Post war period

The war was not yet over, but Leningrad had already started to recover from the tragic years of the siege and all the damage it brought to the city. Some of the museums, like the Cabin of Peter the Great for instance, reopened as early as 1944. By the time the victorious Soviet army marched back into the city, Leningrad looked fresh and clean, and the ruins of some world-famous buildings were covered with cardboard walls, depicting their pre-war appearance. The whole city, the whole country, had dreamt of a revival and it did come.

Despite the enthusiasm of the people, a significant part of national economy has been ruined by the war and most people had to live in rather primitive conditions, work hard and keep faith in a brighter future. Food rationing was a common feature throughout the 1940s. Since 2.8 million square meters of city housing was destroyed and another 2.2 million square meters damaged, housing became a major problem. Until the 1960's most of the people in Leningrad lived in the so-called "communal" (i.e. shared) apartments. After the war came new buildings in the over-ornamented 'Stalin style', followed by the system-built blocks spawned by the housing shortage of the Khrushchov era.

Against all the odds the city was transformed. Unlike many other cities, Leningrad was not modernized, but restored to the highest pre-war standards. The palaces of Peterhof, Pushkin and Gatchina had to be almost fully rebuilt. The careful restoration took some time and tremendous amounts of money.
Some of the suburban palaces, like the Aleksandrovsky Palace of Nicholas II in Pushkin, still await restoration. City museums reopened swiftly after most of the war damage had been repaired. But a blue sign of Bombardment Warning on Nevsky Prospect and the green mounds of the Piskaryovskoye Memorial Cemetery still remind us of the tragic past of Leningrad.

Saint Petersburg Today

The 70's and the early 80's were a period of stability for the Soviet Union and for Leningrad. Though political freedoms were largely limited, most of the city's population enjoyed relative stability. But when the government initiated the reforms known worldwide as Perestroika all stability soon disappeared.

The population began experiencing economic hardship as the reforms went on. In 1991, after a city-wide referendum, the city of Leningrad got back its old name, St. Petersburg, although many who opposed the change felt that the present-day city retained little of the brilliance of the erstwhile metropolis of the Russian empire. The surrounding region (oblast) of Leningrad is still known by its Soviet name, Leningrad oblast.

In the second half of the 90’s, St. Petersburg was still in a transition period, both economically and socially. While the city's industry was in the 90’s still in recession, services and retail sales are gradually improving. On the social side, the younger generations were coping with the change quite well, but unemployment was high, employment prospects for those over 45 were dim and pensioners struggled desperately to make ends meet. These matters all deteriorated as a consequence of the 1998 Russia economic collapse. However since 1999 the economy and the social lifestyle of the inner city dwellers in St. Petersburg has turned - such that by 2002 the inner city offers most of the services and facilities of any modern city - but with the added benefit of a local population who are ready to smile and talk as you greet them in the remarkable and unique main street called Nevsky Prospect - surely the most delightful street to stroll along of any main street of any city in the world. With the tercentenary celebrations in 2003 the city continues to be renovated and is near to a return to its former glory. After all, St. Petersburg is the most beautiful city of the world and we ought to prove that. We love it and we are convinced that you'll love it too.

No visit to St. Petersburg is complete without a visit to many of its Palaces. Click here to go to our pages setting to details of these. A wonderful book concentrates on one such Palace, Pavlovsk, but also includes much valuable material on the history of St. Petersburg. This recommended book is called “Pavlovsk - The Life of a Russian Palace” and is written by USA authoress - Suzanne Massie (to buy see our on-line shopping and click here)

President Putin, the Russia President, was born in St. Petersburg and he has now named a palace within the city as the place for the entertaining and meeting of foreign dignities visiting Russia. This is the Konstantinovsky Palace on the road to Peterhof.

So, welcome to St. Petersburg, a marvelous city on the Baltic Sea, which is ready to step into the 21st century and will be glad to unveil its treasures before you...

For the historical summary of St. Petersburg’s place in Russian culture and some world famous artists who were born in St. Petersburg city click here.