1953 marked the 250-year anniversary of the foundation of St. Petersburg. However, because of the death of Stalin and ensuing political events, the celebration was postponed for 4 years. The celebration was rather modest but the city's authorities began gradually to wipe away the label of being in disgrace. The topic of the siege was revived. Verses by Olga Berggolts were published in large editions along with other books, memoirs, and studies of Leningrad's courageous feat. In 1960, a monument to the siege victims was opened at Piskarevskoye Cemetery. Five years later, along the line of defense around the city, they began to build the Green Swath of Peace and Glory memorial. In 1957, an eternal flame was lit on Mars Field in connection with 40th Anniversary of the October Revolution.
In 1955, Leningrad became the second city in the USSR with a metro. The first line connected Moscow Railway Station with Avtovo. Soon, two lines were in operation; Kirovsko-Vyborgskaya and Moskovsko-Petrogradskaya. A trolley-bus factory was built in the city and the length of the trolley-bus lines was increased by a factor of three in comparison with the pre-war years. New tram and bus routes connected the outskirts with the center. The streets were covered with asphalt and gravel pavement became a thing of the past. In most districts, stove heating was exchanged for steam and many apartments now had hot water. However, the problem of housing remained acute. In the early 1950s, most of inhabitants lived in communal apartments (in which kitchen and toilet facilities were shared by a number of tenants) and many families lived in cellars or in attics.
To solve the housing problem of the late 1950s, new construction projects were started. Construction was carried out in assembly-line fashion. Houses were built very quickly to create as much housing as possible. Many moved from communal units in the city center, which were soon reoccupied, to these new apartments. The apartments in the first prefabricated construction houses were cramped; the houses themselves were featureless and depressing. People called them "khrushchoby" (a pun on "Khrushchev" and "trushchoby" - "slums"). It was difficult to reach the city center from those districts. Because of that, many friendships and family ties were broken. Nevertheless, hundreds of thousands of Leningrad's inhabitants moved into apartments. In the early 1960s, it became possible to purchase a room as a piece of property. Construction societies were then organized.
Together with standard apartment building, the city's architectural history went on. Leningrad architects retained the old traditions of St. Petersburg; squares were directed toward the Neva or the central avenues and monumental statues were set up in the center. The architects were especially careful about new buildings in historic districts. In spite of the authorities' attempts to level the cultural image of Leningrad, the city held on to its free-thinking spirit. The press was censored severely, so Leningrad theaters became rostrums of public opinion. People loved the Big Dramatic Theater under the direction of G.A. Tovstonogov, which was a favorite for almost 30 years, as well as the Theater of Comedy directed by N.P. Akimov and the Theater of the Young Spectator directed by Z.Ya. Korogodsky.
In the late Fifties and in then Sixties, Leningrad was one of the main centers of unofficial culture. Leningrad KGB officers watched underground constantly because dissent art linked to political dissent. The society which awoke after Stalin's terror began seeking ways to change the country's life. But hopes of "returning to Leninist norms" and progressive reforms directed by CPCU were soon dispelled. The most decisive young activists chose struggle. Most of the first illegal groups (e.g. Pimenov's and Ronkin's ones) acted under Marxist slogans and with a Marxist ideology. However, at that time, a Slavophile-Monarchist wing appeared among Leningrad dissenters and took the form of the illegal Christian Union of Liberation. Among its leaders, anti-semitic sentiments were strong and the program of the Union planned to limit the participation of Jews in the political life of future Russia.
From 1950 to 1970, the population of Leningrad increased by one and a half times, reaching 4,027,000. The population increase took place chiefly through an influx of immigrants from other cities and towns and from the countryside. They were mainly laborers that worked in the construction industry and in factories. In order to reside in Leningrad, they needed to work at a steady job for some years, get a permanent residence permit, and then earn the right to change their job. In those years, industry and a substantial part of the scientific and designing enterprises were geared toward defense needs to the detriment of the consumer industry.
In education, a decision was made to develop chiefly vocational schools. Meanwhile, during the same years, the first exemplary schools "with intensive studies" of mathematics and other subjects began functioning. The most famous were schools No.239 and No.30. They encouraged a spirit of free thought in the future St. Petersburg intelligentsia. Leningrad TV organized and broadcast the popular "SK Tournament" competition for senior pupils. In the exemplary schools, literary and scientific circles and tourist clubs functioned. In the same years, so-called "Little Faculties" were organized at Leningrad University. Their purpose was specifically for senior pupils who had already chosen their future profession.