This leader sent an envoy under the command of Boris Sheremetyev [shur-ah- MET-yev] to the Knights of Malta in order to pursue the possibility of an alliance against the Ottoman Turks.
This leader sent an envoy under the command of Boris Sheremetyev [shur-ah- MET-yev] to the Knights of Malta in order to pursue the possibility of an alliance against the Ottoman Turks. This man's military victory at the Battle of Lesnaya followed a major defeat at (*) Narva, and this creator of the Table of Ranks once spent time in a Dutch shipyard disguised as a worker to learn the superior western way of shipbuilding. This ruler defeated Sweden's Charles XII at Poltava, thus leading to victory in the Great Northern War. He took that opportunity to build a capital on the Neva River that now bears his name. For 10 points, name this czar who modernized Russia.
This leader sent an envoy under the command of Boris Sheremetyev [shur-ah- MET-yev] to the Knights of Malta in order to pursue the possibility of an alliance against the Ottoman Turks.
{Peter the Great} [or {Peter I}; prompt on Peter]