September 5-6, 2013, St. Petersburg hosted a meeting of the G-20 countries leaders. At Peterhof (museum, a monument of world architecture and the palace and park art of the 18th-19th centuries located on the territory of St. Petersburg), colorful multimedia performance was shown to the leaders of the countries.

Guests of the summit enjoyed the unusual show with light, lasers, fire, video mapping, pyrotechnics, high-altitude fireworks, special three-dimensional sound effects. Multimedia show was lasting 22 minutes. Photos by Petr Ushanov

more colorful photos

Tags: Saint Petersburg city

Great mosque of St. Petersburg, constructed in a stylized form of Samarkand and Cairo schools of architecture, was opened in 1913. The length of the mosque – 45 meters, width – 32 m, height of the main dome – 39 m, height of minarets – 48 m, capacity – 5000 people.

Non-Muslims can visit the mosque during a tour “The East Face of St. Petersburg” organized by the State Museum of the History of Religion. The rest of the time access to the mosque is closed to non-Muslims.

enjoy the beautiful architecture

Tags: Saint Petersburg city

“Alye Parusa” (“Scarlet Sails”) is an All-Russian party of school graduates celebrated in St. Petersburg, usually on Saturday closest to the shortest white night. This year’s celebration was held on the night of June 23-24.

The celebration is carried out in two stages: a big concert with elements of theatrical performance at the Dvortsovaya Square and Vasilievsky Island, and Grand light and pyrotechnic multimedia show on the Neva River. Photos by Petr Ushanov

enjoy the beautiful show

Tags: Saint Petersburg city

Immediately after the October Revolution, the Soviet government took control of the fashion. In general, the changes occurred mostly in women’s fashion. Clothing was unpretentious, simpler than in the days of the Russian Empire. The woman was to look like as a citizen (“tovarisch”), who can “build” socialism.

However, during the Khrushchev thaw (late 1950s – 1960s), due to more openness in Soviet society, the western style in fashion began to spread. This catalog, published by Leningrad fashion house (Saint Petersburg today) in 1957, gives an idea of this time. Pictures by visualhistory

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Tags: Saint Petersburg city · Soviet past

Even sleeping areas of St. Petersburg may surprise you. Among the usual residential buildings of Moscow district there is a unique museum project – the largest miniature of Russia (total area is about 800 square meters).

Miniature is a collective image of Russia, which has absorbed all of its most characteristic features, and objects. You will be able to find the Moscow Kremlin, Karelian Kizhi, Peter and Paul Fortress, and other sights of Russia here.

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There is a wide range of extremely famous sights in St. Petersburg, such as the Hermitage and the Winter Palace, St. Isaac’s Cathedral and Savior-on-the-Blood (the last one has a very Russian look).

It’s a must for everyone visiting this marvelous city to see all the main attractions. But on the other hand, falling the victim of guidebooks can be very upsetting, and this makes the travelers look for something new and exotic which is not necessarily mentioned in the guidebooks.

Are you one of the off-the-beaten-track seekers?

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Saint Petersburg is located in northern Europe, in the north-west of the Russian Federation, on the shore of Finnish Gulf and on Neva River. St. Petersburg is the only city in the world with the population over 1,000,000 which is located so far in the north.

Saint Petersburg is the largest city located in Europe which is not a capital. Last week the population of the city exceeded 5 million people. Our congratulations and to celebrate this event here is a great time-lapse video of the city.

Tags: Saint Petersburg city · time-lapse

Television tower of St. Petersburg is a steel tower built in 1956-1962 for the broadcasting in the city and Leningrad region. The tower is located on the Aptekarsky Island (Academician Pavlov Str., 3).

Today after upgrading the height of the tower is 326 meters, which is the highest point in St. Petersburg. The access to the tower is restricted. Photos by Ignat Chernyaev

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The following video was captured during the helicopter tour (Mi-8) of Saint Petersburg. You can see the beauty of this city known for its architecture, straight streets, large squares, gardens and parks, rivers and numerous canals, embankments, bridges, and monuments.

There are captions that help to identify several sights but unfortunately they are shaking because of YouTube stabilization feature.

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This mosque was officially opened in Saint Petersburg on February 22, 1913, on the second day of celebrations to mark the 300th anniversary of the reign of the Romanovs. The building of the mosque was constructed in 1909-1920.

The design of the mosque was based on Gur-Emir Mausoleum located in Samarkand. From 1927 to 1930 and from 1940 to 1956, the mosque was closed. In 1956 the mosque was returned to the Muslims. Photos by Yura Osinin.

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Tags: Saint Petersburg city