History of Saint Petersburg
Founded by Tsar Peter the Great on 27 May 1703. It became capital of the Russian Empire for more than two hundred years (1712–1728, 1732–1918). St. Petersburg ceased being the capital in 1918 after the Russian Revolution of 1917.
Swedish Ingria
In the early 18th century the area was reconquered by Russia in the Great Northern War after a century in Swedish possession. On the place of the Swedish town Nyen or in Finnish "Nevanlinna" (Castle of Neva) close to the Neva river's estuary at the Gulf of Finland, the new Russian capital Saint Petersburg was founded in 1703.