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Geographical Location
 St.Petersburg is located on the coast of the Gulf of Finland, at the mouth of the Neva River and on over 40 islands in its delta. The nearest suburbs of St.Petersburg are situated on the plain adjacent to the Neva, and along the Gulf.
The city is 600 km northwest of Moscow and 300 km east of Helsinki; it is situated in latitude 60 North, the same latitude as Stockholm, Oslo and Anchorage, Alaska.
Thanks to its geographical position St.Petersburg is famous for its delightful White Nights which begin at the end of May and last for some 50 days. The shortest night is June 21/22 when the sun slightly disappears beyond the horizon, and even the brightest stars are not seen in the sky. The maximum length of a summer day is 18 hrs 45 min.
Situated on the Baltic Sea, the city has a favourable geopolitical location. As a sea port it has access to the Northern Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Therefore it plays an important role in the execution of export and import transactions carried out with the use of sea transport. The St.Petersburg International "Pulkovo" Airport is situated at the crossroads between Western Europe and Asia. It provides both passenger flights and freight service to numerous airports in Russia and abroad.
Time
St.Petersburg is located in the Moscow Standard Time Zone (MST), which differs from the Greenwich Mean Time (GMT): Summer MST = GMT + 4 hours, Winter MST = GMT + 3 hours.
Climate and current weather
Average Temperature and Precipitation |
|
|
Fahrenheit |
Celsius |
Rainy Days |
Rain |
|
|
Low/High |
Low/High |
|
mm |
|
January |
8/19 |
-13/-7 |
21 |
35 |
|
February |
11/22 |
-12/-5 |
17 |
30 |
|
March |
18/32 |
-8/0 |
14 |
31 |
|
April |
33/46 |
0/8 |
12 |
36 |
|
May |
42/59 |
6/15 |
13 |
45 |
|
June |
51/68 |
11/20 |
12 |
50 |
|
July |
55/70 |
13/21 |
13 |
72 |
|
August |
55/69 |
13/20 |
14 |
78 |
|
September |
47/60 |
9/15 |
17 |
64 |
|
October |
39/48 |
4/9 |
14 |
76 |
|
November |
28/35 |
-2/2 |
18 |
46 |
|
December |
18/26 |
-8/-3 |
22 |
40 | |
Learn more about climate |
Population
The population of St.Petersburg is 4.8 million people. It mostly consists of Russians (90%), Tartars, Ukrainians, Jews, Byelorussians, Poles, Karelians.
Religion
Although Orthodoxy is the major religion in Russia, St.Petersburg is a center for many confessions. Besides Orthodox temples there are Lutheran, Catholic and Baptist churches, a mosque, and a synagogue. Many of the temples were closed or destroyed during the time of Soviet rule, but in the past several years extensive restorations have been carried out, and currently no religion is restrained by the state. | 
