Topic: Peter the Great
Public quarters in St Petersburg, Russia’s former Imperial capital, held a number of functions Saturday to mark the 340th anniversary since the birth of the city’s founder, Russian Tsar Peter I, who is also known in history as Peter the Great, ITAR-TASS reports.
To pay tribute to the tsar, who is broadly viewed as one of the greatest reformers in Russian history, flowers were laid at various sites commemorating him across the city territory, including the bust at his tomb in the Imperial Vault of the St Peter and Paul’s Cathedral, the Bronze Horseman on Senate Square, the bust at Moskovsky railway station, and the monument to the Czar-Carpenter on the Admiralty embankment.
Also taking part in the ceremonies were members of the Preobrazhensky Leib-Guard Regiment military history club, performers from the city’s numerous theaters, the choir and the orchestra of the St Petersburg Court Capella.
The traditional noon cannon shot at the St Peter and Paul’s fortress was dedicated to Peter I. It was carried out by members of the Congress of Tsar Peter’s cities – St Petersburg, Moscow, Azov, Arkhangelsk, Voronezh, Yekaterinburg, Murom, Omsk, Petrozasvodsk, and others.
In the evening, the Capella hosted a gala concert. The choir of State Singers Choir, instituted by Peter I, turned overtime into the Imperial Court Capella. Friday night, all the works included in the program were dedicated to Peter I.
St Petersburg started celebrating the tsar’s birthday as an official holiday seven years ago.
© Russkiy Mir. 10 June, 2012