ABSTRACT
Sankt-Peterburg is a seaport at the mouth of the River Neva, which drains into the Gulf of Finland, in the Baltic Sea. The territory, including 42 islands, occupies an area of 1,399 sq km. In June 1991 a reformist, Anatolii Sobchak, was elected Mayor; in October the city name reverted to St Petersburg. In 1996 a liberal, Vladimir Yakovlev, was elected to the renamed post of Governor. In June 2003 Putin appointed Yakovlev as a Deputy Chairman of the federal Government. The Republic of Kareliya is situated in the north-west of Russia. It is bordered by Finland to the west and by Murmansk Oblast to the north, and the White Sea to the north-east. Kareliya was formerly an independent, Finnish-dominated state. In the 16th century the area came under Swedish hegemony.
