St. Petersburg (AKA: Sankt-Peterburg, Peterburg, Petrograd, Leningrad, Piter….) with Michael Hittle

Peter the Great (1682-1725) founded St. Petersburg as one part of his life-long quest to transform tradition-bound Muscovy into a powerful empire capable of dealing on equal terms with the major powers of western Europe. St. Petersburg’s governmental organization, economic life, social relations, and cultural aspirations—all shaped by the tsar’s modernizing ambitions—stood in stark contrast to the institutional structures and ethos of the Muscovite state at the time of Peter’s accession to power. As the new capital of Russia, St. Petersburg not only gave impetus to a dramatic redirection of the country, but it also became a major issue in a prolonged struggle to define the identity of the Russian nation. Whether one looks at the city as the locus of significant historical events or as a symbol of cultural change, St. Petersburg has played an outsized role in the history of Russia for the last 320 years.

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