In 1703, the city was founded

1703 in the history of Russia is one of the key. Its beginning was marked by the publication of the first issue of the Russian newspaper Vedomosti. She became the first print publication in the Russian Empire. But the main event of 1703, undoubtedly, was the foundation of the future cultural capital - the majestic St. Petersburg.

1703 in the history of Russia: St. Petersburg

May 16 (27), by decree of Emperor Peter I Alekseevich, the first stone of the new city in the Neva was laid. The foundation of St. Petersburg was a strategic decision of 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

In the future, St. Petersburg became the most important city in the Russian Empire. Thanks to its foundation, Peter the Great and his followers managed to establish trade and diplomatic relations with many European countries. In domestic history, this event is ambiguous. Some call Pyotr Alekseevich “a great reformer”, others - a “Westerner”, who destroyed the sacred identity of our country. The name of the city was chosen with an orientation towards the Orthodox St. Peter, but over time it became associated with its founder

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

It is officially accepted that the foundation of St. Petersburg is associated with the foundation of the Peter and Paul Fortress on May 27, 1703. At the beginning of the 18th century, Russia entered the war with its adversary Sweden. By the beginning of 1703, Peter the Great was able to conquer the land near the Neva. To keep the acquired territories, it was necessary to thoroughly gain a foothold in the area.

Although there already existed the Russian authorities decided that this was not enough to maintain its newfound position. Tsar Peter Alekseevich and his associates chose the site of the foundation of the city Zayachy island. At this place the famous Peter and Paul Fortress was laid. It is interesting that the king himself was absent on the day the fortress was laid. The supervision was carried out by the closest adviser to Peter the Great Alexander Menshikov.

What is significant in the history of Russia in 1703?

At the foundation of the Peter and Paul Fortress, the construction of a whole city was not supposed, not to mention the future capital. They decided to build fortifications from the earth and trees. The project of a unique earthen-wooden fort was independently painted by Tsar Peter. This attraction includes both a unique exterior and a masterfully decorated interior.

The highlight is the carved gilded iconostasis and the altar canopy - a gift to the 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 made by Peter I and Novgorod under the direction of I.P. Zarudny. The riches of the fortress are also gifts of military glory of Russia - trophy banners, keys to the cities and fortresses captured by Russian troops, however, later some of the banners were lost or handed over to the collections, and copies remained hanging in the fortress.

Other events

But not only the beginning of the construction of the city on the Neva is significant 1703 in the history of Russia. What events have occurred yet? Less well-known, but no less significant event was the construction of an arms factory. The shore of Lake Onega, near the Lososinka River, has become a location. Prince and part-time A. Menshikov was chosen as the construction manager.

In connection with the frequent visit to the plant by Peter the Great, such structures as a two-story wooden palace, a marching church of Peter and Paul, a pond, and a garden were specially erected for him.

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

"Show off, city of Petrov, and stand

Unshakably like Russia ... ”

A. S. Pushkin, The Bronze Horseman (1833)

On May 16 (27), 1703, on the day of the Holy Trinity, a fortress was laid at the mouth of the Neva River on the Zayachy Island by Peter the Great. This day is considered the foundation day of St. Petersburg, which for more than 200 years has been the capital of the Russian Empire.

The plan of the future fortress was drawn by Peter himself. The name “St. Petersburg” was given to the fortress on Peter's Day, when the church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul was founded here. This name was also given to the city that arose around the island. The Apostle Peter, according to Christian legend, was the keeper of the keys to paradise, which also seemed symbolic to the Russian tsar, since the city bearing the name of his heavenly patron was to become "the key to the Baltic Sea." A few years later, the fortress was named Peter and Paul - by the name of its main cathedral.

In November 1703, in memory of the fact that the fortress was laid on the day of the Holy Trinity, the first church was opened in the city - Trinity. It was here that in 1721 Peter took the title of emperor. Peter I attached great importance to the new city to ensure the waterway from Russia to Western Europe. In the fall of 1704, the construction of the Admiralty Shipyard with fortifications began at the mouth of the Neva. At the end of 1706, in order to protect the Peter and Paul Fortress from shelling from the opposite bank, Peter I issued an order to build Kronverka. The victory of Poltava (1709) and the capture of Vyborg finally strengthened the position of St. Petersburg.

St. Petersburg is the first city in Russia that developed according to a pre-developed plan. This determined a high urban development level and contributed to the formation of urban ensembles, characteristic of the late XVIII - early XIX centuries. In 1703, the “Chancellery of Buildings” was created by tsarist decree, supervising all the work, but in fact Peter himself headed the whole thing.

In the first ten years of its existence, the main part of the city was the City (now Petrograd) island, there were office buildings, craft settlements and military units. The island was connected to the Peter and Paul Fortress with the help of a drawbridge. Later, the left bank of the Neva began to be built up, where the Winter Palace, the Summer Palace of Peter I, and the Summer Garden were located. Since 1712 the city was proclaimed the capital of Russia, and in 1713 the Senate moved here. In 1712, Peter I issued a decree on the creation of the General Plan of St. Petersburg, according to which Vasilyevsky Island was elected the center of the city. It was here that port facilities, lighthouses, as well as the building of the Twelve Colleges, the Kunstkamera were built. In 1725, the Academy of Sciences was founded in St. Petersburg, where in 1728 the first Russian newspaper, the St. Petersburg News, began to be published.

In August 1914, in the wake of anti-German sentiment, the city was renamed Petrograd. After the October Revolution, state architectural and planning organizations were created here, the work of which included the great Petrograd architects A. I. Gegello, V. G. Gelfreich, A. S. Nikolsky, L. V. Rudnev, I. A. Fomin. Behind Narva, Moscow and Vyborg outposts, construction of residential buildings and public buildings was launched. New types of structures began to appear - cultural houses, clubs, kitchen factories, communal houses. The architecture of this period was called "constructivism."

See also in the Presidential Library:

St. Petersburg. Peter Pickart. Engraving of 1704

1703 year. May 27 (May 16, old) Peter I founded the city of St. Petersburg

Starting the war with Sweden, Peter I primarily wanted to return to Russia the lands of “fathers and grandfathers”, torn away during the time of unrest in the Moscow state and ceded to the Swedes in the Stolbovsky Peace in 1617. Therefore, when the actions of the detachment of F. M. Apraksin, sent in 1702 against the Swedes, were accompanied by the terrible devastation of villages on the banks of the Neva, Tsar Peter was "not happy." Most of all, the king was also unhappy because the instructions forbade the devastation of Izhora lands. F.M. Apraksin, who expected the highest praise, was forced to make excuses: they had to go to ruin the villages, they say, to obscure the enemy in the supply of food supplies. But the tsar was still dissatisfied, because the country was "conquered", which Peter I considered Russian.

When the Russians stormed the Swedish fortress of Noteburg, the ancient Novgorod city of Oreshek, in the autumn of 1702, Peter I was delighted that they had obtained the “key to the sea” and wrote about this victory: “It’s true that this nut was cruel, however, glory God, happily crushed. " The tsar himself nailed the fortress key above the gate and announced that from now on the city would be called "Shlisselburg" ("Key City") - the key to the Neva. The sovereign granted A.D. Menshikov was the Shlisselburg, Korel and Ingermaland governor, but these lands had to be conquered so that the title was not an empty phrase. The Neva was then in the hands of the Swedes, but the name turned out to be prophetic: gradually the path to the sea was mined, and the river along its entire length began to belong to Russia.

True, the nature in these places was scarce and inhospitable: the soil was barren, swamps and swamps everywhere, dense forests all around, settlements were rare. But accompanied by close associates, Peter I set off to inspect the Neva shores in order to choose a place for the future capital. He chose the island of Yeni-Saari (Hare), which was located in that place of the Big Neva, where it is divided into the Neva and Neva. In the spring, when the meager nature of the north also flourishes, the birch groves of Hare Island also dressed in bright green attire and were filled with jubilant birdsong, and the first flowers were strewn with young grass. Peter I named this island Lust-Eiland (Merry), and it laid the Peter and Paul Fortress, with which St. Petersburg was established.

Although it is believed that the Russian tsar called the city being built "in his honor," but in reality it was not quite like that. The city was not named in honor of Tsar Peter, but in honor of St. Peter - “Angel of Petrov”. S.P. Zavarikhin, the author of a book about the city from the time of Peter the Great, generally believes that May 16, the day the fortress was founded, is not the day the city was founded, since the fortress and the city are not the same thing. Until now, there are no documents that, together with the fortress, the construction of the city, especially the capital, was also implied. But it is known that the idea to build a city at the mouth of the Neva was first expressed by Admiral F. Golovin. True, he also meant the construction of a small town for the separation of Finland and Livonia (Latvia and Estonia), as well as for the storage of military supplies. So at first, there was no talk about the city at all, since it was urgent to build a port and a fortress, and the role of the city at the fortress was played by Nyenszac - Slotburg.

True, they also say this: when the laying of the fortress took place, Peter I cut out two turfs and laid them crosswise, saying at the same time: “Here is the city.” Then he began to dig a moat that was supposed to surround the fortress. Folk tradition adds that at this time an eagle appeared in the sky and began to soar above the king. A stone box was lowered into the moat, the clergy sprinkled it with holy water, and the sovereign put a golden ark in it with a particle of the relics of St. Apostle Andrew (Then he covered the box with a stone board on which it was written when the foundation of St. Petersburg took place. Meanwhile, one of the royal retinue caught the eagle, and the king saw this as a good omen.

First, captive Swedes, soldiers and local residents worked on the construction of the fortress, then workers began to be sent here from all over Russia. The work was very difficult: it was necessary to cut down the forest, fill up the swamps, clear the land of brushwood and shrubs, build houses, break through canals. They worked in any weather, often under enemy shots. The case was carried out with such zeal that by June 22, 1703, the guard and division of Prince N.I. Repnin moved to the newly founded fortress. On June 28, on the eve of Saints Peter and Paul’s day, the fortress was considered, in a certain sense, finished, and from that time on Peter the Great’s letters there was a note: “From St. Petersburg” or “From St. Petersburg”, and earlier it was written “From St. Schlothurch” (or Schlüterburg).

However, in the new fortress, which was supposed to serve as a stronghold for the Russian troops and guard the mouth of the Neva, there were many more cases. To supply the garrison with water along the entire island (from east to west) a canal was dug, which now does not exist. On its sides stood 4 rows of wooden houses in which soldiers lived; houses were built for the commandant and the parade ground major, the arsenal and provisions warehouses. The first fortifications of the fortress consisted of an earthen rampart and bastions, named after those persons who oversaw their erection. To the north of the fortress, from the side of Finland, a kronverk was built - an auxiliary fortification built to protect the fortress in the most dangerous place where the enemy could come closest to it. A ravelin was built on the opposite side, a flag was hoisted on the Sovereign's bastion, which was replaced on standard days with a standard - a yellow banner with a Russian eagle. So that the tsar could observe the work, a small house was built for him near the fortress, which could be mistaken for a brick from afar how it was in Dutch style painted on wood with red paint with white stripes. The internal structure of the "house of Peter" was very simple. It consisted of two rooms, separated by cramped entrance halls and a kitchen. All his decoration consisted of whitewashed canvas wallpaper and doors, frames and shutters painted with bouquets. In one of the rooms that once served as the king’s bedroom, a chapel has now been built, it houses the icon of the Savior, which accompanied Tsar Peter in many battles, including in the battle of Poltava. In the “Peter's house” some things of this time: a skiff with the remains of a sail, made by Peter I himself; the bench, which during the life of the king stood at the gates of the house; wooden chair with leather cushion ...

Initially, the city was built up without any plan, wooden houses were built haphazardly, they were low and without courtyards, with the entrance directly from the street. If a carriage drove along the street, then because of the unsteadiness of the soil, the glass and dishes in such houses rang. Under Peter I, the streets had no names, the houses were without numbers, so it was difficult for visitors to find their friends. The fire of 1710 destroyed a large market, since it was impossible to penetrate the narrow aisles between houses, the raging flames quickly turned the market into one big fire, and in just an hour there was nothing left of it. The fire also showed that the streets should be located correctly, and houses should be built at a distance from each other.

St. Petersburg was built up slowly, since before the end of the Northern War no one could be sure of the final possession of this area. And there were few who wished to go to a new city - in “deserts, plentiful” only with swamps and tears. In 1705, there were only 3,000 inhabitants in St. Petersburg, not counting, of course, the soldiers. To populate his "paradise" Peter I even had to resort to coercive measures. From the first years of the founding of the city, a whole series of decrees sent people from all ranks, crafts and arts from within Russia to live in St. Petersburg; not miserable, small-family or small-minded, but those that would have tenders, crafts or factories which are free. ” All immigrants had to build their own houses in the city and live in them without a break. However, difficult living conditions forced many to flee, and often couriers purposely caught the first inhabitants of St. Petersburg.

Gradually after the Petersburg side, little by little, Vasilievsky Island began to be built up. Peter I ordered all the spiritual and secular owners of villages and nobles to build their own houses here, and they had to be built in three years, so as not to lose the estate. The land and forest for the buildings were handed out free of charge, but stone houses should have been built. Some “eminent” people had to build two or even three houses by royal decree, but you won’t live in all at once! So it turned out that the buildings were completely plastered and painted outside, but remained empty inside - without any decoration. Only poor people could build wooden houses for themselves, but only in side streets and on suburban streets. ”

Quoted from: Ionina N.A. One hundred great cities of the world. M .: Veche 2000, 2003

Story in faces

On the 15th, he deigned to send a mouth of a soldier to some of the people, ordered the banks of the island to be cleaned and, cutting down forests, lay them in heaps. With this carving, a nest of the island's eagle on a tree is seen.

On the 16th, that is, on the day of Pentecost, according to Divine Liturgy, with the face of the hierarchs and generals and civil servants from Kanets, he deigned to march on ships by the Neva River and upon arrival on the island of Luistrand and on the blessing of the water and after reading the prayer for the foundation of the city and for sprinkling with holy water, taking the overhang, and the first began to dig a moat. Then the eagle with a great noise of soaring wings descended from a height and soared above the island.

Imperial Majesty, having departed a little, cut out three turfs and deigned to bring him to the indicated place. At that time, a ditch was conceived to be dug up near two arshins of depth and a quadrangular box carved from stone was placed in it, and after sprinkling that drawer with holy water, he deigned to put the golden ark in it, the relics of the holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called, and cover it with stone with a lid on which was carved: “Upon the incarnation of Jesus Christ 1703 May 16, the reigning city of St. Petersburg was founded by the great sovereign tsar and the great prince Peter Aleksievich, the autocrat of All Russia.” And he deigned to put on the lid of the onago box the spelled three turfs with the verb: “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, amen. The reigning city of St. Petersburg was founded. ”

Then his royal majesty from the face of the hierarchy and the generals and from all those former congratulations was the reigning city of St. Petersburg; Tsarist Majesty deigned to thank all those who congratulated, while there was a lot of cannon fire. The eagle was visible soaring above this island. Tsarist Majesty, having retreated to the channel, which flows between St. Petersburg and the crown, after serving lithium and sprinkling that place with holy water, deigned to impose another roskat. Then there was a secondary cannon fire, and between those two roskates he deigned to measure where to be the gate, ordered two holes to be pierced into the ground and, having cut two thin birch trees, and the tops of those birches were folded, and put the ends into punched holes into the ground like the gate. And when he affirmed the first birch in the ground, and set the other, then the eagle, descending from a height, sat on the same gate; Corporal Odintsov this eagle removed from the gate.

Tsarist Majesty about this good omen of the veheme was delighted; at the eagle he bandaged his legs with a handkerchief and put on a glove on his hand, deigned to put it on his hand and ordered to sing lithium. According to the lithium and the sprinkling of the gates with holy water, there was tertiary dried-up guns, and deigned to get out into these gates, holding an eagle in his hand, and, getting on a yacht, marched into his royal tsar’s house. The face of the priesthood and the generals and civil servants were granted a table; the fun lasted until 2 o’clock in the morning, with a lot of cannon fire.

One eagle was in the palace; upon the construction of the fortress of St. Alexander on the island of Kotlin, this eagle from his royal majesty in this Alexander fortress was given to the gobacht with the commandant’s title (the inhabitants of the island, which is now called St. Petersburg, and near the islands, the inhabitants said that this eagle was tame, but Evo lived on the island, on which the city of St. Petersburg is now; unshifted and lumber royal forests were unloaded along the banks of the Neva River, and the eagle was accustomed to hand on guard of these forests.).

Similar to the ancient pious king Constantine in a dream, God revealed the construction of a city in the East. The great and equally apostolic king Constantine examined the places to the city building and during the procession from Chalcedon by water to Byzantium he saw an eagle, flying and carrying shipyards and the flowing tools of stone makers, which the eagle put against the wall of the city of Byzantium. The great king Constantine in that place built a city and named Constantingrad in his own name.

In the Middle Ages, the territories on which Petersburg and the Leningrad Region are located today, belonged to Veliky Novgorod. In 1478, Novgorod became part of a centralized Russian state with a capital in the city of Moscow. Soon after the death of Ivan IV (Grozny), the Time of Troubles began, ending in 1613, when the first tsar from the Romanov dynasty, Mikhail Fedorovich, ascended the Russian throne. In the same year, a war began with Sweden, which ended in 1617 with the signing of a peace treaty in the town of Stolbovo (near the town of Tikhvin). According to the Stolbovo Peace Treaty, the entire basin of the Neva River and the coast of the Gulf of Finland remained with the Swedes. As you know, the Neva River connects Lake Ladoga and the Gulf of Finland, and from the gulf opens an exit to the Baltic Sea, which Russia lost to the Swedes.

In 1700, Tsar Peter I declared war on Sweden to recover the lost territories. The war, which lasted twenty-one years, was called the "Northern". Gradually, the banks of the Neva were freed from Swedish rule. In 1703, on May 16 (May 27, according to a new style), a fortress was laid on the small Rabbit Island in the Neva River Delta, which was supposed to protect the conquered territories from the Swedes.

The fortress was named - St. Petersburg, in honor of St. Peter the Apostle - patron saint of Peter I. The laying day of this fortress, which over time became known Peter and Paul  (by cathedral of St. Apostles Peter and Paul built on its territory) is considered the birthday of the city of St. Petersburg.
   Gradually, under the protection of the fortress walls, a city began to be built. Peter I did not want the young capital to resemble ancient Russian cities. St. Petersburg was created on the "European manir".

Holland has served as a model for future construction. Therefore, in the original name of the city sounded Dutch "notes" - St. Petersburg (St. Peter's town). Later, during the reign of Anna Ioannovna, when everything was German in fashion, the city began to be called in German - St. Petersburg.

Over the period of its more than 300-year history, the city twice changed its name. The first time this happened in August 1914, during the reign of Nicholas II, when there was a war with Germany and anti-German sentiment reigned in Russia. St. Petersburg began to be called Petrograd, having lost its German sound in its name. The second time the name of the city changed in January 1924, which was associated with the death of V.I. Lenin, then they began to call Petrograd Leningrad. In 1991, as a result of a referendum (voting among the population of the city), it was decided to return Leningrad its first historical name, and the city again became St. Petersburg.

The city was laid at the mouth of the river. Neva River, 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. “We will threaten the settlement from here. Here the city will be laid in spite of an arrogant neighbor. By nature here we are destined to cut a window into Europe ”(Pushkin).

"THE HOTEL THREAT WE WILL BE SWEDISH"

“After taking Kanets, a military council was sent whether it was better to search for a trench or a different place (it’s smaller, far from the sea and the place is not much stronger than the nature in which it is supposed to look for a new place), and a few days later a convenient place was found - the island, which was called Lust-Elant, where on the 16th day the Mayan fortress was laid down and named St. Petersburg, where part of the army was left ... ".

IMPERIAL CAPITAL

On May 1, 1703, Russian troops captured the Swedish fortress Nyenschanz (during the confluence of the Okhta River into the Neva) during the Northern War. The military council headed by decided that this fortress was not suitable for further fortification: Nyenschanz “is not much strong from nature,” as the king himself said. In addition, Nyenschanz was quite far from the sea, and the Swedes had the opportunity to gain a foothold on one of the islands of the Neva Delta. The Russians would still be cut off from the sea anyway.

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

May 16 (27), 1703, on the day of the Holy Trinity, a fortress was laid on the island. This day is considered the foundation 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 laid here. Peter called the new fortress "St. Petersburg", the same name was given to the city arising around Hare Island. The apostle Peter, according to Christian tradition, was the keeper of the keys to paradise, and this also seemed symbolic to the Russian tsar: the city bearing the name of his heavenly patron was to become the key to the Baltic Sea. Only a few years later the fortress began to be called Peter and Paul — by the name of its main cathedral.

The plan of the future fortress was drawn by Peter himself. It was necessary to build fortifications very quickly in order to be in time for a short summer. And indeed, by the fall of 1703, the fortress was "completely finished." In the early years, its walls were poured out of the ground to accelerate, the construction of stone fortifications began three years later - in 1706.

Immediately after laying the fortress on the banks of the Neva, a wooden house for Peter was cut down in three days. The tsar wanted his new dwelling to resemble the Dutch buildings he liked, so the walls of the wooden house were painted in brickwork with oil paint. Peter did not live in this house for long and only in the summer, but in memory of the founder of St. Petersburg, Peter's house has been preserved to this day.

A new city began to grow near the fortress on the neighboring Birch Island, this island was even called the City (now it is the Petrograd side). In November 1703, the first temple of the city opened here - in memory of the fact that the fortress was laid on the day of the Holy Trinity, it was also called Trinity. Rebuilt a few years later in stone, Trinity Cathedral was for some time the main temple of the capital. It was here that in 1721 Peter I took the title of emperor.

NEW CAPITAL

"And in front of the younger capital
Old Moscow has faded
As before the new queen
Porphyrinous Widow. ”

A.S. Pushkin. Bronze Horseman

HERE TO BE

Petersburg was founded as a result of the thought-out plan of Peter I and many of the people around him. At the end of April 1703, the king, looking for a place for the future fortress, carefully examined the coast of the Neva. He explored the territory not alone, but accompanied by various specialists. The foundation of the fortresses at that time required reconnaissance on the ground, analysis of drawings, measurements of depths, discussion of many technical issues with fortifiers, artillerymen and sailors. Feofan Prokopovich wrote in his History of Emperor Peter the Great, that the tsar, “rides on water ships, from the Kantsov fortress along the Neva River, take care of the island and its islands, even to the sea mouth, began to diligently discuss, not without advice and others skilled in the matter (people ) ". We know that at that time there were two fortification specialists in the retinue of Peter: the French engineer-general Joseph Gaspard Lambert de Guerin and the German engineer V.A. Kirshenshein. The first one made drawings of the fortifications of Nieburg-Shlisselburg being restored after the storm of 1702, while the second two plans of the fortress on the Prince's islet were made by the hand of the second. Until his death in 1705, Kirshenshane led the construction of the Peter and Paul Fortress. The role of Lambert, the 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 particularly noted the merits of the engineer-general at the foundation of the fortress on the island. In addition, after the Azov campaigns of 1695-1696, the king himself gained great experience in fortification. After all, then he had to choose a place for a long time for the foundation of Taganrog, as well as the fortress of St. Peter 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 the Great and Menshikov attacked the Swedish vessels at the mouth of the Neva — the Shniava and the boat — and boarded them. Not only Menshikov, but also the Russian autocrat himself participated in the fleeting hand-to-hand combat. For this feat, the sovereign was awarded the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called.

PETERSBURG - “CITY ON THE BONES”?

The idea of \u200b\u200bPetersburg built on the bones of its first builders is still stable. Is this myth true? The answer to this question is related to the solution of 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 the disease and what were the workers sick with? Of particular interest is the position of the authorities regarding morbidity and mortality in the Neva Delta: did they look at it blankly or took some measures? ..

O.G. Ageeva, examining Peter's Petersburg through the prism of Russian public consciousness at the beginning of the 18th century, dwells in detail on the question that interests us. For the first time in historiography, the author runs counter to conventional wisdom and argues that there was no great mortality in St. Petersburg. The researcher derives his estimates of total mortality in St. Petersburg from a document for 1716, according to which 27 people died of 3262 working people at the construction of the future Nevsky Prospect, which is 0.74 percent. Based on this percentage, O.G. Ageeva estimates that the St. Petersburg construction site claimed about 150 people annually, which was 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 overstated, and this phenomenon is nothing more than rumors, a myth reflecting the reaction of the population “to the discomfort of Petersburg life”

BETWEEN EAST AND WEST

The founding of the new capital on the western frontier of the state was not only the embodiment of the founder’s plans and ideals, but also determined the whole future fate of the city of willows of 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 the features of contrasting concentric / eccentric, primordial / foreign. Behind this opposition was the antithesis of two indigenous state-cultural models.

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

RETURN

ON THE RETURN TO THE CITY OF LENINGRAD ITS HISTORICAL

TITLES ST. PETERSBURG

The Presidium of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR decides:

To return to the city of Leningrad its historical name - the city

St. Petersburg.

First Vice Chair

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 contemporaries, nor among successors and descendants there was a person who could make such profound changes in the state, so infiltrate the historical memory of the Russian people, while becoming semi-legendary, but the most vivid her page. As a result of Peter's activity, Russia became an empire and took a place among the leading European powers.

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Zemtsov Anton Vyacheslavovich   / CEO zemant.com | RVIO Member

This was not a struggle for access to the Baltic Sea, but the conquest of the Swedes and the liberation of the ancestral lands of north-western Russia, lost as a result of the Time of Troubles and because of the atrocities with the extravagance of Ivan the Terrible.
  This land has always been ours, already and 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 the prototype of the Vatican, the City of St. Peter, served as its prototype. The prototype of the coat of arms appeared in 1712. The historical coat of arms of St. Petersburg was subsequently confirmed in 1780, supplemented in 1857, and already in our time has been re-adopted in 1991, in connection with the return of the city to its historical name.

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

May 27, St. Petersburg will celebrate its 311st anniversary. Born of the genius of Peter, St. Petersburg - Petrograd - Leningrad - St. Petersburg, the cultural capital of Russia, has always played an important role in the history of our country. A unique life, a difficult fate, an unbending will form a special character, the soul of our city. Petersburg - a city - a warrior, a city - a worker, a city - a scientist. Here the past, present and future are inextricably combined. 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 December 16, 2015 in St. Petersburg the regular, IV International Cultural Forum was held, created on the initiative of the Government of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Culture and the Government of St. Petersburg. The forum was inaugurated by 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 contemporary challenges to these foundations of every civilized society from international organized crime and terrorism. The main idea of \u200b\u200bthe 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. The forum was attended by many figures of Russian and world culture, among them the head of UNESCO Irina Bokova. Following the forum, numerous important decisions and projects on the development of Russia's cultural policy were achieved, the Anatoly Vasilievich Lunacharsky Prize was awarded and the initiative to hold the International Delphic Games in 2016 in St. Petersburg 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 Armed Conflict Zones was presented. Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation Vladimir Rostislavovich Medinsky was named the main newsmaker of Russian culture.