1728-1730. Russia.
100 Faces: Did you know that during the reign of Peter the Great's grandson, our capital was in Moscow? In 1728, 11-year-old Peter II came to the throne for his coronation. The boy loved patriarchal Moscow so much that he refused to return to the stormy dampness and declared the golden-domed city the capital. The court, the Supreme Privy Council, officials, and merchants moved closer to the Kremlin. Construction began in St. Petersburg. Nevsky Prospekt became overgrown with grass. His beloved aunt, the future Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, organized balls, masquerades, concerts, performances, hunting, and fistfights for her nephew. They say it was Peter II who introduced the rule: "He who falls shall not hit anyone while lying down" - a rule boxers still adhere to. In January 1730, the boy fell ill with smallpox and died suddenly. And the reigning Anna Ioannovna, niece of Peter I, a Muscovite from Izmailovo, returned the capital to St. Petersburg. So in the years 1728-1730 our capital was Moscow! Grandpa's guide, eyewitness to the USSR.