what was the capital of russia before moscow
Saint Petersburg Situated on the Neva River, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea, it was founded by Tsar Peter the Great on May 27 [O.S. 16] 1703. On 01 September 1914, the name was changed from Saint Petersburg to Petrograd (Russian: Петрогра́д, IPA: [pʲɪtrɐˈgrat]), on 26 January 1924 to Leningrad (Russian: Ленингра́д, IPA: [lʲɪnʲɪnˈgrat]), and on 07 September 1991 back to Saint Petersburg.[10] Between 1713 and 1728 and in 1732–1918, Saint Petersburg was the capital of Imperial Russia. In 1918, the central government bodies moved to Moscow.[11]
Geography of Russia Russia has a largely continental climate because of its sheer size and compact configuration. Most of its land is more than 400 kilometers (250 mi) from the sea, and the centre is 3,840 kilometers (2,386 mi) from the sea. In addition, Russia's mountain ranges, predominantly to the south and the east, block moderating temperatures from the Indian and Pacific Oceans, but European Russian and northern Siberia lack such topographic protection from the Arctic and North Atlantic Oceans.