Ingermanland

Ingermanland (ĭng`gərmənlănd) or Ingria (ĭng`grēə), Finnish Ingerinta, historic region, NW European Russia, along the Neva River and on the east bank of the Gulf of Finland. Its name derives from the ancient Finnic inhabitants, the Ingers, some of whose descendants (about 93,000) still live in the St. Petersburg (formerly Leningrad) area and are called Ingrians or Finns. In medieval times, the region was subject to Great Novgorod, with which it passed in 1478 to the grand duchy of Moscow. Conquered in the early 17th cent. by Sweden, it remained Swedish until Peter I of Russia captured it in 1702 and built his new capital of St. Petersburg there. The area was formally ceded to Russia by the Treaty of Nystad (1721), which ended the Northern War between Russia and Sweden.