St. Petersburg and the Tsars

Vivian Kerr

The tsars of Russia ruled from the middle of the 16th century until the deposition and execution of Nicholas II and his family in 1918. Though Moscow had always been the ruling hub of this vast country, on May 27th, 1703 the city of St. Petersburg (Санкт-Петербург in Cyrillic) was founded by Peter the Great, who made it the Russian capital for the next two centuries, and used the city to help bring Russia into the modern age. This stunning Westernized city provided the backdrop for some of the most incredible historical events in Russian history.

After the Great Northern War with Sweden, Peter the Great needed to strengthen Russian presence along the northern coast of the country. He began by building a fortress on a group of tiny islands near the Swedish fort of Nienchanz. The fortress on Hares’ Isle became the red-brick Peter & Paul Fortress, which still stands today. In June 1703 Peter gave the site a name — Sankt Pieter Burkh, in honor of the time he spent among the Dutch in Amsterdam.

Inspired by the canals and waterways of Amsterdam, and Western Europe’s impressive naval capabilities, Peter saw the marshy Neva River delta as a perfect location to build a “Western” city. St. Petersburg became his life’s work. Catherine I was Peter the Great’s second wife, and created the tsar’s summer palace at Tsarskoye Selo, which still stands today (though it was heavily bombed in World War II).

Peter the Great’s daughter, Empress Elizabeth II, continued to make St. Petersburg the seat of Russian, reigning for 22 years , and completed the Winter Palace. After deposing her ineffectual husband (Tsar Peter III, who was Elizabeth II’s nephew), royal German princess Sophie von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornbur became Empress Catherine II, perhaps the most famous tsar after Peter the Great. Ruling from 1762 to 1796, she continued the cultural development of St. Petersburg and brought much of the now-famous Hermitage collection to the city, making it her primary residence. Today, this museum’s collections rival those of the Louvre.

St. Petersburg’s history during the 19th century was tumultuous at best as several assassinations of Tsars and power takeovers threatened the stability of the country. The emancipation of the serfs brought huge numbers of poor into the capital, making St. Petersburg the 4th largest city in Europe by 1900, just 200 years after its founding! After World War I, the power of the communists under Lenin gave way to the Russian revolution. The Winter Palace was stormed in October of 1917.

The last of the Russian tsars, Nicholas II was arrested and kept under house arrest just outside the city at Tsarskoye Selo, and later sent with his family to Ekaterinburg, a remote city in Siberia. By August, 1918, Russia was in the midst of Civil War, Red and White Armies fought with alternating success. The Bolsheviks decided to kill the tsar and his family and hide their remains before the White Army could free them.

Today, St. Petersburg should be on any Russian travel itinerary as a must-see. At least 3-4 days are required to really explore the highlights of the city — and a day trip to Tsarskoye Selo will really help you see how the tsars are inextricably linked to this “Venice of the North”!