Why Russia’s capital moved back to Moscow
Peter the Great moved Russia’s capital from Moscow to his new city of St Petersburg in 1712. It stayed there for two centuries. In March 1918, with German armies threatening Petrograd, as it was then called, Lenin’s government moved back to Moscow, and it has been the capital ever since.
Written from cited sourcesLast checked 28 September 2026Suggest a correction
- MoscowUntil 1712
- St Petersburg (Petrograd from 1914)1712–1918
- Moscow1918–
Peter’s new capital
In 1703, during his war with Sweden, Peter the Great captured the Neva delta and on 16 May (27 May, New Style) laid the foundation stones of the Peter-Paul Fortress. That date is taken as St Petersburg’s founding.[1]
From the start the city was planned as an imposing capital, with regular streets, spacious squares and broad avenues. In 1712 the capital of Russia was transferred there from Moscow, although Sweden only formally ceded the area in the Peace of Nystad in 1721. Peter made nobles and merchants move to the new capital and build houses there.[1]
The two cities became rivals. St Petersburg absorbed western European influences, while Moscow, centred on the Kremlin, is seen as a traditional Russian city.[2]
1918: back to Moscow
St Petersburg, called Petrograd from 1914, was still the capital when the Bolsheviks took power in 1917.[1] On 3 March 1918 Soviet Russia signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany, giving up most of the non-Russian lands the tsars had conquered. As German forces threatened Petrograd, Lenin moved the seat of government further east to Moscow.[4]
In March 1918 the capital of the young Soviet state was moved back to Moscow.[3] Petrograd paid for it: civil war followed from 1918 to 1920, its industry nearly stopped, and by 1920 its population had fallen to 722,000, a third of its pre-revolutionary size. In 1924, after Lenin’s death, it was renamed Leningrad.[3]
The capital never went back. Moscow was the capital of the Soviet Union until it dissolved in 1991, and is the capital of Russia today.[2] It had been a capital before, too: of Muscovy, the Grand Principality of Moscow, from the late 13th century.[2]
Timeline
170327 May 1703
St Petersburg founded
Peter the Great lays the foundation stones of the Peter-Paul Fortress.[1]
1712
Capital moves
The capital is transferred from Moscow to St Petersburg.[1]
1721
Peace of Nystad
Sweden formally cedes the area.[1]
19183 March 1918
Brest-Litovsk
Soviet Russia signs a peace with Germany, giving up vast territories.[4]
1918
Back to Moscow
1924
Leningrad
Petrograd is renamed after Lenin’s death.[3]
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Sources
- [1]St. Petersburg: History · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- [2]Moscow · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- [3]St. Petersburg: The Soviet period · Encyclopaedia Britannica (Mary McAuley)
- [4]Treaty of Brest-Litovsk · World History Encyclopedia (Mark Cartwright) · 16 June 2025
Map geometry from Natural Earth via world-atlas. See credits.