realized the easy accessibility of the ore so necessary for the state, and his specialists appreciated Ural ore high, the emperor returned state lands to the treasury and issued a decree on the construction of an ironworks there, the foundation of the future city. In January 1774, the Kamensky plant participated in peasant uprising Emelyan Pugacheva. The workers left the power of the factory owners and cast ten cannons and three hundred pounds of cannonballs for the Pugachevites. The Tsar's regiment defeated the rebel detachment and returned the plant to the state. During the Great Patriotic War, the only aluminum plant in the country operated in Kamensk-Uralsky, thanks to which Soviet aviation existed. The city is notable for the fact that the border of the Urals and Siberia passes through it. Today the population of the city is more than 172,000, mainly Russians and Tatars.

4. Lodeynoye Pole, Leningrad region

In 1702, it arose as a shipbuilders’ settlement at the Olonets shipyard founded by Peter the Great. The choice of location is clear - three-quarters of the entire area is covered with forests in Lodeynoye Pole; for a long time, residents of small settlements there were engaged in logging, and there was also shipbuilding. Over the 130 years of operation, the Olonets Shipyard has built about 450 ships. They built quickly then - spurred by the Northern War with Sweden. And near the shipyard, forges, workshops, and residential barracks arose, and that’s how the town was formed. There was also a temporary house for Tsar Peter. The settlement grew and in 1785, Catherine the Second ordered it to be granted city status. During the Great Patriotic War, Lodeynoye Pole held the defense for 1000 days, not allowing the Nazis to approach Leningrad, guarding the Road of Life. Now it is the administrative center of the Lodeynopolsky district of the Leningrad region with a population of 20 and a half thousand people.

5. St. Petersburg

The grandiose, most famous creation of Peter the Great. Until January 26, 1924 - Petrograd, until September 6, 1991 - Leningrad. He was named Emperor in honor of the Apostle Peter, keeper of the keys to the gates of heaven. The metropolis is located on the coast of the Gulf of Finland and at the mouth of the Neva River. St. Petersburg was the capital of Russia for two centuries, starting in 1710. It was founded in 1703, when the first stone was laid on Hare Island and a new city began to grow; at first it was Peter-Pavel's Fortress. It was built by the forces of serfs, who were forcibly herded for construction; several thousand people died from malnutrition and overwork. In 1710, by order of the Tsar, 15 thousand different artisans from all over the country were resettled there, and land in the city was given to them for free. Therefore, the central part of the city was formed very quickly. The city was built by foreign specialists according to European canons both in architecture and in infrastructure - according to clear layout. But until the mid-18th century, almost no attention was paid to decorating the city. But Empress Elizabeth introduced a new landmark - majestic buildings worthy of the capital. And under Paul the First, the most mystical building in St. Petersburg was built - the Mikhailovsky Castle, densely overgrown with legends. In the 20th century, they came to grips with the comfort of St. Petersburg: they built dozens of bridges, built railway lines, and launched a tram. And then the Russians poured there in a stream, the population grew faster than New York. The most tragic period of the city was the siege of Leningrad, 900 heroic days in 1941-1945. Now the city's population is more than 5 million inhabitants, it is the 4th largest city in Europe. St. Petersburg is notable for the fact that the total length of all watercourses on its territory is 282 km, their water surface- approximately 7% of the total area of ​​the city.

6. Petrozavodsk, capital of Karelia

In 1703, on the shore of Lake Onega near the mouth of the Lososinka River, by decree of Tsar Peter, the Shuya ironworks and cannon foundry were built. And the ore for it was taken from the lake itself. A two-story wooden palace and a camp church were built there for the royalty. Then a copper smelting and metalworking plant was opened. Of course, a settlement grew around such a large production. In 1920, Soviet Petrozavodsk became the capital of the Karelian Labor Commune, and soon - the capital of the Karelian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. In October 1941, the city was occupied by Finnish troops, renamed it Jaanislinna, at which time seven concentration camps. A system of rivers and canals connects Petrozavodsk with the Baltic, White, Barents, Caspian and Black seas; the city also has five lakes. The current population of Petrozavodsk is 270,600 inhabitants, mostly Russians. But the city is also a place of compact residence of Karelians (20% of the Karelians of the republic) and Vepsians (more than half of all Vepsians of Karelia and a quarter of all Vepsians of Russia).

7. Lipetsk, regional center

In ancient times there stood the village of Malye Studenki Lipetsk. And in 1703, Tsar Peter looked at this place at the confluence of the Lipovka River with the Voronezh River for the location of iron and steel smelting plants, so that they would provide products for Russian army and the fleet. And factory workers were moved in with the villagers, calling the settlement Lipskiye Zheleznye Zavody. In 1779 she became county town Tambov governorship, and then Lipetsk. There would have been no luck, but misfortune helped - in 1806, a strong fire destroyed part of the city, and instead of chaotically arranged barracks and houses, new buildings were erected according to the master plan - with wide straight streets between mansions. And even a complex of resort buildings appeared. Lipetsk became a regional Soviet center in 1954. It is located on the banks of the Voronezh River (Don basin), at an altitude of about 160 meters above sea level. Now it is a dynamically developing city in the Black Earth Region - over the past 50 years its population has quadrupled, exceeding 500,000.

8. Biysk, Altai region

The history of Biysk began in 1709 with the Bikatunsky fort, one of the defensive structures of the southeastern borders of Russia from raids from Dzungar Khanate. Just a year later the Teleuts destroyed it. A new fort was built nearby, on the Biya River, so the fort had to be renamed Biysky. The relevance of the fortress disappeared and in 1846 the city was transformed from a military-administrative one into a commercial and industrial one; a tannery, a distillery, brick and sawmills, a shag and flax weaving factory, a steam mill, and a refrigerator were built there. Biysk is famous for the fact that, being the center of the Altai Spiritual Mission, it gave birth in 1830-1840 to one of the first in Russia scientific translations Bibles from Hebrew and Greek into Russian. Currently, 205,250 residents live in Biysk. This is a city of scientific and production enterprises of the defense industry. The Institute of Chemical-Energy Technologies of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences is located in Biysk. On November 21, 2005, the city was awarded the status of a science city of the Russian Federation.

9. Peterhof (Petrodvorets), Leningrad region

This country residence of the Russian emperors was founded by Peter the Great in 1710 on the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland near St. Petersburg. The grandiose fountain system of Peterhof is famous all over the world. And once there were three small Finnish villages there. But by 1714, the Great Peterhof Palace, the Great Grotto with cascades, Monplaisir and other structures of the Lower Park were laid out on the site. At first, the settlement at the Palace was built chaotically, most of the peasants even lived in dugouts. In the 1730s, the famous architect M. Zemtsov created a clear layout for Peterhof. The world-famous hydraulic system of Peterhof was created 10 years earlier according to the design of hydraulic engineer Vasily Tuvolkov. To supply the fountains, a 40 km long water pipeline was built, along its length there are 18 storage ponds with almost one and a half million cubic meters of water. The water cannons that gained popularity worked on the principle of communicating vessels. In the mid-1850s, entrepreneur A. Stieglitz financed the construction of the Peterhof Railway, 30 km to St. Petersburg. Peterhof became a city in 1762, a wonderful landmark of which to this day is the Peterhof Museum-Reserve, a monument of world architecture and palace and park art. In 1944, the city was renamed Petrodvorets, a science city of the Russian Federation since 2005, population more than 73,000.

10. Sestroretsk, Leningrad region

In 1721, the sovereign decided to build another weapons factory and remembered the place where in 1703 Russian troops defeated the Swedish army in order to open at least one exit to the Baltic Sea for Russia. It was near the Sestra River, and the harbor remained there. And Peter ordered to build a summer palace with a garden nearby, on the shores of the Gulf of Finland. The sovereign's desire was realized by 1724 using locally produced bricks (however, the palace was dismantled in 1781). Well, they began to build a plant not far away. For a long time he then provided Russian soldiers with gunpowder, pistols, muskets and cannons. From the peaceful assortment, his door handles, copper buttons and gratings for the Fontanka River of the Catherine Canal are memorable. In 1735, the Chernorechensky Iron Foundry was built on the Dibun Swamp to help the Sestroretsk plant, and things went even better. Sestroretsk craftsmen became famous for making the famous “Daddy’s car” based on the drawings of M. Lomonosov. And starting from 1922, the Soviet Sestroretsk plant was converted into a tool plant. In the 1960-1980s, the city was massively built up with multi-storey buildings and a mud bath was opened there. The city has become a seaside climatic balneological mud resort with its own mineral water and healing mud. Several watercourses now flow through Sestroretsk, connecting Lake Sestroretsky Razliv and the Gulf of Finland. There are about 37,250 local residents registered there.

St. Petersburg - city federal significance Russian Federation, the second largest city in the country, located in the north-west of the country, on the shores of the Gulf of Finland. St. Petersburg was founded in 1703 by Peter I and from 1712 to 1918 was the capital of the Russian Empire.

Today the city's population is about 4.5 million people; it is an important economic, political, transport and cultural center of the state. St. Petersburg is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, attracting many tourists every year.

The city center and palace and park ensembles are declared World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. The city is home to over 200 museums and about 70 theaters.

The city is undoubtedly a cultural gem of humanity. It is no coincidence that a large number of stories, legends and myths revolve around him and his history, some of which we will consider.

The original inhabitants of the St. Petersburg lands were Finns. This myth is often used by Finnish historians, which is not surprising. Allegedly, the original inhabitants of the Neva lands are not Russians at all, but Ingrian Finns. In the press of this Scandinavian republic, and here too, you can often find information that some place names in St. Petersburg and its environs were renamed from their original Finnish forms. However, researchers note a discrepancy between the Finnish place names and the allegedly renamed Russian ones. Long before the founding of the city, Russian villages existed in the area along the Neva riverbed, while the number of Finnish settlements was insignificant. It is believed that the Finns appeared here in large numbers only after the Treaty of Stolbov in 1617, when this territory began to belong to Sweden. Studying Swedish censuses, historian S. Semenov discovered that in 1623 there were almost 90% of Russians in Ingria, but 70 years later their share decreased to 26%. It is obvious that the local population gradually migrated to Russia, not wanting to live under Swedish rule. Previously, the population was mixed; in addition to Russians, Karelians and Izhorians lived here, while the proportion of Finns was small.

St. Petersburg was built on swamps in uninhabited areas. Largely thanks to Pushkin, who wrote about the emergence of the city “from the darkness of the swamps, from the swamps of blat,” this myth arose. In fact, in this area, since ancient times, there was a fairly large city of Nien, as well as at least thirty villages. Where Liteiny Prospekt now begins, there used to be the village of Frolovshchina, at the source of the Fontanka there was the settlement of Kanduya, Spasskoye was located on the site of Smolny, and so on. There were villages on Krestovsky Island, on the Karpovka River, and on the banks of the Okhta there were as many as 12 settlements. Therefore, it is not surprising that all this infrastructure was actively involved in the construction of the city. It is not surprising that the barracks of the Semenovsky regiment were located far from the center of the built city, because they were actually attached to the existing village, which served soldiers and officers, providing them with food and shelter.

St. Petersburg is actually built on bones. There is an opinion that during the construction of the city, the labor of serfs was widely used, whom no one particularly took care of, therefore, in the difficult climate, there were many casualties among the builders. However, the source of such information are foreigners who did not particularly delve into the real state of affairs, but based their conclusions on the basis of hostility towards the reformer tsar. But then there should have been traces of mass graves! The remains of the dead peasants, who, according to conservative estimates, died from 30 thousand, and according to the most daring, up to 300 thousand, could not disappear without a trace. And in the 50s of the 20th century, archaeologist A. Grach conducted systematic excavations in order to discover mass graves. Imagine his surprise when, instead of mass graves he discovered ordinary cesspools in which food waste from livestock was buried, which the builders ate. Having studied the documents, historians came to the conclusion that St. Petersburg was built entirely by serfs, but by civilian workers, and there was a humane shift method, according to which work was carried out for 3-5 months a year. The artels even went home for the winter. The most massive death of builders can be considered the death of several hundred people who built Oranienbaum, but this was not caused by the atrocities of the authorities, but by the outbreak of the epidemic. In addition, the construction was carried out under the leadership of Menshikov, on a private basis, so the state did not control the entire process. Naturally, the labor of serfs was used, largely thanks to the landowners who paid for their houses with the help of the labor of their subjects, and the state also used the services of convicts, but one should not exaggerate the scale of this phenomenon.

During the war, huge losses were suffered on the Road of Life. Many Western authors, as well as domestic ones, cite the following statistics: only one truck out of three successfully passed along the Road of Life. However, the numbers vary, but this myth unites them. But, given that more than 280 trucks arrived in the city every day, it follows that the losses amounted to 560, which means that in just one blockade winter the country would have lost 88 thousand vehicles. For comparison, much fewer cars were delivered to the USSR under Lend-Lease. So one should not underestimate the significance and effectiveness of the Road of Life.

During Finnish war Mannerheim's troops stopped at the old border. The memoirs of Marshal Mannerheim indicate that Finnish troops stopped at the Svir line. The fact is that the reason for war on the part of the USSR was the security of Leningrad, and a violation of the border by the Finns would precisely confirm the legitimacy of Soviet claims. That is why the troops stopped at the old lines, despite pressure from the Germans. However, there are opponents to this point of view. Many historians believe that the Finns were stopped not by political motives, but by the fortifications of the “Stalin Line”, which were also provided with artillery fire. Including large caliber ones. Moreover, there are documented facts of orders in Finnish military units go old border, which met with massive refusals among the soldiers. It should be mentioned that after the closure of the siege ring around Leningrad in the fall of 1941, Mannerheim officially declared that Finland was not interested in the existence of such settlement like Leningrad. Thus, the Finns really did not cross the border, but the reasons were not their love of peace, but the power of the Red Army.

The blockade of Leningrad was deliberately prolonged by Stalin. According to this myth, Stalin was in no hurry to break through the blockade of the city, although he had every opportunity to do so. The goal was the destruction of the Leningrad intelligentsia by the Nazis. However, publicly available sources indicate that throughout the defense of the city, the country's leadership took all measures to evacuate the country, and first of all, this concerned those who could not actively participate in the defense of Leningrad - the elderly, children, including the intelligentsia. Aviation was often used to remove children, as well as to deliver particularly valuable cargo. Indeed, there were intellectuals in the city until the last moment, but only those who could help the city with their specialization. It should be said that the ration was less than that of workers who did hard work. So the position of the intelligentsia was equal to other groups of people; there is no need to talk about any systematic destruction.

St. Petersburg is a large city in area. Citizens, standing for hours in traffic jams and spending considerable time on travel, believe that St. Petersburg is a big city. This opinion is even more confirmed if we compare St. Petersburg with nearby cities in Finland. However, it is worth comparing the area of ​​the city with the truly giants - Berlin. Paris, the same Moscow. It turns out that the area of ​​St. Petersburg is relatively small, the center occupies a gigantic area, since this is a historical building, and it does not allow alterations. The number of residents significantly exceeds reasonable standards. In addition to the center, there is a ring of residential areas, which are actually isolated from it by industrial zones. The layout of the city is completely unsuitable for the number of residents who live in it. The area of ​​the city itself is 5 times less area Moscow, 8 times - London and Paris. But Saratov, for example, has the same area with a population 4 times smaller. Thus, the city’s infrastructure is adapted to accommodate 1, maximum 2, million people. This discrepancy causes discomfort among city residents, which manifests itself in difficulties with transport, lack of recreational facilities, problems with housing, bad work utilities and so on. The solution is either in the development of infrastructure, or in the gradual outflow of citizens to more favorable places, which is the trend towards which is observed.

St. Petersburg is the largest port city. But tourists who come to St. Petersburg by land do not have this impression. The fact is that the city cannot be called a port in traditional understanding this word. Indeed, maritime motifs are abundantly present in the architecture, but the port is huddled close to the center, while its piers and cranes are hidden from the eyes of tourists. The city does not have the typical port embankment with cafes and yachts at the pier. But the cargo port is not significant by European standards; in terms of cargo turnover it is comparable to Helsinki - the port backwaters of Europe. Already in the times of Peter the Great it was known that the average depth of the section of the Gulf of Finland to Kronstadt was 3 meters, which was clearly not enough for the passage of merchant ships. Therefore, a channel with a depth of 12-14 meters was built along the bottom of the bay, but this is not enough for the passage of ships up to 100 thousand tons. Today, the demand for cargo turnover is about 150 million tons per year, while in fact it is five times less. And the port simply cannot accommodate ships longer than 200 meters, which automatically excludes the city from those that can be visited on a cruise ship. With this restriction alone the city loses big number tourists. And there is no developed infrastructure for tourist ships or yachts in St. Petersburg. It turned out that having access to the sea through the Baltic States in the USSR, the port of Leningrad at that time practically did not develop, the fruits of which we are reaping today - the city is not a major European port.

St. Petersburg is a major tourist center. For tourism to emerge, it is necessary, first of all, to create conditions for guests. A developed tourist center must meet all the requirements of the most demanding visitors. In the case of St. Petersburg, the city, despite its attractiveness comparable to Paris, is far behind in terms of tourism opportunities. For example, the city is able to retain tourists almost more than any other city in Europe, but there are only 31 thousand hotel rooms. In terms of this indicator, there is no point in competing with Paris or Berlin, but with the modest Finnish Turku, which has 45 thousand hotel beds for a population of 180 thousand, it is quite possible. St. Petersburg is practically deprived of excursion transport that would take tourists to the sights, and municipal transport is poorly developed. The city does not have a decent entertainment center - a water park or Disneyland, an aquarium or a SPA hotel. A foreign tourist is obviously subject to discrimination, since he pays more for all tourist services, and this is repulsive, harming the prestige of the city. In Europe, it is customary that the main travelers are people of retirement age, who, if pleasant impressions They will also recommend this place to richer children. But what will pensioners see in St. Petersburg? Why are they charged 5 times more for visiting the Hermitage? The city still has to work and work on the development of tourism, for example, in London, 70% of the city budget is filled precisely from this article.

St. Petersburg is the cultural capital. Undoubtedly, the city is rich in its cultural roots, the number of museums and the education of its residents. But will all this make the outer ring of residential areas more cultural? Today, the overwhelming number of residents cannot have a normal rest or attend cultural events, since almost all places of culture and entertainment are located on the territory of the historical center. In residential areas, the recreation industry is not developing. “Thanks to” the transport network, going to the center is rare, and besides, such a pleasure is not cheap. It is no coincidence that most city residents rarely leave their neighborhood. Today, the number of children's creative groups, theater studios and other organizations for which the city was so famous is constantly decreasing. Of course, in the past, St. Petersburg really was the cultural capital, but this title can quickly be lost with the current trends in the city’s development.

When the founding of the city was announced, an eagle appeared above Peter. Legend has it that on May 16, 1703, Peter I inspected the island of Yeni Saari. Suddenly the king stopped, cut out a couple of pieces of turf, placed them crosswise and declared that there would be a city here. And at that moment an eagle appeared in the sky and began to soar over Peter. It looked very symbolic. In fact, on the island of Yeni-Saari (the Finnish name would later change to “Hare”), not a city, but a fortress was founded. The settlement arose later, on the neighboring Berezov Island, under the protection of a defensive complex. Some researchers claim that from May 11 to May 20, Peter was not in these places at all. The appearance of an eagle in the sky was also doubtful - what could a mountain bird do over the swamps? It has never been seen above the Neva.

St. Petersburg is named after its founder, Peter I. Tsar Peter was baptized on June 29, 1672 on Peter's Day. The ruler had long dreamed of naming some kind of fortress in honor of his heavenly angel. It was planned that the city of Petra would appear on the Don in the event successful completion Azov campaign. But there was a misfortune. On May 16, 1703, the fortress of St. Petersburg was founded on the Neva. But already on June 29, after the foundation of the Peter and Paul Cathedral was laid in it, it began to be called Peter and Paul. And the old original title has already spread to the whole city. But before this name was officially established, another name was also found in correspondence - St. Petropolis. The Hermitage even houses the first engraving depicting a city with this very unusual name.

The symbol of the city is copper monument Peter I. This monument was the very first in the city. Surprisingly, but" Bronze Horseman"not copper at all, but bronze. The monument received its name thanks to Pushkin’s poem of the same name.

The Kisses Bridge is named after the lovers. It is believed that lovers constantly met and kissed on this bridge, which gave the name to the object. It is symbolic that the bridge never opens, as if not wanting to separate hearts. In fact, the Kiss Bridge got its name because of the Kiss tavern. This establishment was located on the left bank of the Moika on the corner of Nikolskaya Street in the house of the merchant Potseluev. It seems clear that it was the merchant's surname that gave the name to the inn, and then to the bridge.

Vasilyevsky Island is named after the artilleryman, captain Vasily Korchmin. There is a legend that under Peter there was a fortification in the western part of the island under the command of Korchmin. When the tsar sent orders there, he simply said: “To Vasily on the island.” This is exactly how the name appears to have appeared. However, the island received its name long before the founding of St. Petersburg. In 1500, the census salary book of the Vodinskaya Pyatina of Veliky Novgorod speaks of Vasilyevsky Island. But it also had another name, Finnish - Elk or Hirva-Saari. Peter planned to place the center of the new city here.

Barmaleeva Street on the Petrograd Side was named after the robber from Chukovsky’s fairy tale “Aibolit”. In fact, everything was exactly the opposite. In the 1920s, Chukovsky, walking around the city with the artist Dobuzhinsky, suddenly came across a street with a strange name. Creative individuals immediately began to fantasize about this topic, inventing the African robber Barmaley. The artist created his portrait, and a little later the poet wrote poems about him. In Russian there is even old word"barmolit" meaning slurred speech. Perhaps a certain person was nicknamed “barmalei”, then the nickname became a surname. And then a street appeared in the place where Barmaley or Barmaleev was a landowner.

St. Petersburg holds the world record for the number of bridges. This beautiful myth is flattering local residents. Within the city there are about a hundred rivers, branches, channels and canals, and about the same number of reservoirs. Total number bridges is 340-370, depending on the quality of the count. But this is clearly not a world record. There are 2,300 bridges in Hamburg, which is more than in St. Petersburg, Venice and Amsterdam combined.

Floods in the city are caused by the Neva. This myth has existed for two centuries. Today it is already clear that cyclones are to blame for this, driving streams of water in the fall precisely to this place in the Gulf of Finland. This is how it is formed high wave, causing the waters of the Neva to rise. Over the entire history of the city, more than three hundred floods have been recorded, three of which (in 1777, 1824 and 1924) were catastrophic.

A box of gold coins is kept in the gilded ball of the Admiralty spire. It is believed that this box contains samples of all the gold coins minted since the founding of the city. The box really exists, but it contains not treasures, but information about the repairs of the spire and weather vane over the entire existence of the Admiralty, as well as about the craftsmen who carried out the work.

Valery Chkalov flew under the Trinity Bridge. While filming the film “Valery Chkalov,” director Kalatozov heard how, in tsarist times, some brave pilot flew under the Trinity Bridge. This story impressed the filmmaker, and it ended up in the script. Allegedly, Chkalov was expelled from the Air Force for hooliganism flying under a bridge. And he did this to win the heart of his beloved. This legend came to life, they even began to write when the flight took place, on what plane and what she observed. future wife hero. However, she herself claimed that she had never seen her husband fly. And Chkalov himself could not fly over Leningrad in 1926-1928. He either served in Bryansk, then studied in Lipetsk, or served a criminal sentence. You can only fly under the bridge during the day. But then there would be a lot of eyewitnesses on the embankments! They weren’t there, and in the Leningrad press in 1924-1928 nothing was written about such a flight. But in 1940, the press wrote with delight how Chkalov’s trick was “repeated” by Yevgeny Borisenko. He did this under the Kirov Bridge during the filming of a film about the pilot.

St. Petersburg is located on 101 islands. IN mid-19th century centuries, when the capital islands were counted, there were actually 101 of them. Even then, this number was less than in the previous century. Then there were 147 islands. The number decreased due to numerous factors, both natural and related to human activity. Some islands were eroded by the sea and wind, others became victims of new channels, and others merged together. By the middle of the 20th century, only 42 islands remained on the city map.

The building of the Twelve Collegiums faces the embankment to make way for the Menshikov Palace. This myth has become a kind of historical anecdote. Indeed, it seems strange that the building is not located along the embankment, but perpendicular to it. After all, it has always been significant and could become the center of the entire complex. According to legend, Peter, leaving the city under construction, instructed Alexander Menshikov to supervise the construction of the building. The assistant saw that according to the architect's plan, the long building should face the Neva. Only then on the embankment, the best part of the city, there will be no room left for Menshikov’s own palace. He certainly wanted to stake out a place for himself, ordering the building to be turned perpendicular to the river. Peter, seeing the structure, was furious. But it was too late to stop construction. The tsar did not dare to execute Menshikov, simply fining him. The legend still raises doubts. Historians believe that the façade of the Twelve Colleges building was planned to be oriented towards main square cities. It’s just that redevelopment happened later and it couldn’t be implemented, but the building had already found its place.

Zhdanov Street is named after the party official Andrei Zhdanov, who led Leningrad during the siege. Zhdanovskaya Street got its name back in 1887. It, like the embankment of the same name, was named after the Zhdanovka River in Petrogradsky district cities.

Zhukov Street is named after the legendary commander who fought near Leningrad. Street in Kalininsky district Soviet Marshal has no relation. It received its name in 1923 in honor of Ilya Zhukov. This secretary of the Vyborg district party committee was a participant Civil War. The city named an avenue in honor of Marshal Zhukov.

The year 1703 is one of the key years in Russian history. Its beginning was marked by the publication of the first issue of the Russian newspaper Vedomosti. She became the first printed edition in the Russian Empire. But the most important event of 1703, undoubtedly, was the founding of the future cultural capital - the majestic St. Petersburg.

1703 in the history of Russia: St. Petersburg

On May 16 (27), by decree of Emperor Peter I Alekseevich, the first stone of a new city in the Neva was laid. The founding of St. Petersburg was strategic decision the Russian emperor, since at that time there was a war between Russia and Sweden, and access to the Baltic Sea was a necessary condition for a future victory over the Swedes.

City on the Neva

Subsequently, St. Petersburg became the most important city in the Russian Empire. Thanks to its founding, Peter the Great and his followers managed to establish trade and diplomatic relations with many European countries. In Russian history, this event is treated ambiguously. Some call Pyotr Alekseevich a “great reformer,” others call him a “Westernizer” who destroyed the sacred identity of our country. The name of the city was chosen with reference to the Orthodox Saint Peter, but over time it became associated with its founder

Geographically, St. Petersburg is located in the north-west of the modern Russian Federation, at the mouth of the Neva River. In addition, the city is a key maritime hub, where the main command of the navy is located, as well as one of administrative districts Russian armed forces.

It is officially accepted that the founding of St. Petersburg is associated with the founding of the Peter and Paul Fortress on May 27, 1703. At the beginning of the 18th century, Russia entered into a war with its enemy Sweden. By the beginning of 1703, Peter the Great managed to conquer lands near the Neva. In order to retain the acquired territories, it was necessary to thoroughly fortify the area.

Although the Russian authorities already existed there, they decided that this was not enough to maintain their newfound positions. Tsar Peter Alekseevich and his associates chose the site of the founding of the city of Hare Island. The famous Peter and Paul Fortress was founded on this site. It is interesting that the king himself was absent on the day of the foundation of the fortress. The supervision was carried out by the closest adviser to Peter the Great, Alexander Menshikov.

Why is 1703 significant in Russian history?

When the Peter and Paul Fortress was founded, it was not planned to build an entire city, not to mention the future capital. They decided to build fortification buildings from earth and trees. The design of the unique earthen and wooden fort was drawn up by Tsar Peter himself. This attraction includes both a unique exterior and an expertly decorated interior.

The highlight is the carved gilded iconostasis and the altar canopy - gift Peter and Paul Cathedral, located in the fortress, from Peter I. The iconostasis was created in Moscow according to the drawings of D. Trezzini, its design was compiled by Peter I and Novgorod under the direction of I. P. Zarudny. The wealth of the fortress is also gifts of Russia's military glory - captured banners, keys to captured Russian troops cities and fortresses, but subsequently some of the banners were lost or transferred to collections, and their copies remained hanging in the fortress.

Other events

But not only the beginning of the construction of the city on the Neva is significant in the history of Russia. What other events happened? A lesser known, but no less significant event was the construction of an arms factory. The shore of Lake Onega, near the Lososinka River, became the location. The prince and concurrently A. Menshikov was chosen as the construction manager.

Due to the frequent visits of the plant by Peter the Great, such structures as a wooden two-story palace, a camp church of Peter and Paul, a pond, and a garden were erected especially for him.

Subsequently, around the plant it was founded urban settlement. Among the settlers were assigned peasants, Ural and Tula artisans sent to build a plant for the production of weapons. Thus, the history of the city of Petrozavodsk began - the capital of the Republic of Karelia, a region with amazing history and nature.

The city was founded at the mouth of the river. Neva, on Hare Island, May 16, 1703 by Peter I - after a series of victories in the Northern War with Sweden (1700-1721) for access to the Baltic Sea. “From here we will threaten the Swede. Here the city will be founded to spite the arrogant neighbor. Nature here destined us to open a window to Europe” (Pushkin).

“THE FROM HERE WE WILL THREATEN THE SWEDES”

“After the capture of Kanets, a military council was sent to determine whether it would be more convenient to look for a trench or another place (since it was small, far from the sea and the place was not very strong from nature, in which it was supposed to look for a new place), and after a few days it was found comfortable spot- an island called Lust-Elant, where on the 16th day of the Maya a fortress was founded and named St. Petersburg, where part of the army was left...”

IMPERIAL CAPITAL

On May 1, 1703, Russian troops during the fighting Northern War took the Swedish fortress of Nyenschanz (at the confluence of the Okhta River with the Neva). The military council headed by decided that this fortress was for further strengthening does not fit: Nyenschanz “is not much strong by nature,” as the tsar himself said. In addition, Nyenschanz was quite far from the sea, and the Swedes still had the opportunity to fortify themselves on one of the islands of the Neva delta. The Russians would then still be cut off from the sea.

Having independently examined the islands of the delta, Peter found exactly what he needed: Hare Island, located at the fork of the Neva into two branches, not far from the sea. The island was washed on all sides by water, which would have become a natural barrier in the event of an assault. From the island it was possible to keep enemy ships at gunpoint, no matter where they entered the Neva.

On May 16 (27), 1703, on the day of the Holy Trinity, a fortress was founded on the island. This day is considered the founding day of St. Petersburg. But the fortress received its name only on June 29, when, on Peter’s Day, the Church of Saints Peter and Paul was founded here. Peter called new fortress“St. Petersburg”, the same name was given to the city emerging around Hare Island. The Apostle Peter, according to Christian tradition, was the keeper of the keys to heaven, and this also seemed symbolic to the Russian Tsar: the city bearing the name of his heavenly patron was supposed to become the key to the Baltic Sea. Only a few years later the fortress began to be called Peter and Paul fortress - after the name of its main cathedral.

The plan for the future fortress was drawn by Peter himself. It was necessary to build fortifications very quickly in order to keep up with short summer. And indeed, by the autumn of 1703 the fortress was “roughly finished.” In the first years, its walls were poured out of earth to speed it up, but the construction of stone fortifications began three years later - in 1706.

Immediately after the foundation of the fortress on the banks of the Neva, it was cut down in three days. wooden house for Peter. The king wanted his new home to resemble the Dutch buildings he loved, so the walls wooden house They painted it with oil paint to look like brick. Peter lived in this house for a short time and only in the summer, but in memory of the founder of St. Petersburg, Peter’s house has been preserved to this day.

The new city began to grow next to the fortress on the neighboring Berezov Island; this island even began to be called Gorodsky (now it is the Petrograd side). Already in November 1703, the first church of the city was opened here - in memory of the fact that the fortress was founded on the day of the Holy Trinity, it was also called Trinity. Rebuilt a few years later in stone, the Trinity Cathedral was for some time the main temple of the capital. It was here in 1721 that Peter I took the title of emperor.

NEW CAPITAL

"And before the younger capital
Old Moscow has faded,
Like before a new queen
Porphyry-bearing widow."

A.S. Pushkin. Bronze Horseman

“THE CITY IS HERE TO BE”

St. Petersburg was founded as a result of a thoughtful plan of Peter I and many people around him. At the end of April 1703, the Tsar, looking for a place for a future fortress, carefully examined the coast of the Neva. He explored the territory not alone, but accompanied by various specialists. The establishment of fortresses at that time required reconnaissance on the ground, analysis of drawings, depth measurements, and discussion of many technical issues with fortifiers, artillerymen and sailors. Feofan Prokopovich wrote in his “History of Emperor Peter the Great” that the tsar, “sat on water vessels, from the Kantsov fortress along the Neva River, take care of its islands even to the sea mouth, and began diligently to reason, not without the advice of others skilled in the matter (people )". We know that Peter’s retinue at that time included two fortification specialists: the French general engineer Joseph Gaspard Lambert de Guerin and the German engineer V. A. Kirschenshein. The first made drawings of the Noteburg-Shlisselburg fortress being restored after the assault of 1702, while the second made the first two plans for the fortress on the Neva island. Until his death in 1705, Kirshenshein supervised the construction of the Peter and Paul Fortress. The role of Lambert, a successor to the school of the great French engineer Vauban, is also great. It is no coincidence that in the fall of 1703 Lambert received the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called as a reward. Peter I was never generous in awarding the highest and only order of Russia of that era. Perhaps this is how he especially noted the services of the general engineer in founding the fortress on the island. In addition, after the Azov campaigns of 1695-1696, the tsar himself acquired extensive experience in fortification. After all, then he had to choose a place for a long time to found Taganrog, as well as the St. Peter fortress at the mouth of the Don. It is no coincidence that one of the working drawings of the fortress on Hare Island was made, as historians suggest, by the hand of the king.

On the night of May 6-7, another memorable event took place. Thirty boats with guardsmen under the command of Peter I and Menshikov attacked the Swedish ships standing at the mouth of the Neva - a shnyava and a boat - and boarded them. Not only Menshikov, but also the Russian autocrat himself took part in the fast-paced hand-to-hand combat. For this feat, the sovereign was awarded the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called.

PETERSBURG - “A CITY ON BONES”?

The idea of ​​St. Petersburg, built on the bones of its first builders, is still stable. Is this myth true? The answer to this question involves solving a number of problems. What categories of the population were involved in the construction of the city in the first ten years? What was the real number of the first builders, and how many of them died at this construction site? What were the main causes of illness and what did the workers get sick with? Of particular interest is the position of the authorities regarding morbidity and mortality in the Neva Delta: did they look at it indifferently or take some measures?..

O.G. Ageeva, considering Peter’s Petersburg through the prism of Russian social consciousness early XVIII V., dwells in detail on the issue that interests us. For the first time in historiography, the author goes against the generally accepted opinion and claims that there was no high mortality rate in St. Petersburg. The researcher derives his calculations of overall mortality in St. Petersburg from a document for 1716, according to which, out of 3,262 working people, 27 people died during the construction of the future Nevsky Prospect, which is 0.74 percent. Based on this percentage, O.G. Ageeva calculates that the St. Petersburg construction site claimed about 150 people annually, which is 1703-1715. amounted to approximately two thousand people. Thus, the author comes to the conclusion that the figures reported by foreigners are 50-100 times inflated, and this phenomenon is nothing more than rumors, a myth, reflecting the population’s reaction “to the discomfort of St. Petersburg life”

BETWEEN EAST AND WEST

The founding of a new capital on the western border of the state was not only the embodiment of the plans and ideals of the founder, but also determined the entire future fate cities in the historical and political reality of Russia, and in its cultural and state mythology. Starting from this era, such opposing characteristics as ancient/new, historical/mythological, received features of the opposition concentric/eccentric, primordial/foreign. Behind this opposition was the antithesis of two indigenous state-cultural models.

"East" and "West" in cultural geography Russia invariably appears as rich symbols, based on geographical reality, but in fact imperatively ruling over it. It is characteristic that in Russian literature geography becomes one of the dominant artistic means of expression. So, for example, in Dostoevsky’s work, the development of the author’s basic ideas naturally leads to an expansion geographical space. In the work of the young Dostoevsky, St. Petersburg, as it were, embraces the entire artistic space and, accordingly, receives the right to represent Russia. In the final work - “The Brothers Karamazov” - Petersburg rather embodies the illness of Russia, its “fears and horrors” (Gogol’s expression), - accordingly, “recovery” is thought of as Russia overcoming the Petersburg origin within itself. Dostoevsky's work begins as natural development Petersburg myth and is no less connected with the “St. Petersburg space” than Pushkin’s “The Bronze Horseman”.

RETURN

ABOUT RETURNING THE CITY OF LENINGRAD ITS HISTORICAL

NAMES ST. PETERSBURG

Presidium Supreme Council The RSFSR decides:

Return it to the city of Leningrad historical name- city

Saint Petersburg.

First Deputy Chairman

Supreme Council of the RSFSR

R.I.KHASBULATOV

Literature:

Related materials:

Peter I

The personality of Peter the Great stands apart in the history of Russia, since neither among his contemporaries, nor among his successors and descendants was there a person who could make such profound changes in the state, so infiltrate historical memory of the Russian people, becoming at the same time semi-legendary, but its most striking page. As a result of Peter's activities, Russia became an empire and took its place among the leading European powers.

3 Comments

Zemtsov Anton Vyacheslavovich/ CEO zemant.com | Member of the Russian Military Society

This was not a struggle for access to the Baltic Sea, but the conquest from the Swedes and the liberation of the ancestral lands of northwestern Rus', lost as a result of the Time of Troubles and due to the atrocities and extravagance of Ivan the Terrible.
This land has always been ours, even when Rurik was invited to Veliky Novgorod in 862. This was and is Novgorod land.

Valuev Anton Vadimovich

On March 14, 1730, during the reign of Empress Anna Ioannovna, the coat of arms of St. Petersburg was approved by decree of the Governing Senate. It is believed that its prototype was the coat of arms of the Vatican, the City of St. Peter. The prototype of the coat of arms appeared back in 1712. The historical coat of arms of St. Petersburg was subsequently confirmed in 1780, supplemented in 1857 and, in our time, re-adopted in 1991, in connection with the return of the city to its historical name.

Valuev Anton Vadimovich/ Candidate of Historical Sciences, Professor Russian Academy natural sciences

On May 27, St. Petersburg will celebrate its 311th anniversary. Born of the genius of Peter, St. Petersburg - Petrograd - Leningrad - St. Petersburg, the cultural capital of Russia, has always played important role in the history of our Motherland. A unique life, a difficult fate, an unbending will form the special character, the soul of our city. Petersburg is a city of warriors, a city of workers, a city of scientists. The past, present and future are inextricably combined here. Living in St. Petersburg and being worthy of its glorious deeds and traditions is a great honor for every person and citizen. Happy holiday, happy birthday, beloved city!

Valuev Anton Vadimovich/ Candidate of Historical Sciences, Professor of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences

From December 14 to 16, 2015, the regular IV International Cultural Forum, created on the initiative of the Government of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Culture and the Government of St. Petersburg, took place in St. Petersburg. The forum was solemnly opened by the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. In his speech, the President outlined the main priorities of our country in the field of culture, science and education, creativity in general - in the context of modern challenges to these foundations of every civilized society from international organized crime and terrorism. main idea message addressed to Russia and the world was that World culture and its monuments should be under special international protection, and any encroachment on historical and cultural monuments should be considered a particularly serious crime. Many figures of Russian and world culture took part in the Forum, among them the head of UNESCO Irina Bokova. As a result of the forum, numerous important decisions and projects on the development of cultural policy in Russia, the Anatoly Vasilyevich Lunacharsky Prize was awarded and the initiative to hold the International Delphic Games in St. Petersburg in 2016 was approved. In addition, on December 16, during the final plenary meeting of the Forum in St. Petersburg, in the Atrium of the General Staff of the State Hermitage, the first version of the Declaration on the Protection of Culture in Zones of Armed Conflict was presented. Russian Minister of Culture Vladimir Rostislavovich Medinsky was named the main newsmaker of Russian culture.

For more than 200 years, St. Petersburg was the capital of the Russian Empire. The revolutionary events of 1905-1907, the February and October revolutions of 1917 took place there. In 1914 the city was renamed Petrograd, and in 1924-1991 it was called Leningrad. During the Great Patriotic War, it withstood a 900-day blockade by German troops. In 1945, it was awarded the title of Hero City...

St. Petersburg (from August 18, 1914 to January 26, 1924 - Petrograd, from January 26, 1924 to September 6, 1991 - Leningrad) - second The largest city Russia. City of federal significance. Administrative center of the Northwestern Federal District and Leningrad Region.

The city is named after St. Peter, the heavenly patron of the founding tsar, but over time it became increasingly associated with the name of Peter I himself. St. Petersburg is historically and culturally associated with the birth of the Russian Empire and Russia’s entry into modern history in its role as a European superpower, it is a symbol of imperial power and military glory.

Located in the north-west of the Russian Federation, on the coast of the Gulf of Finland and at the mouth of the Neva River. The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, the Heraldic Council under the President of the Russian Federation, the authorities of the Leningrad region, and the Interparliamentary Assembly of the CIS countries are located in St. Petersburg. The city also houses the Main Command of the Navy and the headquarters of the Western Military District. Armed Forces Russia

The city was the center of three revolutions: 1905-1907, February and October revolutions 1917. During the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, the city was under siege for 872 days, as a result of which more than 2,000,000 people died.

May 1, 1945 by order Supreme Commander-in-Chief Leningrad was declared a Hero City. As of 2016, the federal city of St. Petersburg also includes three cities of military glory: Kronstadt, Kolpino, Lomonosov.

Population - 5,281,579 (2017). St. Petersburg is the northernmost city in the world with a population of more than one million people. Among cities entirely located in Europe, St. Petersburg is the third most populous and also the first non-capital city in terms of population.

The innovative scenario of the “Strategy for the Development of St. Petersburg until 2020” assumes that by 2020 the population of St. Petersburg will be 5.9 million people.

Summer Garden in 1716

The city is the center of the St. Petersburg urban agglomeration. The area of ​​the city is 1439 km2, after the expansion of Moscow on July 1, 2012, St. Petersburg is the second largest city in the country by area; Before the annexation of the city of Sevastopol to the Russian Federation, it was the smallest subject of the Russian Federation by area.

General plan of 1716-1717, architect Domenico Trezzini, 1716

St. Petersburg is the most important economic, scientific and cultural center of Russia, a major transport hub. The historical center of St. Petersburg and associated monument complexes are included in the List of objects world heritage UNESCO; it is one of the most important tourism centers in the country.

Among the most significant cultural and tourist sites are the Hermitage, the Kunstkamera, the Mariinsky Theater, the Russian National Library, the Russian Museum, the Peter and Paul Fortress, St. Isaac's Cathedral, and Nevsky Prospekt. To save objects cultural heritage The program for the preservation and development of the historical center of St. Petersburg is aimed, among other things.