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What is Petrograd?
For some time in its history (1914-1924) St. Petersburg was known as Petrograd. Upon entering the First World War in 1914, Emperor Nicholas II signed a special act to rename the city into Petrograd. On January 26, 1924, the city became Leningrad, in honor of the Russian revolution leader. Here, in Petrograd, the February and October revolutions took place in 1917.
The name of the city of St. Petersburg was changed following the Russian revolution
The name “St. Petersburg” has a German-language etymology. In the First World War in 1914, Russia was fighting against Germany and would find it unacceptable to have its capital named in German style. That is why Emperor Nicholas II decided to rename it with the Russian “Petrograd”.
The city played an important part during both Russian revolutions, so after the death of Vladimir Lenin, the ideological inspirer of the October Revolution, it was decided to rename the city after the great regime leader. According to the official Soviet documents, it was the soviet workers’ of the city of Petrograd initiative to honor the great leader of the proletariat in this way.
Leningrad – the old name of St. Petersburg
For many people the name “Leningrad” associates with the horror of World War II events. The nine-hundred-day blockade is the most tragic page in the city’s history. About 800 000 city inhabitants died of starvation, abnormal colds, diseases and bombings. The city made it through, showing courage and heroism, and was honored with the Soviet Hero City title.
When did Leningrad become St. Petersburg?
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the city was returned to its original name in 1991. The 1990s were hard here: the economy was transferring from communism to capitalism, the gap between rich and poor was bigger than ever, an increased level of criminal activity worried the citizens. Fortunately, new progressive reformers helped and things slowly started getting back to normal.
St. Petersburg/Petrograd
The destiny of the city monuments, museums and sights is inevitably connected to the history of St. Petersburg. All of them were built or restored during different time periods, new governments made their contribution to the city’s history. Now this place is like a history book in real size.
Soviet Union Pertrograd
The city has survived the Soviet Union terror era. It has survived the revolution and the World War II years. Everything was restored and renovated here. The outskirts were built up. It again became the cultural capital of the country.
Saint Petersburg today
Today, this city almost regained its beauty after the collapse of the Soviet Union. It’s name was returned after the referendum. If used to be a banded city for a while but now it’s completely safe and came back to normal. Although everything has changed here the great spirit of the Great City is still here. This place is totally worth visiting. A lot of historical events of the 20th century have happened here, so try to learn about them in advance to understand the importance of Petrograd.