This is a city of amazing culture, of people very proud of their heritage and contact with the west and of spectacularly preserved historic architecture, mostly consisting of Baroque and neoclassical buildings of the 18th and 19th centuries, like the Church of the Savior on Blood designed in the Russian revival style commemorated the place where Alexander II of Russia was assassinated in 1881.
Founded in May 1703, St Petersburg became the capital of Russia on May 8, 1713 and whilst the city has had a few name changes and only as recently as September 1991 was renamed St Petersburg, the city’s proximity to the border and anti-Soviet armies forced the Bolsheviks under Lenin to transfer the capital back to Moscow in March 1918. This has created a strong competition between the 2 cities, but it seems that St Petersburg has no desire to become the capital city again. The rivalry between the 2 cities was likened to that of Melbourne, Sydney but covering 3 centuries!
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