Peter the Great

**Peter the Great** (), **Peter I** () or **Pyotr Alekseevich** (;  – ) was a czar of Russia. He transformed Russia from an isolated kingdom into a transcontinental great power.

He became czar of Russia in 1682, after his sister Sophia Alekseyevna of Russia lost a war. In 1697 and 1698 he visited Western Europe, seeking allies against Turkey. He hired foreign technical specialists and brought them to Russia, and decided Russia must have access to the sea. He built the city and seaport of St. Petersburg which became the capital of Russia in 1711. He changed Russia's society, by making new laws so it would be modern like the European countries of the new Age of Enlightenment. Prince Alexander Danilovich Menshikov was a close friend of the emperor but was later disgraced due to embezzlement of national funds.

## Wars

These are the wars that Russia fought in when Peter the Great was in charge:

**The** **Great Turkish War****:** In this war Russia fought against the Ottoman Empire and won. Russia got some fortresses in the town of Azov from the Ottoman Empire.

**Great Northern War:** Russia was fighting Sweden during the Great Northern War. In 1700 Saxony, Denmark and Russia attacked Sweden. Sweden invaded Russia in 1709 which was not a good idea.  The Russian Army retreated  so the Swedish Army had to chase them.  When a very cold winter came, half of the Swedish soldiers died in the cold. Eventually the Swedish army caught up to the Russian army and they had a battle, called the battle of Poltava. Russia won the battle but most of the Swedish soldiers, including their king, Charles XII of Sweden escaped and went to the Ottoman Empire. Peter didn't like this so he declared war on the Ottoman Empire but he lost and had to give the town of Azov back to the Ottomans.

After that Russia invaded Sweden and conquered  Estonia, Livonia, and Finland.  By 1719 Russia had conquered all of Sweden. Even though Sweden had clearly lost, they did not give up until 1721. In 1721 Sweden  signed the Treaty of Nystad where they agreed to give Estonia, Livonia and Ingria to Russia.

Because Russia was a major power after the war, Peter the Great changed its name from the Tsardom of Russia to the Russian Empire.

**Russo-Persian War:**   At the start of the war Persia was already in chaos and was about to collapse. Peter the Great took advantage of this and invaded Persia. The war went from 1722 to 1723. In the end, Russia won and gained lots of land from Persia but had lost a lot of men from fighting. After Peter died, his heirs struggled for power and all the lands that Russia had conquered were given back to Persia.

## Infobox (royalty)

- **name**: Peter I
- **type**: monarch
- **image**: J.-M. Nattier (d'après) - Portrait de Pierre Ier (musée de l’Ermitage).jpg
- **caption**: Portrait by Jean-Marc Nattier, after 1717
- **succession**: Tsar of Russia, Tsar / Emperor of All Russia
- **reign**: 7 May 1682 – 8 February 1725
- **successor**: Catherine I of Russia, Catherine I
- **coronation**: 25 June 1682
- **cor-type**: Coronation of the Russian monarch, Coronation
- **predecessor**: Feodor III of Russia, Feodor III
- **reg-type**: Co-monarch
- **regent**: Ivan V of Russia, Ivan V (1682–1696)
- **reg-type1**: Regent
- **regent1**: Sophia Alekseyevna (1682–1689)
- **issue-link**: #Issue
- **issue-pipe**: among others
- **house**: House of Romanov, Romanov
- **full name**: Peter Alekseyevich Romanov
- **father**: Alexis of Russia
- **mother**: Natalya Naryshkina
- **birth place**: Moscow, Tsardom of Russia
- **death place**: Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire
- **burial place**: Peter and Paul Cathedral
- **signature**: Peter the Great Signature.svg
- **religion**: Russian Orthodox Church, Russian Orthodoxy