Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg is a Russian city on the Neva River near the Baltic Sea. Founded in 1703, it served as Russia’s imperial capital and as the Nobel family’s base during much of Alfred Nobel’s youth.

Peter the Great: Peter I ruled Russia from 1682 to 1725 and founded Saint Petersburg in 1703. He chose the site and made the new city a center of his westernizing reforms.
Alfred Nobel: Alfred Nobel was a Swedish chemist, engineer, and inventor who established the Nobel Prizes. He spent much of his youth in Saint Petersburg after his family moved there.
Gulf of Finland: The Gulf of Finland is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Finland, Estonia, and Russia. Saint Petersburg stands at the gulf’s eastern end, where the Neva enters it.
Nobel family: The Nobel family is a Swedish family of engineers, inventors, and industrialists that included Alfred and Immanuel Nobel. Its Saint Petersburg years formed a major setting for Alfred Nobel’s upbringing.
October Revolution: The October Revolution was the Bolshevik seizure of power in Russia in 1917. The revolution began in the capital then known as Petrograd and ended imperial rule.
Great Northern War: The Great Northern War was a conflict from 1700 to 1721 in which Russia defeated Sweden and gained Baltic territory. Russian control of the Neva delta enabled Peter to establish the city.
Immanuel Nobel: Immanuel Nobel was a Swedish engineer and inventor whose business and inventions brought his family to Russia. His work in Saint Petersburg supported the household in which Alfred grew up.
Baltic Sea: The Baltic Sea is a brackish inland sea in northern Europe connected to the North Sea through the Danish straits. The city’s coastal position made it a Russian gateway to Baltic trade and naval routes.
Bofors: Bofors is a Swedish arms manufacturer whose industrial history includes Alfred Nobel’s ownership and development work. Nobel’s later industrial career contrasts with the formative years his family spent in Saint Petersburg.
Siege of Leningrad: The Siege of Leningrad was a German-led blockade of the city from 1941 to 1944 during World War II. The city endured one of the war’s longest and deadliest urban sieges under its Soviet name.

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