In 1869 Emperor Alexander II gave permission for St Petersburg's Jewish community to build a grand synagogue in the city.  At this period of time the Jewish community only consisted of retired soldiers, academics and top merchants, craftsmen and technicians who were permitted to live outside the Pale of Settlement.  The community purchased the land plot in 1879 and construction took place between 1883 and 1893.  During the First and Second World Wars the synagogue was used as a hospital.  Although it was closed in 1929 it had been reopened by 1930 and remained open for the rest of the Soviet era.