What ports does Russia have in the Gulf of Finland?

The Gulf of Finland is located in the eastern part of the Baltic Sea, between Finland, Estonia and Russia. It is a relatively long and narrow bay with a span of 400 kilometers from east to west. It is about 70 kilometers wide at the entrance and 130 kilometers at its widest point in the middle. . Finland is located on the north shore of the Gulf, and Estonia is on the south shore. The two countries guard the outlet of the Gulf of Finland. Russia is located on the east coast of the Gulf of Finland, with the longest distance to the outlet of the Gulf of Finland.

The reason why the Gulf of Finland is not called the Gulf of Russia or the Gulf of Estonia is mainly because the Finns were the first to control this bay. As early as the 12th century, Finns lived on the coast of the bay. In the 13th century, Sweden occupied Finland. At that time, Russia was still in the easternmost inland region of Europe and did not have access to the Baltic Sea.

Later, with the rise of Tsarist Russia, they realized the importance of access to the sea, so Tsarist Russia first set its sights on Sweden for expansion. At that time, Sweden controlled Finland and Estonia and was one of the European powers. Beginning in the mid-16th century, Tsarist Russia provoked the Russo-Swedish War. Over the next two hundred years, long-term wars broke out between Tsarist Russia and Sweden, including eight major wars.

The fifth large-scale war between Tsarist Russia and Sweden is known as the Northern War, which took place from 1700 to 1721. Through the Northern War, Tsarist Russia defeated Sweden, controlled Estonia on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland, and part of the land on the eastern coast of the Gulf of Finland, and finally obtained the coveted Baltic Sea outlet. So what ports does Russia have in the Gulf of Finland now?

First of all, in 1703, Tsarist Russia began to build St. Petersburg on the east coast of the Gulf of Finland as the new capital of Tsarist Russia. At the same time, Peter I created the first navy in Russian history, the Baltic Sea, in the port of St. Petersburg. fleet.

In 1712, Tsarist Russia moved its capital from Moscow to St. Petersburg, and at the same time a large number of immigrants moved to the St. Petersburg area. Under the continuous construction of Tsarist Russia, a large number of Russians poured into St. Petersburg on the coast of the Gulf of Finland from inland areas. Since then, St. Petersburg has become an important fortress of Tsarist Russia on the Baltic Sea coast, helping Tsarist Russia to firmly hold this strategic location.

Later, with the development of history, Finland and Estonia have become independent respectively, but the land of St. Petersburg still belongs to Russia. Now St. Petersburg has become the central city in the northwest region of Russia, an important water and land transportation hub in Russia, and the largest seaport in Russia.

Secondly, St. Petersburg is the most famous port on the Gulf of Finland coast of Russia, but Russia is not the only one in the Gulf of Finland. There is also a port city called Vyborg in the north of St. Petersburg, about 129 kilometers away from St. Petersburg. Vyborg is a Russian commercial port on the Gulf of Finland. It was founded in 1293 and was originally part of Finnish territory.

It was controlled by Tsarist Russia during the Northern War in 1712. After the Northern War, Tsarist Russia controlled the east and south shores of the Gulf of Finland, but Sweden still controlled the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland. In order to seize the entire Gulf of Finland, Tsarist Russia did not The war with Sweden ceased. Finally, in 1809, Tsarist Russia completely defeated Sweden and annexed Finland. From then on, Tsarist Russia completely controlled the Gulf of Finland, and Sweden withdrew from the ranks of European powers.

After the fall of Tsarist Russia in 1917, Finland gained independence and Viborg belonged to Finland. After the Soviet-Finnish War in 1940, Viborg was occupied by the Soviet Union. After World War II, the Soviet Union and Finland signed the "Paris Agreement", and Viborg officially It became Soviet territory and became part of Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Third, there is an important military port called Kronstadt on Kotlin Island at the eastern end of the Gulf of Finland. This port was built in 1704. After the construction of St. Petersburg began in 1703, Peter I discovered that Kotlin Island, 29 kilometers away from St. Petersburg, could play a role in the defense of St. Petersburg, so he ordered the construction of a military port and named it Kronshtadt. It is still an important Russian port in the Gulf of Finland.

Kronshtadt's most famous building is the Naval Cathedral, considered the pinnacle of neo-Byzantine architecture. The above are the three important Russian ports in the Gulf of Finland. In addition to the Russian ports, the ports in the Gulf of Finland include Helsinki and Kotka in Finland and Tallinn in Estonia.