ABSTRACT
This chapter provides all basic political, economic, and demographic data on every territorial unit of the Russian Federation, its local government structure, regional politics and electoral history through the spring 2000 elections and the summer 2000 reorganization of the St. Petersburg. In June 1991, the citizens of Leningrad voted to change the city’s name back to St. Petersburg. With its remarkable architecture, St. Petersburg is a major cultural center and boasts numerous educational institutions. St. Petersburg is the only city in Russia besides Moscow to have the status of one of Russia’s 89 regions. Yakovlev won a second term as St. Petersburg’s governor on 14 May 2000. St. Petersburg differs from most other Russian regions in that its legislature has traditionally been relatively strong and has opposed the governor on key issues. St. Petersburg has a system of 111 neighborhood councils that have been functioning since 8 February 1998.
