The renaming of the city
According to the results of the 1897 census, the population of the city was 1,265,000 inhabitants, and by the beginning of the
First world war exceeded 2 million (3rd place in Europe after London and Paris). The result of the Russian revolution of 1905-1907,
the beginning of which is considered to be the Bloody Sunday of January 9, was the creation of the first Parliament in the history of
Russia-the State Duma.
By 1913, the volume of industrial production in St. Petersburg reached 632 million rubles, 1012 enterprises
employed 242.6 thousand people. The capital produced 12 % of Russia's industrial output, including 70 % of electrical products, 50 %
of chemical products, 25 % of machinery, and 17% of textiles. There were 567 banks in the city. Power supply of the capital's industry
was provided by 294 electrical installations and three thermal power plants. By 1914, about 40 thousand students were studying in 60
higher educational institutions of St. Petersburg.
The first world war greatly influenced the fate of St. Petersburg.
In August 1914, in the Wake of anti-German sentiment, the city
was renamed Petrograd by decree of Nicholas II. At the same time, the meaning of the city's name changed: it was named not in
honor of the Saint, but in honor of its founder. By 1917, there were problems with supply, queues became commonplace. The
unrest of February 23-27, 1917, and other events of the February revolution ended with the abdication of Emperor Nicholas II,
the fall of the monarchy, and the formation of a Provisional government.
October 25 (November 7) 1917 during the October
socialist revolution, power in the city passed into the hands of the Bolsheviks, created the Russian Soviet Republic with
its capital in Petrograd. During the Civil war, due to the proximity of the front with the German army, the government
of V. I. Lenin moved to Moscow, the city lost its capital status on March 5, 1918.
On January 26,
1924, after the death of
V. I. Lenin, Petrograd was renamed Leningrad by the decision of the Central Committee of the CPSU.
