Moscow and St. Petersburg both hold a center place in Russian national identity and progression of Russian culture. Throughout history both Moscow and St. Petersburg have held an important position as the capital of Russia as decided by the leaders during different times. Both these cities have distinct features such as location however they also have similar features like the church. Progression has been made in both cities through architecture, use of natural location, organization and planning of the city roadways. During the time of the monarchs St. Petersburg has been the capital and during the Soviet era Moscow has been the capital of Russia ever since. Moscow was the first capital of Russia, its location is more east towards Asia and is isolated from the west from the beginning the city grew like a ring. Moscow streets are patterned with the organic lay of the land. One structure in Moscow that is interesting is the Russian is the structure and style of St. Basil’s Cathedral it has onion domes that are located above the altar. …show more content…
Petersburg was built on the Gulf of Finland to allow Russia easier access to Western Europe. Unusual but St. Petersburg had two names at the beginning of World War I, Petrograd and Leningard then in 1991 it got its name back. The city planning of the roadways of St. Petersburg was in the regular geometric patterns and did not follow the organic layout of the land. One structure in St. Petersburg that stands out is the Church of the Savior on the Blood, which also has looks similar to that of the St. Basil’s Cathedral from Moscow, with onion shaped domes and one center piece onion shaped dome that rises above and much higher than the other onion shaped dome