Founding of Saint Petersburg (1703) – Tsar Peter the Great founded the city on 27 May 1703 after he reconquered the Ingrian land from Sweden, in the Great Northern War. Upon the city's founding, he named the city after his patron saint, the apostle Saint Peter.
Peter moved the capital from Moscow to Saint Petersburg in 1712.
After the death of Peter the Great in 1725, Peter II of Russia moved his seat back to Moscow, but in 1732 Saint Petersburg became capital of the Russian Empire for more than two hundred years.
The Revolution of 1905 began in Saint Petersburg and spread rapidly into the provinces.
On 1 September 1914, after the outbreak of World War I, the Imperial government renamed the city Petrograd.
Leningrad affair (1949–1952) – Stalin had leaders and heroes of the city framed and executed, imprisoned, or exiled to Siberia, due to their popularity, including the mayor.
On 12 June 1991, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, in a referendum 54% of voters chose to restore "the original name, Saint Petersburg". Original names returned to many streets, bridges, Metro stations and parks.