West Leningrad Oblast

West Leningrad Oblast comprises the part of Leningrad Oblast from the Estonian border to the federal city of St. Petersburg.

Cities

• 1 Gatchina (Гатчина)
• 2 Ivangorod (Ивангород)
• 3 Kingisepp (Кингисепп)
• 4 Koporye (Копорье)
• 5 Luga (Луга)
• 6 Slanzy (Сланцы)
• 7 Sosnovy Bor (Сосновый Бор)
• 8 Volosovo (Волосово)
• 9 Vyriza (Вырица)

Understand

The Izhorians and Votes, the Finno-Ugric peoples closely related to the Estonians and Karelians historically lived in the area. Now they live mainly on the Soikinsky (Soikkola) and Kurgalsky (Kurgala) peninsulas west of Sosnovy Bor. There's a big Russian population there too, so if you want to see Izhorian (or Votic) culture in action, check out the map of the villages that have a native population. There's also a lot of historical fortresses, and a lot of 18-19th century residences of famous Russian artists, musicians, sculptors, or simply noble elite of that era. So there's a lot of stuff to visit.