Russia’s
Premier Cities
Moscow
St Petersburg
Peterhof Palace
Moscow
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Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The
city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and
transportation center of Russia and the continent. Moscow is the most northern city on Earth to have
a population above 10,000,000, the most populous city on the continent of Europe, and the sixth
largest city proper in the world. Its population, according to the preliminary results of the 2010
census, is 11,514,300. Based on Forbes 2011, Moscow had 79 billionaires, displacing New York as the
city with the greatest number of billionaires.
Moscow is situated on the Moskva River in the Central Federal District of European Russia. In the
course of its history the city has served as the capital of a progression of states, from the medieval
Grand Duchy of Moscow and the subsequent Tsardom of Russia to the Soviet Union. Moscow is the
site of the Moscow Kremlin, an ancient fortress that is today the residence of the Russian President
and of the executive branch of the Government of Russia. The Kremlin is also one of several World
Heritage Sites in the city. Both chambers of the Russian parliament (the State Duma and the
Federation Council) also sit in Moscow.
The city is served by an extensive transit network, which includes four international airports, nine
railroad terminals, and the Moscow Metro, second only to Tokyo in terms of ridership and recognized
as one of the city's landmarks due to the rich and varied architecture of its 182 stations.
Over time, Moscow has acquired a number of epithets, most referring to its size and preeminent
status within the nation: The Third Rome, The First Throne, The Forty Forties. Currently Moscow
Government and NGOs try to promote a new city brand WowMoscow aimed at demonstrating its
openness and friendliness.
The demonym for a Moscow resident is Moskvitch, rendered in English as Muscovite.
Dacha – country home
Dacha.
Dacha
Dacha
Dacha
Saint Petersburg
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Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject (a federal city) of Russia located on the Neva
River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. In 1914 the name of the city was
changed to Petrograd, in 1924 to Leningrad and in 1991 back to Saint Petersburg.
In Russian literature and informal documents the "Saint" is usually omitted, leaving
Petersburg. In common parlance Russians may drop "-burg" as well, leaving only Peter.
Saint Petersburg was founded by Tsar Peter the Great on 27 [O.S. 16 May] 1703. From 1713
through 1728 and from 1732 it was the capital of the country until 1918 when the central
government bodies moved from Petrograd to Moscow. It is Russia's second largest city after
Moscow with 4.6 million inhabitants. Saint Petersburg is a major European cultural center,
and an important Russian port on the Baltic Sea.
Saint Petersburg is often seen as the most Western city of Russia. Among cities of the world
with over one million people, Saint Petersburg is the northernmost. The Historic Centre of
Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments constitute a UNESCO World Heritage
Site. Saint Petersburg is also home to The Hermitage, the largest art museum in the world. A
large number of foreign consulates, international corporations, banks and other businesses
are located there.
The area of Saint Petersburg city proper is 233.9 sq mi. The area of the federal subject is
556 sq mi, which contains Saint Petersburg, nine municipal towns – (Kolpino, Krasnoye Selo,
Kronstadt, Lomonosov, Pavlovsk, Petergof, Pushkin, Sestroretsk, Zelenogorsk) – and twentyone municipal settlements.
Territory of the federal subject of Saint Petersburg.
Map of St. Petersburg,
1903. One can seee
why the city has often
been compared to
Venice, Italy.
Palace Square, as the main square of the Russian Empire.
The Mariinsky Palace, seat of the city assembly.
Church of the Savior on Blood
Griboyedov Canal
Peterhof Palace
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The Peterhof Palace (Russian: Петерго́ ф, Petergof, originally named Peterhof, Dutch or
German[1] for "Peter's Court") is actually a series of palaces and gardens located in Saint
Petersburg, Russia, laid out on the orders of Peter the Great. These Palaces and gardens
are sometimes referred as the "Russian Versailles". The palace-ensemble along with the
city centre is recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The dominant natural feature of Peterhof is a sixteen-metre-high bluff lying less than a
hundred metres from the shore. The so-called Lower Gardens (Nizhny Sad), at 1.02 km²
comprising the better part of Peterhof's land area, are confined between this bluff and
the shore, stretching east and west for roughly 200 metres. The majority of Peterhof's
fountains are contained here, as are several small palaces and outbuildings. East of the
Lower Gardens lies the Alexandria Park with 19th-century Gothic Revival structures such
as the Kapella.
• The Grand Cascade is modelled on one constructed for Louis XIV at his Château
de Marly, which is likewise memorialised in one of the park's outbuildings. At
the centre of the cascade is an artificial grotto with two stories, faced inside and
out with hewn brown stone. It currently contains a modest museum of the
fountains' history. One of the exhibits is a table carrying a bowl of (artificial)
fruit, a replica of a similar table built under Peter's direction. The table is rigged
with jets of water that soak visitors when they reach for the fruit, a feature from
Mannerist gardens that remained popular in Germany. The grotto is connected
to the palace above and behind by a hidden corridor.
The End
Les photographies proviennent de grands photographes russes.
Musique: Thème de Lara - M.Jarre-James Last
01/07/2016