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Saint Petersburg: Cities
built 289 days ago
Ever since its founding, Saint Petersburg has been a multinational city. Although Russians constitute the dominant ethnic group (about 92 percent of the population), the city ... has significant numbers of Ukrainians (about 3 percent of the population), followed by Jews (considered a separate ethnic group in Russia), Belarusians, and Tatars. The main religion is Russian Orthodox Christianity, but Roman Catholics, Jews, and Muslims are also well represented in the city. As in other large Russian cities, the primary spoken language is Russian.
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Among cities of the world having populations of over one million people, Saint Petersburg is the northernmost. The city centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. For over 200 years Russia's political and cultural centre, the city is impressive even today, and is sometimes called "the Northern Capital" (
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As in other large Russian cities, Saint Petersburg experiences fairly high levels of street crime and bribery. In addition, in recent years there has been a notable increase in racially motivated violence. On the other hand, unlike in Moscow, there have been no major terrorist attacks in St. Petersburg in recent years.[43]
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The tsar was so powerful that within a short time, Saint Petersburg became the most populated city in Russia and the center of the political and cultural life of the country. Petersburg ... was famous as one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, erected by the best architects and town planners of that time.
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Saint Petersburg was founded by Russian Tsar Peter the Great the Northern War of Russia with Sweden. May 16 1703 is seemed to be the date of St.Petersburg foundation. The famous Peter and Paul fortress (see livecam image: ) with the church in name Saints Peter and Paul was laid in the Zayachy Island on the delta of the Neva River. After a year, in 1704, the first Russian sea fortress Kronstadt was constructed in the Finish Gulf. In 1710 the Capital of Russia was transferred to St.Petersburg from Moscow. In 1914, during the First World War, the city was renamed into Petrograd.
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Saint Petersburg's metro is the second largest underground railway system in Russia (Moscow being the first). It is arguably the cheapest and most effective way to get around the city. The trains are fast and run frequently (during rush hours, intervals go as low as 30 seconds between trains). The metro costs 14 RUR per entry regardless of the distance. Metro maps can be found in every train car, often with station names in the Roman alphabet. Names on station walls... are in Cyrillic, so if you are unfamiliar with the language, it may make sense to "count the stops" to your destination or keep your ears open, the conductor will let you know what station you are on. The Saint Petersburg metro can be unbelievably crowded during rush hour.
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