In an informal speech, St. Petersburg is called Peter. How long ago and where did this form of the city name come from?
For the city, it all began in 1703, when Peter I took Nyenschants by siege and immediately renamed it Schlotburg. At this place, the tsar decided to build a new city for the capital's purpose.
However, at first there was a fortress without a name. And only after the construction of the church began, the fortress received a name that quickly spread to the entire city. Peter I named it in honor of his patron, the Apostle Peter (translated from German, St. Petersburg - "the city of St. Peter").
During the reign of Peter I, the city developed comprehensively: as a military fortress, industrially and culturally. At the same time, the king issued a decree on the forced settlement of the city by all segments of the population. According to his demand, a large number of merchants, boyars, and officials moved from Moscow to St. Peter-Burkh. The name appeared in the 18th century as a result of the colloquial abbreviation of the original name - St. Peter-Burkh (from the Dutch. Pieter - Peter).
An interesting fact: even Peter I himself could not decide for a long time on the exact name of the new city. Each time in letters and documents, he mentioned him differently: St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg, St. Peter-Burkh, etc. Because of this, the name of the city was uncertain for several more decades in writing. But most often the king used the version of St. Petersburg (in the Dutch manner), therefore it is considered to be the first name.
Only officially, the city bore three different names: St. Petersburg, Petrograd and Leningrad. However, it has more than 10 unofficial names that were used at different periods of time, and many are still in use. For example, Northern Capital, St. Petersburg (abbreviation), Capital of Culture, City on the Neva, City of White Nights, Northern Palmyra, Northern Venice, Petropol and, of course, St. Petersburg. The names are related to the geographical location, historical and cultural significance of the city.
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Peter is one of the most common abbreviations. Typically, it is used in the media and colloquial speech. St. Petersburg calls St. Petersburg not only the indigenous population, but also the inhabitants of other cities in the country. The short form is believed to have originated in the 18th century as an abbreviation for the first official name, St. Petersburg. “Peter” can often be found in works of art of this time, as well as in informal written speech.
And since the 19th century, the abbreviated form has become firmly entrenched in songs, poems and other folklore. Even the renaming to Leningrad did not force the residents to abandon the short form Peter. There is information that during the Great Patriotic War, Stalin sometimes called Leningrad that way (according to the testimony of Admiral Nikolai Kuznetsov).
