HISTORIC REFERENCE
Founded by Peter the Great on May 27, 1703, St. Petersburg is an architectural and cultural jewel of global importance. Today, over 5.6 million people call the Northern Capital of Russia their home.
UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE
The historic centre of St. Petersburg was the first Russian site to be registered in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The city flourishes with monuments and rare treasures, with around 9,000 remarkable heritage sites and 300+ museums, which cover fine arts, science, literature, theatre, music, history, the Siege of Leningrad, the Great Patriotic War, military history, everyday life, palace and park ensembles, science and technology, and numerous exhibition galleries and rooms.
At the city’s heart there is the Winter Palace with the Hermitage Museum — one of the world’s greatest repositories with over 3 million exhibits from ancient artifacts to masterpieces by Rembrandt.
It was in St. Petersburg, on May 15, 1829, that the first exhibition was opened showcasing industrial and handicraft products manufactured in the Russian Empire.
ECONOMIC AND SCIENTIFIC HUB
Today, St. Petersburg is Russia’s second most remarkable economic, scientific and cultural centre. The city brings features advanced industrial clusters, top universities and world-grade museums, which attracts investors, researchers and tourists from all over the world. Technology hubs and business clusters promote development of all kinds of initiatives, solutions and equipment, making a sustained contribution to the national economy. Since 2021, the headquarters of Gazprom and its key facilities have been based here.
CONTEMPORARY LIFE AND INNOVATION
St. Petersburg draws visitors not only thanks to its historical legacy but also with the pulse of contemporary life. The city has become a genuine hub of innovations and creative industries, where IT companies thrive along with design centres and startup accelerators. Entertainment venues host festivals, concerts and open-air exhibitions, which are visited by thousands of guests.
STRATEGIC COMPETENCIES CENTRE
St. Petersburg is an expert centre that covers 46 areas of strategic importance for Russia. These include shipbuilding, e‑commerce, metalworking, oil and gas, heavy engineering, medical services, tourism, science and education, pharmaceuticals, microelectronics and tool making, transportation and logistics, business services, IT and many more. These industrial sectors drive the regional gross domestic product growth and support national initiatives.
CITY ON THE NEVA
St. Petersburg’s unique charm comes from its waterways, too — all the scenic rivers and channels. The city on the banks of the Neva is world-famous for its legendary bridges, so many times praised by great Russian writers and poets. There are 93 rivers, streams and channels in the city with approximately 800 bridges and crossings (and this doesn’t include the industrial ones) — twice as many as in Venice. The overall length of the city’s channels reaches 300 kilometres.
GASTRONOMIC MECCA
St. Petersburg is a gastronomic Mecca, offering cuisines from most of the world’s nations. Authentic aromas of Italian pasta, Japanese sushi, Georgian khachapuri and Indian curry reek in their side by side with traditional Russian dishes, thus making every dinner a journey across the Earth’s continents. Every year world-class chefs take part in gastronomic festivals and fairs, contributing on a grand scale to the city’s status as Russia’s culinary hub.
St. Petersburg is a city of contrasts, where the present is inspired by the past to result in a unique fusion of tradition and innovation.