# Saint Petersburg: Putin's Hometown

An episode of [Dan Snow's History Hit](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1042631089), 6 Apr 2025, 50 min.

Audio: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/acast/s/dansnowshistoryhit/e/67eff266f185b2a87f9e9263/media.mp3?tk=eyJ0ayI6ImRlZmF1bHQiLCJhZHMiOnRydWUsInNwb25zIjp0cnVlLCJzdGF0dXMiOiJwdWJsaWMifQ==&sig=jdSQ7w6OObfx_AUx_Arz5R1WvjYiC_ebKctu-So3IdU

Founded by Peter the Great, the city of Saint Petersburg was built to rival the majesty of any capital in Europe. Its splendour made it a hub of Russian culture, and its geography made it a focal point for industry. It's factories would jump-start the revolutions that ushered in the Soviet era, and in the wake of a devastating Nazi siege, the recovering city would birth the man who lead Russia into the 21st century - Vladimir Putin. Joining us is Sinclair McKay, author of 'Saint Petersburg: Sacrifice and Redemption in the City That Defied Hitler'. He takes us through the turbulent history of this magnificent city, from its founding right up to the present day. Warning: this episode contains graphic descriptions that some listeners may find disturbing. Produced and edited by James Hickmann. Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. We'd love to hear your feedback - you can take part in our podcast survey here - https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on. You can also email the podcast directly at ds.hh@historyhit.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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