The history of St. Petersburg is littered with remarkable lives and incredible careers. Starting with the founder of the city, Peter the Great, the most enlightened and idiosyncratic of despots, St. Petersburg has nurtured and embraced a remarkable range of talent and achievement, producing some of the world's greatest figures in the spheres of literature, music and theatre, as well as prominent scientists and statesmen, architects and engineers.
Renowned for their wealth and extravagance as much as their immense power, the Romanovs ruled Russia for over 300 years, and the extended family produced an extraordinary variety of characters in that time, including some of the most celebrated rulers in modern history.
Nearly all the great figures of Russian literature lived in St. Petersburg for at least some part of their lives, and the city's unique atmosphere and extraordinary history has in turn inspired some of the greatest writings in the Russian language.
When he founded St. Petersburg, Peter the Great was determined that his new city would be a center of learning and advanced technology. The traditions and institutions he established have fostered great minds and significant advancements in almost every scientific field.
As Peter the Great intended, St. Petersburg has always been an exceptionally cosmopolitan city, and major institutions, its architecture and its rich culture all owe a huge debt to foreign talents that have either briefly or permanently made the city their home.
