Saint Petersburg History Timeline

• 1724-01-28 The Russian Academy of Sciences founded in St. Petersburg by Peter the Great, and implemented in a Senate decree. Called St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences until 1917.

• 1762-05-05 Russia & Prussia sign Treaty of Saint Petersburg ending the Seven Years' War
• 1768-08-19 Saint Isaac's Cathedral is founded in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

• 1824-11-19 Storm causes flooding in St Petersburg, killing 10,000
• 1836-04-19 Nikolai Gogol's "Revisor" premieres in St Petersburg
• 1836-12-30 Lehman Theater in St Petersburg catches fire; 100s die
• 1845-08-06 The Russian Geographical Society is founded in Saint Petersburg

• 1849-04-23 Russian writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky and members of the Petrashevsky Circle are arrested in St. Petersburg

• 1867-01-12 Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy's play "Smert Ioanna Groznogo" (The Death of Ivan the Terrible) premieres in St Petersburg

• 1875-08-22 The Treaty of Saint Petersburg between Japan and Russia is ratified, providing for the exchange of Sakhalin for the Kuril Islands.

• 1878-01-24 Revolutionary Vera Zasulich shoots at Fyodor Trepov, Governor of Saint Petersburg
• 1881-03-13 Alexander II of Russia is assassinated by members of far-left terror group 'People's Will' who throw a bomb at him in the city of St. Petersburg
• 1886-10-15 Modest Mussorgsky's musical fantasy "Night on Bald Mountain" premieres at Kononov Hall, in St. Petersburg, Russia
• 1887-10-31 Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's orchestral work "Capriccio Espagnol" premieres in St Petersburg, Russia
• 1890-11-04 Alexander Borodin's opera "Prince Igor" debuts at Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg, Russia
• 1892-12-17 Tchaikovski's ballet "Casse-noisette" premieres in St Petersburg

• 1893-01-10 Richard Drigo's ballet "Magic Flute" premieres, St Petersburg
• 1895-01-27 Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov's revival of Pyotr Tchaikovsky's ballet "Swan Lake" premieres in St. Petersburg
• 1895-05-07 Russian scientist Alexander Stepanovich Popov demonstrates to the Russian Physical and Chemical Society his invention - the world's first radio receiver in St. Petersburg. Celebrated as Radio Day in Russia.
• 1896-10-17 Anton Tsjechovs "Chayka" premieres in St Petersburg
• 1901-11-27 Prince Ito of Japan comes to St Petersburg hoping to get the Russians to grant Japan concessions in Korea, but later drops this goal and decides to make an alliance with Britain
• 1902-04-02 Dmitry Sipyagin, Minister of Interior of the Russian Empire, is assassinated by a terrorist in the Marie Palace, St Petersburg

• 1905-10-26 First Soviet (workers' council) formed, St Petersburg, Russia
• 1905-10-31 Great revolutionary demonstration for amnesty in St Petersburg
• 1905-12-15 The Pushkin House is established in St. Petersburg to preserve the cultural heritage of Alexander Pushkin
• 1905-12-22 Arrest of St Petersburg Soviet members leads to an uprising of Moscow workers and fighting in the street
• 1907-02-22 Leonid Andreyev's "Zhizn Cheloveka" premieres in St Petersburg
• 1907-03-05 The second Duma opens in St. Petersburg, Russia and 40,000 demonstrators have to be dispersed by Russian troops
• 1907-12-22 Saint-Saëns'/Fokine's ballet "Le Cygne" premieres in St Petersburg
• 1908-11-06 Leonid Andreyev's "Dui Nashey Zhizni" premieres in St Petersburg
• 1913-05-07 An ambassadorial conference in St Petersburg, Russia, awards the town of Silistria to Rumania in compensation for Bulgaria's other territorial gains in the First Balkan War

• 1914-09-01 St Petersburg, Russia changes name to Petrograd
• 1917-03-08 Russian "February Revolution" begins in earnest with protests celebrating International Woman's Day and riots in St Petersburg over food rations and conduct of the war [OS=Feb 23]
• 1917-03-12 In the wake of the February Revolution, Communist Party members Joseph Stalin, Lev Kamenev and Matvei Muranov arrive in Petrograd (St Petersburg) and seize control of the Pravda newspaper

• 1924-01-24 Russian city of St Petersburg renamed Leningrad (changed back in 1991)

• 1930-01-18 Dmitri Shostakovich's satirical opera "The Nose" premieres in Leningrad
• 1930-10-26 Dmitri Shostakovich's ballet "Zolotoy Vyek" premieres in Leningrad
• 1933-10-15 Dmitri Shostakovich's 1st Piano Concerto premieres in Leningrad, with Shostakovich at the piano
• 1934-01-22 Dmitri Shostakovich's opera "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District" debuts in Leningrad
• 1934-03-24 Dmitri Shostakovich's Suite for Jazz Orchestra No. 1 premieres in Leningrad, USSR

• 1939-05-23 Composer Dmitri Shostakovich appointed professor at conservatory of Leningrad

• 1941-08-25 German troops conquer Nowgorod, Leningrad
• 1941-09-08 Blockade of Leningrad (St Petersburg) by German forces begins

• 1944-01-27 Siege of Leningrad lifted by the Soviets after 880 days and more than 2 million Russians killed
• 1947-02-01 Dmitri Shostakovich named professor at conservatoire of Leningrad
• 1948-02-29 Lawson Little earns his first tournament victory since his US Navy discharge capturing the St. Petersburg Open by 3 strokes over Bobby Locke; last golfer to win a PGA Tour event on Leap Year Day
• 1949-11-15 Dmitri Shostakovich' oratorio "Song of the Forests" premieres in Leningrad, USSR
• 1952-01-01 Dmitri Shostakovich completes his 5th string quartet - premieres Leningrad 1953
• 1953-12-03 Premiere of Dmitri Shostakovich' 5th String Quartet in Leningrad
• 1955-01-15 Dmitri Shostakovich's "From Jewish Folk Poetry" premieres in Leningrad
• 1956-10-06 Dmitri Shostakovich's 6th Iron quartet premieres in Leningrad
• 1959-10-04 Dmitri Shostakovich's 1st Cello concert premieres in Leningrad
• 1960-05-15 Dmitri Shostakovich's 7th String quartet premieres in Leningrad
• 1960-11-02 Dmitri Shostakovich's 8th String quartet premieres in Leningrad
• 1966-05-28 Dmitri Shostakovich's 11th String quartet premieres in Leningrad
• 1970-12-24 9 Jews are convicted in Leningrad of hijacking a plane
• 1973-11-12 Dmitri Shostakovich's 14th String Quartet premieres in Leningrad, Soviet Union
• 1974-10-25 Dmitri Shostakovich' 15th String Quartet premieres in Leningrad, USSR
• 1974-12-23 Dmitri Shostakovich' son cycle "Suite on Verses of Michelangelo Buonarroti" premieres in Leningrad
• 1984-08-26 Tatyana Kazankina of USSR sets 3k woman record (8:22.62) in Leningrad
• 1991-09-06 The name Saint Petersburg is restored to Russia's second largest city, which had been renamed Leningrad in 1924.
• 1991-11-06 Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovitsj returns to St Petersburg
• 1994-07-23 Goodwill Games III open in St Petersburg, Russia

• 2008-11-25 A car bomb in St. Petersburg, Russia, kills three people and injures one
• 2017-04-03 Bomb on St Petersburg metro kills 11, 2nd bomb defused
• 2019-11-09 Prominent Russian history professor Oleg Sokolov discovered with severed arms of his murder victim in his backpack when rescued from Moika River, St Petersburg

Birthdays 1 - 100 of 225

• 1715-10-23 Peter II Alexeyevich, Tsar of Russia (1727-30), born in Saint Petersburg, Russia (d. 1730)
• 1740-08-23 Ivan VI, Emperor of Russia (1740-41), born in Saint Petersburg, Russia (d. 1764)
• 1745-07-28 Peter Ludwig von der Pahlen, Baltic German courtier, general and military governor of St Petersburg, born in Palmse, Estonia (d. 1826)
• 1745-09-16 Mikhail Kutuzov, Russian field marshal (Battle of Borodino), born in St Petersburg, Russian Empire (d. 1813)
• 1749-08-31 Alexander Radishchev, Russian writer (Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow), born in Moscow (d. 1802)
• 1753-11-06 Mikhail Kozlovsky, Russian sculptor, born in St. Petersburg, Russia (d. 1802)
• 1761-08-16 Yevstigney Fomin, Russian opera composer, born in St. Petersburg, Russia (d. 1800)
• 1769-07-23 Alexey Titov, Russian composer, born in St. Petersburg, Russia (d. 1827)
• 1771-09-14 Nikolay Raevsky, Russian general and statesman, born in St. Petersburg, Russia (d. 1829)

• 1783-02-21 Fyodor Petrovich Tolstoy, Russian painter (VP: Imperial Academy of Arts 1828-68), born in St. Petersburg, Russian Empire (d. 1873)
• 1784-12-24 Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna of Russia, born in Saint Petersburg, Russia (d. 1803)
• 1788-11-11 Mikhail Vielgorsky, Russian composer, born in St. Petersburg, Russia (d. 1856)
• 1791-04-24 Nikolaj Bestuzhev, Russian Navy officer, writer and painter (Decembrist revolt), born in Saint Petersburg (d. 1855)
• 1794-10-26 Konstantin Thon, Russian architect (Grand Kremlin Palace), born in St. Petersburg, Russia (d. 1881)
• 1795-01-18 Anna Pavlovna, Russian consort of William II of the Netherlands, daughter of Tsar Paul I, born in Saint Petersburg, Russia (d. 1865)
• 1797-11-04 Aleksander Bestuzhev-Marlinsky, Russian author, born in St. Petersburg, Russian Empire (d. 1837)
• 1799-12-12 Karl Briullov, Russian painter, born in St. Petersburg, Russia (d. 1852)
• 1800-05-10 Nikolai Titov, Russian Major General, violinist, and composer, born in St. Petersburg, Russia (d. 1875)
• 1811-11-13 Yuri Karlovich Arnold, Russian composer, born in St. Petersburg, Petrograd (d. 1898)
• 1817-08-24 Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy, Russian novelist, poet and playwright (Prince Serebrenni), born in Saint Petersburg, Russia (d. 1875)
• 1817-09-05 Aleksei K. Tolstoi, Russian poet and writer, born in St. Petersburg, Russia (d. 1875) [NS]
• 1820-01-23 Alexander Serov, Russian composer and music critic, born in Saint Petersburg, Russia (d. 1871)
• 1824-01-14 Vladimir Stasov, Russian art and music critic, born in Saint Petersburg, Russia (d. 1906)
• 1825-06-24 Grand Duchess Alexandra Nikolaevna of Russia, youngest daughter and fourth child of Tsar Nicholas I, Emperor of Russia, and his wife, Princess Charlotte of Prussia, born in St. Petersburg, Russian Empire (d. 1844)
• 1826-03-23 [Aloysius] Ludwig Minkus, Austrian violinist, and ballet composer (St. Petersburg Imperial Theatres, 1871-86; La Bayadère), born in Vienna, Austrian Empire (d. 1917)
• 1827-08-28 Grand Duchess Catherine Mikhailovna of Russia, born in St. Petersburg, Russia (d. 1894)
• 1833-11-12 Alexander Borodin, Russian chemist and composer (Robert LeDiable), born in Saint Petersburg, Russia (d. 1887)
• 1834-05-05 Viktor Hartmann, Russian architect and painter, born in St. Petersburg, Russia (d. 1873)
• 1835-07-31 Paul du Chaillu, French-American explorer who the 1st modern explorer to confirm existence of gorillas and pygmies [birth year disputed], born in St. Petersburg, Russia (d. 1903)
• 1838-06-02 Grand Duchess Alexandra Petrovna of Russia (née Duchess Alexandra Frederica Wilhelmina of Oldenburg), German-Russian noblewoman and philanthropist, born in St. Petersburg, Russian Empire (d. 1900)
• 1842-08-30 Grand Duchess Alexandra Alexandrovna of Russia, Eldest child of Alexander II of Russia, born in Catherine Palace, Pushkin, Saint Petersburg, Russia (d. 1849)
• 1843-01-01 Nikolay Lodizhensky, Russian diplomat and composer, born in Saint Petersburg, Russia (d. 1916)
• 1843-09-29 Mikhail Skobelev 'the White General', Russian general during Russo-Turkish War, born in Saint Petersburg, Russia (d. 1882)

• 1846-05-30 Peter Carl Fabergé, Russian goldsmith and jeweler (famous for Fabergé eggs), born in Saint Petersburg, Russia (d. 1920)
• 1846-09-25 Wladimir Köppen [Vladimir Köppen], German meteorologist and climatologist who developed the Köppen climate classification system for the regions of the world, born in St. Petersburg, Russia (d. 1940)
• 1847-03-31 Yegor Ivanovich Zolotarev, Russian mathematician (analysis and number theory), born in St Petersburg, Russian Empire (d. 1878) [1]
• 1848-10-30 Zinovy Rozhestvensky, Russian Imperial Navy Vice-Admiral (Battle of Tsushima - loss to Japan devastates fleet, ends Russo-Japanese War), born in Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire (d. 1909)
• 1849-01-12 Jean Béraud, French Belle Époque painter, born in St. Petersburg, Russia (d. 1935)
• 1850-01-17 Alexander Sergeyevich Taneyev, Russian composer, born in St Petersburg, Russia (d. 1918)
• 1850-10-05 Sergey Muromtsev, Russian lawyer, politician and President of the First Imperial Duma, born in Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire (d. 1910)
• 1852-02-20 Nikolai Garin-Michailovski], Russian railroad engineer (Trans-Siberian railway) and author (Tjoma Kartashov), born in Saint Petersburg, Russia (d. 1906) [OS=2/08]
• 1852-12-04 Orest Khvolson, Russian physicist and honorary member of the Soviet Academy of Sciences (1920), born in Saint Petersburg (d. 1934)
• 1853-09-13 Sophia Perovskaya, Soviet icon, aristocrat, and socialist revolutionary (Narodnaya Volya), who helped orchestrate the successful assassination of Alexander II of Russia, born in Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire (d. 1881)
• 1854-07-14 Alexander Kopylov, Russian imperial composer and violinist, born in Saint Petersburg, Russia (d. 1911)
• 1854-08-24 Nikolay Vladimirovich Scherbachov, Russian pianist and composer, born in St. Petersburg, Russia (d. 1922)
• 1855-04-29 Anatoly Liadov, Russian composer (Bewitched Lake), born in St. Petersburg, Russia (d. 1914)
• 1855-05-12 Anatoly Lyadov, Russian composer (From the Apocalypse; Bewitched Lake), conductor, and pedagogue (St. Petersburg Conservatory, 1878-1914), born in Saint Petersburg, Russia (d. 1914)
• 1856-11-06 Nikolaĭ Nikolaevich, Grand Duke of Russia, born in St. Petersburg, Russian Empire (d. 1929)
• 1856-11-07 Semyon Alapin, Russian chess master, born in St. Petersburg, Russian Empire (d. 1923)
• 1856-11-18 Nicholas Nikolaevich Romanov, Grand Duke of Russia and general in World War I (1914-18), born in St. Petersburg, Russian Empire (d. 1929)
• 1859-03-26 Nikolay Alexandrovich Sokolov, Russian composer, born in St. Petersburg, Russia (d. 1922)
• 1859-10-26 Arthur Friedheim, Russian composer, born in St. Petersburg, Russia (d. 1932)
• 1861-02-12 Lou Andreas-Salomé, Russian-German author (Im Kampf um Gott), born in Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire (d. 193)
• 1862-06-25 Vasily Georgiyevich Wrangell, Russian composer, born in St. Petersburg, Russia (d. 1901)
• 1864-01-10 Grand Duke Peter Nikolaevich of Russia, son of Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich, born in Saint Petersburg, Russia (d. 1931)
• 1865-08-10 Alexander Glazunov, Russian pianist, composer (Chopiniana; Stenka Razin), and educator (St Petersburg Conservatory, 1899-1930), born in St.Petersburg, Russia (d. 1936)
• 1866-03-14 Alexey Troitsky, Russian chess problemist, born in St. Petersburg, Russia (d. 1942)

• 1868-08-07 Ladislaus Bortkiewicz, Russian mathematician (Poisson distribution) and economist, born in Saint Petersburg, Imperial Russia (d. 1931)
• 1869-01-29 Andrey Scherbachov, Russian composer and pianist, born in St Petersburg, Russia (d. 1922)
• 1869-02-23 Nadezhda Krupskaya, Russian revolutionary (Central Committee member, Soviet Minister for Education, wife of Vladimir Lenin), born in Saint Petersburg, Russia (d. 1939)
• 1869-02-26 Nadezhda Krupskaya, Russian revolutionary and wife of Vladimir Lenin, born in St. Petersburg, Russia (d. 1939)
• 1869-11-13 Ariadna Tyrkova-Williams, Russian politician, writer, and feminist, born in St. Petersburg, Russia (d. 1962)
• 1870-05-04 Alexandre Benois, Russian artist, born in St Petersburg, Russia (d. 1960)
• 1872-04-04 Nikolai Amani, Russian composer, born in St. Petersburg, Russia (d. 1904)
• 1873-05-15 Nikolay Tcherepnin, Russian composer of ballets, born in St Petersburg, Russia (d. 1945)
• 1874-10-09 Nicholas Roerich, Russian painter, born in Saint Petersburg, Russia (d. 1947)
• 1874-11-04 Aleksandr Vasilevich Kolchak, Russian military commander, born in Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire (d. 1920)
• 1875-08-23 Eugene Lanceray, Russian artist, born in Pavlovsk, Saint Petersburg, Russia (d. 1946)
• 1879-06-24 Agrippina J. Vaganova, Russian ballet dancer, and pedagogue (Fundamentals of the Classical Dance), born in Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire (d. 1951)
• 1880-04-26 Mikhail Fokine, Russian choreographer and founder of modern dance, born in Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire (d. 1942)
• 1880-11-28 Alexander Block, Russian poet (Dvenatsat), born in St. Petersburg, Russia (d. 1921)
• 1881-02-12 Anna Pavlova, Russian prima ballerina and choreographer (Diaghilew, Dying Swan), born in St Petersburg, Russia (d. 1931)
• 1882-04-23 Albert Coates, English conductor and composer (Eagle; Pickwick), born in St Petersburg, Russia (d. 1953)
• 1884-07-23 Apolinary Szeluto, Polish pianist and composer, born in St. Petersburg, Russia (d. 1966)
• 1884-09-29 Boris Asafiev, Russian composer and music critic, born in Saint Petersburg, Russia (d. 1949)
• 1885-02-21 Sacha Guitry, French actor and playwright (Deburan, The Story of a Cheat), born in St. Petersburg, Russian Empire (d. 1957)
• 1885-09-24 Artur Lemba, Estonian concert pianist, composer (Sabina), and piano teacher (St. Petersburg Conservatory, 1908-20), born in Revel, Russian Empire (now Tallinn, Estonia) (d. 1963)
• 1886-02-28 Max Vasmer, German-Russian linguist (La Tertulia de Pombo), born in Saint Petersburg, Russia (d. 1962)
• 1887-03-23 Felix Yussupov, Russian aristocrat, best known for participating in the assassination of Grigori Rasputin, born in Moika Palace, Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire (d. 1967)
• 1888-03-26 Elsa Brändström, Swedish nurse who helped POWs in Siberia, born in Saint Petersburg, Russia. (d. 1948)
• 1888-10-14 Ernest Pingoud, Finnish composer, born in Saint Petersburg, Russia (d. 1942)
• 1889-01-01 Alexander Smallens, Russian-born American conductor, born in St Petersburg, Russia (d. 1972)
• 1889-02-11 Vladimir Mikhaylovich Deshevov, Russian-Soviet composer (Ice and Steel), born in St. Petersburg, Russia (d. 1955)
• 1890-09-17 Lubov Tchernicheva, Russian-British ballerina, born in St. Petersburg, Russia (d. 1976)
• 1890-10-09 Alfred Swan, Russian composer, born in St. Petersburg, Russia (d. 1970)
• 1891-08-02 Viktor Maksimovich Zhirmunsky, Russian literary historian and linguist, born in St. Petersburg, Russia (d. 1971)
• 1891-08-29 Michael Chekhov, Russian-American actor (Abie's Irish Rose, Rhapsody), born in Saint Petersburg, Russia (d. 1955)
• 1891-12-05 Alexander Rodchenko, Russian painter and photographer, born in St Petersburg (d. 1956)
• 1892-11-23 Erté [Romain de Tirtoff], Russian-French artist and designer, born in St. Petersburg, Russia (d. 1990)
• 1893-05-14 Ivan Wyschnegradsky, Russian microtonal composer, born in Saint Petersburg, Russia (d. 1979)
• 1894-04-27 Nicolas Slonimsky, Russian-American, pianist, conductor, musicologist (Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns; Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians), and composer, born in St. Petersburg, Russia (d. 1995)
• 1895-04-14 Mary Marquet, Russian actress (Matter of Resistance), born in St Petersburg, Russia (d. 1979)
• 1895-04-14 Wiktor Labunski, Polish-American composer, born in Saint Petersburg, Russia (d. 1974)
• 1895-08-10 Mikhail Zoshchenko, Russian author and satirist, born in Saint Petersburg (d. 1958)
• 1895-11-15 Olga Nikolaevna, eldest daughter of the last Russian Tsar, Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna, born in Alexander Palace, Saint Petersburg, Russia (d. 1918)
• 1896-07-01 Pavel Antokolsky, Russian poet and theatre director (Syn), born in St. Petersburg, Russian Empire (d. 1978)

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