page_title: Saint Petersburg
section_title: Crime
hierarchical_section_title: Saint Petersburg / Crime
caption_attribution_description: English: Kresty Prison in Saint Petersburg Русский: Следственный изолятор "Кресты" в Санкт-Петербурге
context_page_description: Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd, then Leningrad, is a city situated on the Neva River, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. It is Russia's second-largest city after Moscow. With a population of roughly 5.4 million inhabitants, it is the fourth-most populous city in Europe, the most populous city on the Baltic Sea, as well as the northernmost metropolis in Europe and the world. As an important Russian port on the Baltic Sea, it is governed as a federal city.
  The city was founded by Tsar Peter the Great on 27 May 1703 on the site of a captured Swedish fortress, and was named after apostle Saint Peter. Saint Petersburg is historically and culturally associated with the birth of the Russian Empire and Russia's entry into modern history as a European great power. It served as a capital of the Tsardom of Russia and the subsequent Russian Empire from 1713 to 1918. After the October Revolution in 1917, the Bolsheviks moved their government to Moscow.
  As one of the most important tourism centers in Russia, Saint Petersburg received over 15 million tourists in 2018, and is considered an important economic, scientific and cultural centre of Russia.
context_section_description: The crime dynamic in Saint Petersburg is tightly associated with the general social situation in the country. A sharp spike in the crime level occurred in the late 1980s/early 1990s as a result of the Perestroika-time turmoils (redistribution of property, privatization, decline of living standards, decrease of the effectiveness of militsiya, etc.) By then the city had fallen under the control of a number of organized criminal groups such as Tambov Gang, Malyshev Gang, Kazan Gang, and ethnic criminal groups, engaged in racket, extortion, paying off local government and violent clashes with each other.
  After the assassinations of City Property Committee chairman and vice-Governor Mikhail Manevich (1997), State Duma deputy Galina Starovoytova (1998), acting City Legislature Speaker Viktor Novosyolov (1999) and a number of prominent businesspeople, Saint Petersburg was dubbed Capital of Crime in the Russian press. There were a number of movies filmed in Saint Petersburg about the life of crime, Bandit Petersburg and Brother, reinforcing its image as the Crime Capital of Russia.
  According to official sources the number of crimes committed by foreigners in Saint Petersburg in 2010 increased by 11.1%. Law enforcement authorities consider this was associated with an increased number of people from some CIS republics who live in Saint Petersburg illegally. On the other hand, some media reported that in recent years there had been a notable increase in racially motivated violence, in particular towards foreign students. One of the notable white supremacist groups, Belaya Energia (White Energy, inspired by US "White Power" groups) has reportedly been one of the gangs involved in murdering foreign university students.
  The official portal of the Government of Saint Petersburg provided data on significant improvements in the crime situation. In particular, it was reported the number of crimes against tourists had fallen by more than half during 2009–2011.
  In 2012, Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs warned LGBT travellers about a vaguely worded law in Saint Petersburg that came into effect on 17 March 2012, making it a criminal offence to publicize acts of male or female homosexuality, bisexuality, or transgenderism. The intention of the law is to protect minors. A Russian travel advisory on the Foreign Affairs website notes that while homosexuality is legal in Russia (it was decriminalized in 1993), LGBT Canadian travellers should avoid "displaying affection in public, as homosexuals can be targets of violence.... Public actions (including dissemination of information, statements, displays or conspicuous behaviour) contradicting or appearing to contradict this law may lead to arrest, prosecution and the imposition of a fine."
caption: The Kresty Prison
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