Lakhta-Olgino Municipal Okrug

Lakhta-Olgino Municipal Okrug ( _ru. муниципа́льный о́круг Ла́хта-О́льгино) is a municipal okrug of Primorsky District of the federal city of Saint Petersburg, Russia, comprising that city's historical areas of Lakhta and Olgino. It is located just north of the Gulf of Finland.

Name

Lahti is a Finnish word meaning a small gulf, and there is a city in Finland also called Lahti. Lakhta is a Russian transliteration of Lahti. The municipality of Lakhta was historically populated with Finns, though it never was part of Finland, as Finland only gained its independence in 1917. By the 1880s approximately 80% of the peasants were Finnish and spoke poor Russian.cite web | title = Lakhta | url = http://www.nlr.ru:8101/eng/petersburg/spbsuburbs/prim/lahta.htm | publisher = National Library of Russia |date=2004 | accessdate = April 22 | accessyear = 2007] Lakhta is located on the Karelian isthmus, in Northern Ingria near historic Finnish Karelia.

History

In the early 18th century, Peter the Great had a residence in the area called Blizhniye Dubki.cite web | title = Lakhta | url = http://www.encspb.ru/en/article.php?kod=2804000245 | publisher = Saint Petersburg Encyclopaedia | accessdate = April 22 | accessyear = 2007]

According to tradition, in November 1724 Peter was in a ship in the Gulf of Finland near Lakhta to inspect some ironworks,. He saw a group of soldiers drowning not far from shore, and, wading out into near-waist deep water, came to their rescue. This icy water rescue is said to have exacerbated Peter's bladder problems and caused his death on January 28, 1725. The story, however, has been viewed with scepticism by some historians, pointing out that the German chronicler Jacob von Stählin is the only source for the story, and it seems unlikely that no one else would have documented such an act of heroism. This, plus the interval of time between these actions and Peter's death seems to preclude any direct link. However, the story may still, in part, contain some grain of truth.

In 1768, an enormous granite boulder in the nearby forest called the Thunder Stone ( _ru. Гром-камень) was chosen by Catherine the Great to be the pedestal for an equestrian statue of Peter the Great. The Thunder Stone is the largest rock ever moved by man, even to this day. The statue is now known as The Bronze Horseman, and is one of the landmarks of Saint Petersburg.

Lakhta has also been a centre of Russian sporting firsts. It was host to Russia's first tennis event, and in 1913 a large building was constructed for the tennis club. It also played host to the first soccer cups.

References