What’s in a name. . .

FUN WITH MAPS – ISSUE 2021-171 DAILY FEATURE:

By Steve Kovacs (Introduction by Chuck Gibson)

LOVELAND, OH (September 6, 2021) – In Issue 2021-171 of Steve Kovacs Fun with Maps, we learn what is in the naming of a Russian city.

WELCOME BACK, ST PETERSBURG

Thirty years ago today, the Russian city of St. Petersburg returned to its original name.The second-largest city in Russia was formerly known as Petrograd from 1914-1924 and Leningrad from 1924 to 1991. St. Petersburg, was named after the apostle Peter, when it was founded by Tsar Peter the Great in 1703 as a window to the West in his attempt to modernize the then feudal Russia.   It served as the capital city for the Tsardom until the Bolsheviks moved the capital to Moscow in 1917.

During World War I. the city name was changed to Petrograd, meaning Peter’s City.  In 1924, 5 days after the death of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, the city was renamed Leningrad, or Lenin’s city, and similar renaming of streets and areas also occurred.

A popular vote on the city name was held during the first Russian presidential elections in 1991.  It was then decided by the people that the City of White Nights would return to the original name, honoring the Imperial Era.

Here is Schelanskago’s 1894 map of the city.  If you visit the St Petersburg, do so in the winter, when the city is truly in its element.

Steve Kovacs and his wife Theresa reside in Loveland, Ohio where they raised their two children. He is a passionate collector of antique maps.

Visit his antique map boutique world-on-paper online. Watch for his daily feature Steve Kovacs: Antique Maps & Fun Facts here on Loveland Beacon.