Q 01/05

On which river does St. Petersburg stand?

A) The Volga

B) The Don

C) The Neva

D) The Dnieper

Answer · why

C) The Neva

The Neva fans into a delta at the Gulf of Finland, so the city spreads across dozens of islands, and its bridges and canals earned it the nickname "Ve...

Q 02/05

Which ruler founded St. Petersburg in 1703?

A) Catherine the Great

B) Peter the Great

C) Ivan the Terrible

D) Alexander I

Answer · why

B) Peter the Great

Peter the Great wanted a seaport facing western Europe, so he built his "window on Europe" on marshy islands his army had only just captured.

Q 03/05

Which St. Petersburg jeweller made jewelled Easter eggs for Russia's last two tsars?

A) Cartier

B) Fabergé

C) Tiffany

D) Bulgari

Answer · why

B) Fabergé

Fabergé made the first in 1885 as a tsar's Easter gift to his wife: an enamel egg hiding a golden yolk and a tiny gold hen. The custom lasted until th...

Q 04/05

What was St. Petersburg called from 1914 to 1924?

A) Petrograd

B) Leningrad

C) Petropolis

D) Piterburg

Answer · why

A) Petrograd

Petrograd, a Russian form of the name, replaced the German-sounding original weeks after Russia went to war with Germany in 1914.

Q 05/05

What name did St. Petersburg carry from 1924 until 1991?

A) Stalingrad

B) Kirovgrad

C) Sovetsk

D) Leningrad

Answer · why

D) Leningrad

Leningrad never fully vanished: when the city took back its old name in 1991, the surrounding region stayed Leningrad Oblast, as it still is.