Eastern Gulf of Finland

The eastern Gulf of Finland reaches the mouth of the Neva, where river and sea meet at the far end of the Baltic. Sweden acquired the surrounding Ingrian lands by the Treaty of Stolbovo in 1617, but Russia recovered them during the Great Northern War. In 1703 Peter the Great founded Saint Petersburg on the Neva delta. To defend its approach against Swedish fleets, the Russians built Kronshlot near Kotlin Island in 1704, followed by further fortifications that formed Kronstadt.