<P> An admirer of everything Dutch , Peter the Great originally named the city , Sankt - Peterburg ( Russian : Санкт - Петербург ; note that the Russian name lacks the letter s between Peter and burg ) . On 1 September 1914 , after the outbreak of World War I , the Imperial government renamed the city Petrograd ( Russian : Петрогра́д , IPA : ( pjɪtrɐˈgrat ) ) , meaning `` Peter 's city '' , in order to expunge the German - sounding words Sankt and Burg . On 26 January 1924 it was renamed to Leningrad ( Russian : Ленингра́д , IPA : ( ljɪnjɪnˈgrat ) ) , meaning `` Lenin 's City '' . On 6 September 1991 , the original name , Sankt - Peterburg , was returned . Today , in English the city is known as `` Saint Petersburg '' . Local residents often refer to the city by its shortened nickname , Piter ( Russian : Пи́тер , IPA : ( ˈpjitjɪr ) ) . </P>
<P> An admirer of everything Dutch , Peter the Great originally named the city , Sankt - Peterburg ( Russian : Санкт - Петербург ; note that the Russian name lacks the letter s between Peter and burg ) . On 1 September 1914 , after the outbreak of World War I , the Imperial government renamed the city Petrograd ( Russian : Петрогра́д , IPA : ( pjɪtrɐˈgrat ) ) , meaning `` Peter 's city '' , in order to expunge the German - sounding words Sankt and Burg . On 26 January 1924 it was renamed to Leningrad ( Russian : Ленингра́д , IPA : ( ljɪnjɪnˈgrat ) ) , meaning `` Lenin 's City '' . On 6 September 1991 , the original name , Sankt - Peterburg , was returned . Today , in English the city is known as `` Saint Petersburg '' . Local residents often refer to the city by its shortened nickname , Piter ( Russian : Пи́тер , IPA : ( ˈpjitjɪr ) ) . </P>
what name was the city of st. petersburg renamed a second time
what name was the city of st. petersburg renamed a second time
Leningrad
Leningrad