Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg, also known as Petrograd from 1914 and Leningrad from 1924, before reverting to its original name in 1991, is the second-largest city of Russia, located in the northwestern part of the country. Founded in the early 18th century, it served as the capital of the Russian Empire for two centuries, and today is regarded as the cultural capital of Russia.

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Narodnaya Volya, a revolutionary group that was a radical sub-sect of the Russian Assassins, was active in Saint Petersburg.

History

Early history

Saint Petersburg was founded in 1703 by the fourth Romanov Tsar, Peter the Great, who wanted to westernize and reform Russia. He designed to the city to be modeled on the great cities he had seen in Europe during his tours there earlier in life.

Peter called his new city his "window on the West", and made it the new capital of the Russian Empire, much to the enmity of the conservative elite who still lived in Moscow. The city was given a more menacing nickname by those who had been forced to build it: "the City of Bones". This was appropriate, as work crews had died in their thousands from disease, starvation, and cold.

The city was expanded during the 18th and 19th centuries. On 13 March 1881, the Russian Assassins Nikolai Rysakov and Ignacy Hryniewiecki were assigned to assassinate Tsar Alexander II within the city. Although they succeeded, both Assassins were captured and executed swiftly, despite the British Assassin Simeon Price's attempt to save Nikolai.

Russian Revolution

At the turn of the 20th century, the city was renamed Petrograd since Saint Petersburg sounded too German. After the fall of the Russian Empire, it was renamed Leningrad, after Vladimir Lenin. The city would hold this name until the fall of the Soviet Union.

Nikolai looking over Saint Petersburg

During the Russian Revolution of 1917, the Russian Assassin Nikolai Orelov visited Saint Petersburg to confront Tsar Nicholas II, who was hiding with his family in the city. Although Nikolai had been asked by Lenin to kill the Tsar for the sake of the Revolution, the Assassin only wanted to confirm that Nicholas was not in possession of the Imperial Sceptre, which had been destroyed in the Tunguska explosion years prior. After confirming that the Tsar's sceptre was indeed just a replica, Nikolai left, sparing Nicholas and his family.

Later, in July 1918, Nikolai returned to Saint Petersburg to receive his final mission from the Brotherhood, which would allow him to leave Russia with his family. Meeting with a fellow Assassin on a bridge, Nikolai was tasked to travel to Yekaterinburg and recover a Precursor box in the possession of the royal family, who had been placed under house arrest by the Bolsheviks.

Modern times

In 1991, the city's name was reverted to Saint Petersburg after the end of communism in Russia.

In March 2014, while the Russian Assassin Galina Voronina enlisted the aid of—and later joined—the crew of the Altaïr II, the ship was docked in Saint Petersburg's harbor for at least three weeks before setting sail on 26 March.

Gallery

• 
  The Palace Square during the Russian Revolution
• 
  Bolsheviks gathering in Petrograd
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  Bolsheviks marching through Petrograd
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  Saint Petersburg in 1918

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: The Fall (first appearance)
• Assassin's Creed: Initiates (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed Chronicles: Russia
• Assassin's Creed film (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed: The Engine of History – The Resurrection Plot