General view of St. Petersburg (Petrograd) with Vasilievsky Island. The postcard was field postmarked October 22, 1916.
St. Petersbourg. Vue générale; Vassilie OstroffСт. Петербургъ. Общй видъ; Васильевскй островъ.St. Petersburg. General view; Vasilievsky Island
The capital of Russia during most of World War I, St. Petersburg is located on the Neva River and Neva Bay, part of the Gulf of Finland.At the beginning of the 18th century, Peter the Great conscripted laborers to build the city and port on the site of earlier settlements, and moved the capital from Moscow.During World War I, the city was given its Russian name, Petrograd, rather than the Germanic Petersburg.The revolutions of 1917 originated in Petrograd. The February Revolution — in which Tsar Nicholas II was deposed — primarily took place in the capital. The October Revolution originated in Petrograd, but extended through the entire country during the Russian Civil War.The Bolsheviks agreed a ceasefire with Germany, but the first round of peace negotiations failed when Leon Trotsky, leading the Russian delegation, walked away from them, declaring there would be neither war nor peace. Germany disagreed, and continued its advances into Russia including along the Gulf of Finland. With Petrograd threatened, the Government moved to Moscow.
Petrograd (St. Petersburg) is a city in Russia.
