[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 77 (Thursday, May 22, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1048]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        THE 300TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FOUNDING OF ST. PETERSBURG

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 22, 2003

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, in just a few days President Bush and 
President Putin, as well as leaders from a number of other countries 
from around the world, will meet in St. Petersburg, Russia for meetings 
on contemporary international political and economic issues. But at the 
same time, these world leaders will join in the celebration of the 
300th anniversary of the founding of St. Petersburg. This significant 
milestone gives us an opportunity to reflect on the history and the 
significance of this key Russian metropolis.
  The city was known as Petrograd during World War One and as Leningrad 
during the Soviet era, but from its very founding the extraordinary 
city of St. Petersburg has stood for Russia's Western-facing hopes and 
dreams. Russian Czar Peter the Great, St. Petersburg's founder, saw 
clearly that Russia's future lay in engagement with Europe, and 
believed that the creation of a Russian city with a distinctly European 
orientation was critical to Russia's development.
  St. Petersburg was constructed as Peter's new capital despite the 
gravest of difficulties, a city that generations of Russians would toil 
to transform from a swampy wilderness into Europe's ``Venice of the 
North.'' The effort to create St. Petersburg drew upon the Russian 
traditions of sacrifice and fortitude that the world would see and 
respect during World War Two in our common struggle against European 
fascism.
  Since its founding in 1703, St. Petersburg has embodied Russian 
dreams of all their country could become. Under Catherine the Great the 
city became one of the grandest centers of science, culture and art in 
Europe, with European and Russian traditions converging to produce a 
uniquely Russian style of social and urban development.
  St. Petersburg's Hermitage museum is one of the largest and most 
respected art museums in the world. Catherine the Great founded it to 
house Russia's collection of many of the world's most precious artistic 
masterpieces. Russia's intellectual class, rising at that time, also 
centered in St. Petersburg, attracted by the spirit of liberal 
development and progress.
  Mr. Speaker, St. Petersburg under Catherine the Great firmly made 
claim to its reputation as a European city of substance, and Russians 
had and continue to have reason to be proud of all that St. Petersburg 
represents in Russian society.
  The Soviet era again brought great hardships to the people of St. 
Petersburg, but without the benefit of the freedoms and hope that had 
originally been the cornerstone of St. Petersburg's appeal. As the 
center of Russian intellectual activity, it should be no surprise that 
Stalin's crackdown on artists and thinkers hit St. Petersburg 
particularly hard. To have lived in the heart of Russian intellectual 
life, the city of Pushkin and Dostoyevsky, and then to watch the forces 
of repression and intolerance take hold must have been incredibly 
painful to bear.
  Yet the strength and fortitude of the people of St. Petersburg would 
before long be on display for the world once again, as Hitler's armies 
encircled the city in September 1941. Thus began a siege and blockade 
of the city that lasted over 2\1/2\ years.
  Yet never did this city of nearly three million, including hundreds 
of thousands of children, even contemplate surrender to Hitler and his 
abhorrent regime. The treasures of the Hermitage museum were hidden in 
basements, protected by sandbags, and university students continued to 
go to school and even to be awarded their degrees. The famous Russian 
composer Dmitry Shostakovich wrote his seventh ``Leningrad'' symphony 
during the siege and it was performed in the embattled city.
  Mr. Speaker, this spirit of defiance and strength played a key part 
in the allied victory over fascism, and earned for Russia the respect 
of the free world.
  St. Petersburg has now retaken its original name, one of the first 
decisions made by popular vote among residents in 1991. The city has 
also undergone a massive renovation project in preparation for this 
remarkable milestone, to restore to its buildings their original 
grandeur and dust off the cobwebs of Soviet neglect once and for all. 
One of Russia's true national treasures, St. Petersburg is among the 
country's most important cultural, industrial, tourist, transport and 
scientific centers.
  Today, Mr. Speaker, as in the 300 years of struggle that now lie 
behind St. Petersburg, the city represents Russia's sense of optimism, 
its hopes and dreams for its future, and its firm belief that 
prosperity and national development lie in a strengthened commitment to 
its relationship with the West.
  It is in America's national interest to support this relationship, to 
give meaning to Russian hopes and dreams, and to see St. Petersburg 
continue to emerge as a freedom-loving and democratic example to post-
Communist societies everywhere. I invite my colleagues to support 
Russian transition by doing everything possible to achieve these goals, 
and by promoting the peaceful integration of Russia into the community 
of free and democratic peoples.
  Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure and respect that I applaud the 
people of St. Petersburg as the city begins its fourth century on 
Russia's political, social and intellectual frontier. Theirs is a 
history of sacrifice and of devotion to the principle of intellectual 
freedom.
  St. Petersburg's tradition of academic debate and intellectual 
freedom is also America's tradition, and Americans look forward to 
continuing to share with Russia in this vital and productive 
institution. I invite my colleagues in Congress to join me in 
congratulating the citizens of St. Petersburg and the people of all 
Russia on the 300th birthday of this extraordinary city.

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