Flood risk in Saint Petersburg, Russia: history and modern times

Situated in the low-lying Neva delta region, Saint Petersburg has always been at risk from flooding. The primary cause is strong winds from the Gulf of Finland pushing the Neva River flow back over the ice fields, predominantly in autumn and winter. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the city developed along the Neva River channels by raising ground levels and building embankments. In the twentieth century, the city moved towards and out into the Baltic, reclaiming large areas along the shoreline for new development. In 2011 a 25 km long, £2 billion flood embankment across the Gulf of Finland was finally completed and has already protected the city from storm surges. This paper describes the city's 300 year battle with flood waters, which now at last appears to have been won – but at a potentially huge ecological cost.