The town of Kronstadt lies on the Kotlin island near the head of the Gulf of Finland, 29 km west of St.Peterburg. Peter the Great captured the island from the Swedes in 1703 and ordered to construct a fort and docks - then called Kronslot - to protect the approaches to St.Petersburg.

Founded in May 1704, Kronstadt is considered by Russians the cradle of the Russian fleet, and the town of Russia’s naval glory. 28 ships sailed from its harbour to go successfully round the world in the 19th century only. The sailors and garrison of Kronstadt played major roles in several Russian revolutionary movements. After the February Revolution (1917), the Kronshtadt Soviet opposed the Kerensky provisional government and declared a “Kronshtadt Republic”. Blank shots from the Baltic Fleet cruiser Aurora (she entered the Neva in St.Petersburg in October 1917 by the order of the Kronstadt Soviet) were a signal for the storming of the Winter Palace, the residence of the Kerensky government those days, and a preliminary to the Bolshevik seizure of power.

The Kronstadt’s fortifications, which were frequently reconstructed and strengthened, played a notable role in the defense of the Russian capital during WW I and especially during the 1941–44 Siege of Leningrad (as St. Petersburg was then called). The modern town is known for beautiful parks and architectural monuments. Among the points of interest are the unique hydrotechnical and fortification works. The town’s most beautiful building is the Maritime Cathedral of St.Nicholas (71 metres high). Built between 1903 and 1913, the Byzantine-style cathedral was named after Nicholas- the patron saint of sailors.