Peter the Great

Tsar and Emperor who modernized Russia, founding St. Petersburg and the Russian Navy.

Chronology: 1672-05-30 – 1725-01-28

Origins & Early Life

Peter I (9 June 1672 – 8 February 1725), known by the epithet the Great, was the tsar of all Russia from 1682 to 1721, and the first emperor of Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned jointly with his brother, Ivan V, from 1682 until Ivan's death in 1696. Much of Peter's reign was consumed by lengthy wars against the Ottoman and Swedish empires. His Azov campaigns were followed by the foundation of the Russian Navy; after his victory in the Great Northern War, Russia annexed a significant portion of the eastern Baltic coastline and was officially raised from a tsardom to an empire.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

Peter led a cultural revolution that replaced some of the traditionalist and medieval social and political systems with ones that were modern, scientific, Westernized, and based on the radical Enlightenment. In December 1699, he introduced the Julian calendar, and in 1703, he introduced the first Russian newspaper, Sankt-Peterburgskie Vedomosti, and ordered the civil script, a reform of Russian orthography largely designed by himself. On the shores of the Neva River, he founded Saint Petersburg, a city famously dubbed by Francesco Algarotti as the "window to the West". In 1712, Peter relocated...

Enduring Legacy & Impact

The historical impact and works continue to influence the modern world.

Source: Wikipedia