Old Saint Petersburg, Russia

Postcard RU-3302574 from Russia shows the main facade of the Stock Exchange Building at Saint Petersburg, Russia in 1903. According to Wikipedia, the Stock Exchange Building, designed by French architect Thomas de Thomon, and inspired by the Greek Temple of Hera at Paestum,  was constructed between 1805 and 1810. The Rostral Columns erected on either side of the Stock Exchange were completed in 1811. One of the columns can be seen on the left side of the postcard.

The Old Saint Petersburg Stock Exchange and the Rostral Columns are significant examples of Greek Revival architecture.

The postmark indicates that the card was mailed on December 22, 2014 and had traveled more than 120 days.

Today in History: the Name of Saint Petersburg Restored in 1991

Postcard RU-2915679 from Russia shows the Grand Peterhof Palace near Saint Petersburg, Russia. Saint Petersburg is the second largest city in Russia, located on the Neva River estuary where the river meets the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. 

The city started as Tsar Peter the Great built the Peter and Paul Fortress on May 27, 1703. After the beginning of World War I, Saint Petersburg was renamed to Petrograd, meaning "Peter's City", to remove the German words Sankt and Burg on September 1, 1914. 

Petrograd was renamed as Leningrad on January 26, 1924, five days after Vladimir Lenin's death. Lenin led the October Revolution that stormed the Winter Palace on November 7, 1917 (October 25, 1917 in old style date), marking the rise of the Communist Party. The city has more than 200 places associated with the life and activities of Lenin. 

The city restored its name back to Saint Petersburg on September 9, 1991, after a referendum upon the name of the city on June 12, 1991. 

In the United States, the city St. Petersburg in Florida, incorporated on February 29, 1892, was named after Saint Petersburg, Russia, hometown of one of its co-founders Peter Demens, The legend had that Peter Memens won the naming right by a coin toss. 

Saint Petersburg, Russia in 2011

Postcard RU-1967483 arrived today after "traveling" 92 days, showing an original photo of Saint Petersburg, Russia in 2011 by the sender. It is worth to note that the first card expired and the sender was kind enough to resend the card. I feel bad about it because it was the very first card she sent since joining the PostCrossing project. I still remember the anxiety and excitement when I was waiting for my first card to get registered. Hope it's an exception for her and wouldn't discourage her to enjoy the experience. The second card has a postmark on November 14, 2013. It reached U.S. from Russia in 15 days.