St. Petersburg was founded in 1703 by Russian Tzar Peter the Great to bring an unwilling Russian nation into the fold of Europe. Unlike some cities, it was not created by a process of gradual, graceful development but was forcibly constructed, stone by stone, under the force and direction of Peter the Great, for whose patron saint the city is named. St. Petersburg is situated on 44 islands in Neva river's delta and is famous for its bridges, embankments, museums, and, of course, for its magical White Nights, which begins in the beginning of June and lasts up to the middle of July.

When it was nine years old it became the capital of Russia and retained this status till 1918. Even now it is referred to as the "Northern capital" of Russia. World class architects participated in the building of the city and today it remains an Imperial city of golden spires and gilded domes, of pastel palaces and candlelit cathedrals... The world famous "Hermitage" museum, "St. Isaac's Cathedral" - the second largest basilica in the world - and "Peter and Paul Fortress" resting place of the last Russian Tsar Nicolas II - are only three of the main architectural beauties to be seen and admired.

In the summer, especially during the famous "White Nights", you can enjoy the city and all it's wonderful parks, gardens, statues and fountains until about 2:30am. In the photo to the left you can see a young lady I met, Tatyana, as she holds my watch up showing the time, which is 10:48 pm. Notice how much light there is.
St. Petersburg is often called the "Venice of the North". After Peter the Great visited Venice, he fell in love with the beauty of Venice so much that upon his return, he had canals built throught out the city to resemble "The city of canals, Venice" as the photo at left shows.

Population of St.Petersburg is about 5 million people, it is the second largest city in Russia (behind Moscow) and the 19th in the world. Nowadays, St. Petersburg is a modern city and plays a very important role in Russia's political, scientific, and cultural life. In addition to being one of the most beautiful cities in the world, I think there is no other city in the world with more beautiful women.

See a live web-cam at
1. http://www.livecam.spb.ru/ Live view of river Moika . First Camera in St.Petersburg.
2. http://livecam.spb.osi.ru/ Live view of St. Isaak Cathedral, live view of Peter and Paul Fortress
3. http://www.metrocom.ru/ Real Video from main street of St.Petersburg - Nevsky avenue ( In Russian)