General Information

St.Petersburg Tercentenary Jubilee

St.Petersburg was conceived and created by Peter the Great not only as the new capital for his growing empire, but first and foremost as a port city opening an outlet for Russia onto the Baltic Sea and to the countries of Europe and introducing Russia to the rest of the world. Over the course of many years Petersburg has developed as a center of vital ties between East and West, Europe and Asia, both a birthplace and a second home for the traditions of world culture.
By rights St.Petersburg is considered to be one of the main centers of Russia’s political, academic and cultural life. With the arrival of the twenty-first century, a new page in St. Petersburg’s history is being opened-the year 2003 will mark the 300th anniversary of the founding of the city. This new century in the city’s chronicles will be dedicated to reinforcing the city’s status as a world center of culture, arts and tourism.
The initial preparations for the Tercentenary were undertaken ten years ago. In the Strategic Plan for St.Petersburg, preparation for the anniversary celebrations are envisaged as providing impetus for concentrating efforts in order to promote the city on the world cultural and tourism markets and to attract investment in the Petersburg economy. Besides this, the anniversary celebrations are given particular weight for their role in stimulating the resurrection and effective use of the city’s unique resource-St.Petersburg’s cultural climate.
As part of the goals of the Tercentenary preparations, the city has undertaken projects aimed at the long-term improvement in the city’s infrastructure. A program is currently being implemented through cooperation with the World Bank for restoring the historical center of St.Petersburg and supporting private investment. The center of St.Petersburg is a point of concentration for the city’s cultural, academic, public, tourist and economic activity. This reconstruction effort is envisaged as a renaissance, a renewal of all aspects of the city’s environment and the life of the heart of the city as a source of momentum for all of St.Petersburg.
An informational infrastructure for the anniversary celebrations is currently in the works. February 1999 saw the opening of the official jubilee web-site ‘St.Petersburg: 1703-2003.’ (www.300.spb.ru) As envisaged by the Strategic Plan, the Internet web site provides free access to information on the Tercentenary, with the aim of promoting it to Russian and world-wide audiences. The web site offers access to all official documents (decrees, directives and resolutions related to anniversary events), a list of Tercentenary events, announcements of festivals, exhibits, conferences and jubilee projects as well as other informational resources.
One of the most important facets of the anniversary preparations is the international promotion of St.Petersburg and the tourism potential of its Tercentenary. The American committee for St.Petersburg 2003 was formed in 1993 and unites leading representatives of business and administrative circles as well as members of the artistic and cultural communities of the US.
The new joint project of the St.Petersburg Administration, the Jubilee Committee and the American Committee for St.Petersburg 2003 is the program The Great Cultural Embassy. The program presents the anniversary projects for the development of the major cultural institutions and the arts in St.Petersburg: the Hermitage, the Russian Museum, the Mariinsky Theater and D. D. Shostakovich Philharmonia among others. The main goal of program is to facilitate the expansion of the role of the international community in realizing the anniversary program and to further the effective use of the Tercentenary as one of the strategies for the city’s rebirth.
One of the most important events of the Embassy is the St.Petersburg: Cultural Tourism and Travel Mart. For the first time, St.Petersburg is presenting exclusive tourist products devoted to the city’s Tercentenary. Business leaders and representatives of the arts and tourism industries have chosen four themes for creating tourist packages specially tailored to an American audience: St.Petersburg Winter Seasons, Music of Palaces, Nicholas and Alexandra, and Stars of the White Nights. These tourist packages prepared for the mart present major events of the city and provide high-quality tourist services. The mart’s organizers are confident that these proposals will catch the interest of American tour operators, and with time this will increase the number of tourists visiting celebratory St.Petersburg.

We welcome you to St.Petersburg from the depths of our hearts-come and be the honored guests of our city!