Biography

Peter I the Great is The last Tsar of All Rus' and the first Emperor of All Russia. As a member of the Romanov dynasty, Peter was proclaimed tsar at the age of 10 and began ruling independently in 1689.

From a young age, Peter showed an interest in science and the foreign way of life. He was the first Russian tsar to undertake a long journey to Western Europe. Upon his return in 1698, Peter launched large-scale reforms of the Russian state and social order. One of Peter's greatest achievements was the solution to a problem posed in the 16th century: expanding Russia's territory in the Baltic region after victory in the Great Northern War, which allowed him to assume the title of Russian Emperor in 1721.

Peter I's priority during the first years of his autocracy was continuing the war with the Ottoman Empire and Crimea. Instead of the Crimean campaigns undertaken during the reign of Tsarevna Sofya, Peter decided to attack the Turkish fortress of Azov, located at the mouth of the Don River and the Sea of Azov. The First Azov Campaign, which began in the spring of 1695, ended unsuccessfully in September of that year due to the lack of a fleet. In May 1696, a 40,000-strong Russian army under Generalissimo Shein again besieged Azov, only this time the Russian flotilla blockaded the fortress from the sea. Peter I participated in the siege as a galley captain. Without waiting for an assault, the fortress surrendered on July 19, 1696.

Peter devoted much time to the study of shipbuilding, military science, and other sciences. Peter worked as a carpenter in the East India Company shipyards, and the ship 'Peter and Paul' was built with the Tsar's participation. During his 15 months abroad, Peter saw and learned much. After the tsar's return on August 25, 1698, his reform efforts began, initially aimed at changing the outward characteristics that distinguished the Old Slavic way of life from the Western European one.

At the Battle of Poltava on July 8, 1709, in which Karl XII's army was utterly routed, Peter again commanded on the battlefield. His hat was shot through. After the victory, he assumed the rank of First Lieutenant General and Schautbenacht of the Blue Flag.
- IMDb mini biography by: Bazza the Beast

Unusual physical strength

Terrible in his anger

Insatiable capacity for work

Enormous height

The writer Yulian Semyonov noted that Peter died shortly after a large meal, which indirectly confirms the myth that the Tsar may have been poisoned. Rumors of the Emperor's poisoning initially surfaced immediately after his death (January 28, 1725). The Tsar died suddenly and painfully.

In the 20th century, the cities of Petrograd, Petrodvorets, Petrokrepost, and Petrozavodsk bore his name.

During the reign of Peter the Great, Russia's total population grew from 11.2 million to 15.6 million.

The Most Noble Order of the Garter (England) was offered to Peter during the Grand Embassy for diplomatic reasons, but he declined the award.