Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject located in Northwestern Federal District of Russia on the Neva River at the east end of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea.
St. Petersburg’s informal name, Piter (Питер), is based on how Peter the Great was called by foreigners. The city’s other names were Petrograd
Founded by the Tsar Peter the Great on May 27, 1703 to be his “window to Europe”, it was capital of the Russian Empire for more than two hundred years (1712-1728, 1732-1918).
St. Petersburg ceased being the capital in 1918 after the Russian Revolution of 1917. It is Russia’s second largest and Europe’s third largest city (by city limit) after Moscow and London. At latitude 59°56′N, Saint Petersburg is the world’s largest city north of Moscow (55°45′N). 4.6 million people live in the city, and over 6 million people in the city with its vicinity.
Saint Petersburg is a major European cultural center, and important Russian port on the Baltic Sea. The city, as federal subject, has a total area of 1439 square km.
St. Petersburg enjoys the image of being the most European city of Russia. Among cities of the world with over one million people, Saint Petersburg is the northernmost. The historic center of St. Petersburg is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Russia’s political and cultural center for 200 years, the city is impressive, and is sometimes referred to in Russia as “the Northern Capital”
