Differences Between Moscow and St Petersburg

Moscow vs St Petersburg?

The competition between St Petersburg and Moscow has always been a hot topic in Russia. Although two capitals (yes, we call St Petersburg – the Northern capital) suffer from comparison all the time, they have so much in common. Let’s see!

Moscow vs St Petersburg – Railway Stations

If you travel by train, be ready to be amazed by the following: the Leningrad railway station in Moscow is the copy of the Moscow railway station in St. Petersburg. Moreover, the identical twins have two monuments inside the waiting room. In northern capital it’s the statue of Lenin, and in Moscow there is the monument to Peter the First.

Leningrad Railway station in Moscow

Moscow Railway station in St Petersburg. Photo akuaku.ru

Moscow vs St Petersburg – Cathedrals

By the way, not only the railway stations, the main cathedrals in both cities are so similar that tourists sometimes do not see the differences between them.

St Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow (1561) and Church of Our Savior on Spilled Blood (1907) in St Petersburg Two sisters! Still each of them have very different stories to tell. Must see!

Church of Our Savior on Spilled Blood in Moscow)

Church of Our Savior on Spilled Blood in St Petersburg (1)

St Petersburg – Cultural Capital

Saint Petersburg is the most cultural and European city in Russia. It was founded by Peter the Great, who spent lots of years traveling in Europe in order to create the city as much developed as it was abroad. The Venice of the North is ta popular name of St Petersburg due to the high number of bridges and channels that attract people all around the world to observe the White Nights and the Drawbridges.

The literature lovers will find here the apartments of outstanding Russian writers such as Pushkin, Dostoevsky and Tolstoy.

The city where the Russian revolution started and the era of monarchy came to the end can be more romantic and beautiful than you could ever imagine! For tourists’ convenience Saint Petersburg has more English signs that Moscow and waiters in restaurants can speak English and provide the menu in English, French and Spanish. If you’re tired of crowded squares and parks, this city is for you, as it has fewer amounts of citizens and more space for relaxation.

As for architecture, on our St Petersburg tours there is the prevalence of Renaissance period and Soviet apartments, while Moscow is mostly represented with Soviet and modern architecture.

Bronze Horseman in St Petersburg

Moscow – Heart of Russia

Russia’s capital is one of the biggest and most expensive cities in the world. It is the city without weekends, each one can go shopping and to the movietheater at night, go to hang out on Monday night, and work on holidays. There are 12 millions (only officially) of citizens and Moscow is among 10 most populated cities in the world. However, from year to year there is a decline of true Russians.

It’s difficult to imagine but the extension of all roads in Moscow is 4350 km!

Moscow is gorgeous city as it is dominated by the onion-domed looks. Moscow is a cultural center and home for one of the biggest libraries in the world.

Unfortunately, Moscow is not the easiest city in terms of navigation for tourists as there are few signs in English in Moscow metro.

Kazan Cathedral in Moscow

Interesting facts about Moscow and St Petersburg

St Petersburg was renamed for 4 times, while Moscow was never renamed.
Northern Neva is navigable river, and Moscow River is not.
St Petersburg greets the people mostly from the Northern cities. Moscow is a destination of Russians from the whole country.
Moscow has more traffic jams during rush hours.
Moscow is the city of brunets, and St Petersburg is the center of blonds.
St Petersburg stands on the plain, Moscow stands on 7 hills.
Moscow has a high level of criminality but you never experience it, because the city is full of police officers. Northern city has a great number of seamen.