St. Petersburg has a rich history and culture. In an informal speech, St. Petersburg is called Peter - how long has the shortened form appeared?
Name history
For the city, it all started in 1703, when Peter I besieged Nyenschants and immediately renamed it Slotburg. At this place, the king decided to build a new capital city called St. Peter Burch. The date of its occurrence is considered to be May 16, 1703 - on this day the foundation stone was laid on the foundation of the city.
However, first a fortress without a name appeared. And only after the construction of the church began, the fortress received a name that quickly spread to the whole city. Peter I named it in honor of his patron - the apostle Peter (translated from German St. Petersburg - "the city of St. Peter").
During the reign of Peter I, the city comprehensively developed: as a military fortress, industrial, cultural. In this case, the king issued a decree on the forced settlement of the city by all segments of the population. According to his demand, a large number of merchants, boyars, and officials moved from Moscow to St. Petersburg-Burkh. At the same time, the terrain was quite complex, swampy. But it was there that Peter Romanov intended to build a city of dreams. Thus, he “transferred” the capital of the state.
Interesting fact: even Peter I himself for a long time could not decide on the exact name of the new city. Each time in letters and documents he mentioned it in different ways: St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg, St. Peter-Burkh, etc. Because of this, the name of the city was uncertain for several decades in writing.But most often the tsar used the variant of St. Petersburg (in the Dutch manner), which is why it is considered to be the first name.
Then the city was in the so-called Elizabethan historical period - under the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna, daughter of Peter I. Before that, the whole country was in a difficult situation due to succession conflicts. Therefore, the beginning of the reign of Elizabeth for St. Petersburg was marked by a revival - she strove for the traditions of her father. Developed culture, education, baroque architecture.
Under Catherine the Great, many important historical events took place, but still much attention was paid to urban planning. In the future, each emperor made his own adjustments to the development of the city: military reforms, the construction of castles, other monuments of architecture in different styles. Nicholas II (the last emperor) renamed St. Petersburg to Petrograd - in honor of the founder, not the saint.
The next major stage in the history of St. Petersburg is the Soviet one. It was preceded by the February coup, the creation of the Provisional Government. Then the October Revolution, the transfer of power to the Bolsheviks, and the creation of the Soviet republic became the most significant events for St. Petersburg. First, Petrograd was its capital, but then Lenin transferred it back to Moscow. And on January 26, 1924, the city was named Leningrad in honor of the revolutionary. The city bore such a name until 1991, when, on the initiative of the first mayor, Anatoly Sobchak, he was not returned to his original name - St. Petersburg.
What was St. Petersburg called?
Only officially the city bore three different names: St. Petersburg, Petrograd and Leningrad. However, it has more than 10 unofficial items that were used at different time periods, and many are still in use. For example, the Northern capital, St. Petersburg (abbreviation), the Capital of Culture, the City on the Neva, the City of White Nights, Northern Palmyra, Northern Venice, Petropol and, of course, Peter. The names are related to the geographical location, historical and cultural significance of the city.
Peter is one of the most common abbreviations. As a rule, it is used in the media and colloquial speech. St. Petersburg calls not only the indigenous population, but also the inhabitants of other cities of the country. It is believed that the short form originated in the 18th century as an abbreviation for the first official name - St. Petersburg. "Peter" can often be found in works of art of this time, as well as in unofficial written language. And from the 19th century the abbreviated form was firmly entrenched in songs, poems and other folklore.
Even the renaming to Leningrad did not force residents to abandon the short form of Peter. There is evidence that during the Great Patriotic War, Stalin sometimes called Leningrad (according to the testimony of Admiral Nikolai Kuznetsov).
St. Petersburg began to be called Peter in the 18th century. In any case, this is evidenced by the literature of that time, as well as various letters, historical literature, etc.Peter is an abbreviated form from the first official name St. Peter Burch and its derivatives. The city is named by the founder Peter I in honor of the Holy Apostle Peter.
