Dome

Looking south over the Neva River, with the dome of St Isaac's Cathedral at right and the Admiralty at left; Russian city on the delta of the River Neva at the Gulf of Finland. It was the capital of Russia from 1712 to 1918, when Moscow was established as the permanent capital. In 1914 Petrograd (the Russian form of its name as opposed to the German) was adopted, but in 1924 the city was renamed Leningrad after V. I. Lenin, the revolutionary leader and first premier of the USSR. In 1991, after a referendum, its name reverted to St Petersburg. It is the second largest city in Russia and is a major port and manufacturing base as well as one of the most important artistic centres in the country. It played a central role in the history of Russian culture from the 18th to the 19th century, and the development of the city and its architecture is of exceptional interest. Source: Grove Art Online; http://www.oxfordartonline.com/ (accessed 12/17/2008)