Peter the Great (Russian: Пётр Вели́кий,
tr. Pyotr Velikiy, IPA: [ˈpʲɵtr vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪj]),
Peter I (Russian: Пётр I, tr. Pyotr I,
IPA: [ˈpʲɵtr ˈpʲɛrvɨj]) or Peter Alexeyevich
(Russian: Пётр Алексе́евич,
IPA: [ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ];
9 June [O.S. 30 May] 1672 – 8 February [O.S.
28 January] 1725) ruled the Tsardom of Russia
and later the Russian Empire from 7 May [O.S.
27 April] 1682 until his death in 1725, jointly
ruling before 1696 with his elder half-brother,
Ivan V. Through a number of successful wars,
he expanded the Tsardom into a much larger
empire that became a major European power
and also laid the groundwork for the Russian
navy after capturing ports at Azov and the
Baltic Sea. He led a cultural revolution that
replaced some of the traditionalist and medieval
social and political systems with ones that
were modern, scientific, Westernised and based
on the Enlightenment. Peter's reforms made
a lasting impact on Russia, and many institutions
of Russian government trace their origins
to his reign. He is also known for founding
and developing the city of Saint Petersburg,
which remained the capital of Russia until
1917.
== Title ==
The imperial title of Peter the Great was
the following:
By the grace of God, the most excellent and
great sovereign prince Pyotr Alekseevich the
ruler of all the Russias: of Moscow, of Kiev,
of Vladimir, of Novgorod, Tsar of Kazan, Tsar
of Astrakhan and Tsar of Siberia, sovereign
of Pskov, great prince of Smolensk, Tversk,
Yugorsk, Permsky, Vyatsky, Bulgarsky and others,
sovereign and great prince of Novgorod Nizovsky
lands, Chernigovsky, of Ryazan, of Rostov,
Yaroslavl, Belozersky, Udorsky, Kondiisky
and the sovereign of all the northern lands,
and the sovereign of the Iverian lands, of
the Kartlian and Georgian Kings, of the Kabardin
lands, of the Circassian and Mountain princes
and many other states and lands western and
eastern here and there and the successor and
sovereign and ruler.
== Life ==
=== 
Early years ===
Named after the apostle, and described as
a newborn as "with good health, his mother's
black, vaguely Tatar eyes, and a tuft of auburn
hair", from an early age Peter's education
(commissioned by his father, Tsar Alexis of
Russia) was put in the hands of several tutors,
most notably Nikita Zotov, Patrick Gordon,
and Paul Menesius. On 29 January 1676, Tsar
Alexis died, leaving the sovereignty to Peter's
elder half-brother, the weak and sickly Feodor
III of Russia. Throughout this period, the
government was largely run by Artamon Matveev,
an enlightened friend of Alexis, the political
head of the Naryshkin family and one of Peter's
greatest childhood benefactors.
This position changed when Feodor died in
1682. As Feodor did not leave any children,
a dispute arose between the Miloslavsky family
(Maria Miloslavskaya was the first wife of
Alexis I) and Naryshkin family (Natalya Naryshkina
was the second wife) over who should inherit
the throne. Peter's other half-brother, Ivan
V of Russia, was next in line for the throne,
but he was chronically ill and of infirm mind.
Consequently, the Boyar Duma (a council of
Russian nobles) chose the 10-year-old Peter
to become Tsar with his mother as regent.
This arrangement was brought before the people
of Moscow, as ancient tradition demanded,
and was ratified. Sophia Alekseyevna, one
of Alexis' daughters from his first marriage,
led a rebellion of the Streltsy (Russia's
elite military corps) in April–May 1682.
In the subsequent conflict some of Peter's
relatives and friends were murdered, including
Matveev, and Peter witnessed some of these
acts of political violence.The Streltsy made
it possible for Sophia, the Miloslavskys (the
clan of Ivan) and their allies to insist that
Peter and Ivan be proclaimed joint Tsars,
with Ivan being acclaimed as the senior. Sophia
acted as regent during the minority of the
sovereigns and exercised all power. For seven
years, she ruled as an autocrat. A large hole
was cut in the back of the dual-seated throne
used by Ivan and Peter. Sophia would sit behind
the throne and listen as Peter conversed with
nobles, while feeding him information and
giving him responses to questions and problems.
This throne can be seen in the Kremlin Armoury
in Moscow.
Peter was not particularly concerned that
others ruled in his name. He engaged in such
pastimes as shipbuilding and sailing, as well
as mock battles with his toy army. Peter's
mother sought to force him to adopt a more
conventional approach and arranged his marriage
to Eudoxia Lopukhina in 1689. The marriage
was a failure, and ten years later Peter forced
his wife to become a nun and thus freed himself
from the union.
By the summer of 1689, Peter, then age 17,
planned to take power from his half-sister
Sophia, whose position had been weakened by
two unsuccessful Crimean campaigns against
the Crimean Khanate in an attempt to stop
devastating Crimean Tatar raids into Russia's
southern lands. When she learned of his designs,
Sophia conspired with the leaders of the Streltsy,
who continually aroused disorder and dissent.
Peter, warned by the Streltsy, escaped in
the middle of the night to the impenetrable
monastery of Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra; there
he slowly gathered adherents who perceived
he would win the power struggle. Sophia was
eventually overthrown, with Peter I and Ivan
V continuing to act as co-tsars. Foy de la
Neuville records that Sophia requested influential
members of Peter's family, notably her aunts
Tatyana and Anna, to mediate with him. Peter
forced Sophia to enter a convent, where she
gave up her name and her position as a member
of the royal family.
Still, Peter could not acquire actual control
over Russian affairs. Power was instead exercised
by his mother, Natalya Naryshkina. It was
only when Natalya died in 1694 that Peter,
now age 22, became an independent sovereign.
Formally, Ivan V remained a co-ruler with
Peter, although he was ineffective. Peter
became the sole ruler when Ivan died in 1696.
Peter was 24 years old.
Peter grew to be extremely tall as an adult,
especially for the time period. Standing at
6 ft 8 (203 cm) in height, the Russian tsar
was literally head and shoulders above his
contemporaries both in Russia and throughout
Europe. Peter, however, lacked the overall
proportional heft and bulk generally found
in a man that size. Both his hands and feet
were small, and his shoulders were narrow
for his height; likewise, his head was small
for his tall body. Added to this were Peter's
noticeable facial tics, and he may have suffered
from petit mal, a form of epilepsy.During
his youth, Peter befriended Patrick Gordon,
Franz Lefort and several other foreigners
in Russian service and was a frequent guest
in Moscow's German Quarter, where he met his
Dutch mistress Anna Mons.
=== Early reign ===
Peter implemented sweeping reforms aimed at
modernizing Russia. Heavily influenced by
his advisors from Western Europe, Peter reorganized
the Russian army along modern lines and dreamed
of making Russia a maritime power. He faced
much opposition to these policies at home
but brutally suppressed rebellions against
his authority, including by the Streltsy,
Bashkirs, Astrakhan, and the greatest civil
uprising of his reign, the Bulavin Rebellion.
Peter implemented social modernization in
an absolute manner by introducing French and
western dress to his court and requiring courtiers,
state officials, and the military to shave
their beards and adopt modern clothing styles.
One means of achieving this end was the introduction
of taxes for long beards and robes in September
1698.To improve his nation's position on the
seas, Peter sought to gain more maritime outlets.
His only outlet at the time was the White
Sea at Arkhangelsk. The Baltic Sea was at
the time controlled by Sweden in the north,
while the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea were
controlled by the Ottoman Empire and Safavid
Empire respectively in the south.
Peter attempted to acquire control of the
Black Sea, which would require expelling the
Tatars from the surrounding areas. As part
of an agreement with Poland that ceded Kiev
to Russia, Peter was forced to wage war against
the Crimean Khan and against the Khan's overlord,
the Ottoman Sultan. Peter's primary objective
became the capture of the Ottoman fortress
of Azov, near the Don River. In the summer
of 1695 Peter organized the Azov campaigns
to take the fortress, but his attempts ended
in failure.
Peter returned to Moscow in November 1695
and began building a large navy. He launched
about thirty ships against the Ottomans in
1696, capturing Azov in July of that year.
On 12 September 1698, Peter officially founded
the first Russian Navy base, Taganrog.
=== Grand Embassy ===
Peter knew that Russia could not face the
Ottoman Empire alone. In 1697 he traveled
"incognito" to Western Europe on an 18-month
journey with a large Russian delegation–the
so-called "Grand Embassy". He used a fake
name, allowing him to escape social and diplomatic
events, but since he was far taller than most
others, he did not fool anyone of importance.
One goal was to seek the aid of European monarchs,
but Peter's hopes were dashed. France was
a traditional ally of the Ottoman Sultan,
and Austria was eager to maintain peace in
the east while conducting its own wars in
the west. Peter, furthermore, had chosen an
inopportune moment: the Europeans at the time
were more concerned about the War of Spanish
Succession over who would succeed the childless
King Charles II of Spain than about fighting
the Ottoman Sultan.The "Grand Embassy" continued
nevertheless. While visiting the Netherlands,
Peter learned much about life in Western Europe.
He studied shipbuilding in Zaandam (the house
he lived in is now a museum, the Czar Peter
House) and Amsterdam, where he visited, among
others, the upper-class de Wilde family. Jacob
de Wilde, a collector-general with the Admiralty
of Amsterdam, had a well-known collection
of art and coins, and de Wilde's daughter
Maria de Wilde made an engraving of the meeting
between Peter and her father, providing visual
evidence of "the beginning of the West European
classical tradition in Russia". According
to Roger Tavernier, Peter the Great later
acquired de Wilde's collection.Thanks to the
mediation of Nicolaes Witsen, mayor of Amsterdam
and expert on Russia, the Tsar was given the
opportunity to gain practical experience in
the largest shipyard in the world, belonging
to the Dutch East India Company, for a period
of four months. The Tsar helped with the construction
of an East Indiaman especially laid down for
him: Peter and Paul. During his stay the Tsar
engaged many skilled workers such as builders
of locks, fortresses, shipwrights, and seamen—including
Cornelis Cruys, a vice-admiral who became,
under Franz Lefort, the Tsar's advisor in
maritime affairs. Peter later put his knowledge
of shipbuilding to use in helping build Russia's
navy.
Peter paid a visit to Frederik Ruysch, who
taught him how to draw teeth and catch butterflies.
Ludolf Bakhuysen, a painter of seascapes.
Jan van der Heyden, the inventor of the fire
hose, received Peter, who was keen to learn
and pass on his knowledge to his countrymen.
On 16 January 1698 Peter organized a farewell
party and invited Johan Huydecoper van Maarsseveen,
who had to sit between Lefort and the Tsar
and drink.
In England Peter met with King William III,
visited Greenwich and Oxford, posed for Sir
Godfrey Kneller, and saw a Royal Navy Fleet
Review at Deptford. He studied the English
techniques of city-building he would later
use to great effect at Saint Petersburg. When
he left he gave the singer, and his mistress,
Letitia Cross £500 to thank her for her hospitality.
Cross said it was not enough. The Embassy
next went to Leipzig, Dresden, and Vienna.
He spoke with Augustus II the Strong and Leopold
I, Holy Roman Emperor.Peter's visit was cut
short in 1698, when he was forced to rush
home by a rebellion of the Streltsy. The rebellion
was easily crushed before Peter returned home
from England; of the Tsar's troops, only one
was killed. Peter nevertheless acted ruthlessly
towards the mutineers. Over 1,200 of the rebels
were tortured and executed, and Peter ordered
that their bodies be publicly exhibited as
a warning to future conspirators. The Streltsy
were disbanded, some of the rebels were deported
to Siberia, and the individual they sought
to put on the Throne—Peter's half-sister
Sophia—was forced to become a nun.
In 1698 Peter sent a delegation to Malta,
under boyar Boris Sheremetev, to observe the
training and abilities of the Knights of Malta
and their fleet. Sheremetev investigated the
possibility of future joint ventures with
the Knights, including action against the
Turks and the possibility of a future Russian
naval base.Peter's visits to the West impressed
upon him the notion that European customs
were in several respects superior to Russian
traditions. He commanded all of his courtiers
and officials to wear European clothing and
cut off their long beards, causing his Boyars,
who were very fond of their beards, great
upset. Boyars who sought to retain their beards
were required to pay an annual beard tax of
one hundred rubles. Peter also sought to end
arranged marriages, which were the norm among
the Russian nobility, because he thought such
a practice was barbaric and led to domestic
violence, since the partners usually resented
each other.In 1699 Peter changed the date
of the celebration of the new year from 1
September to 1 January. Traditionally, the
years were reckoned from the purported creation
of the World, but after Peter's reforms, they
were to be counted from the birth of Christ.
Thus, in the year 7207 of the old Russian
calendar, Peter proclaimed that the Julian
Calendar was in effect and the year was 1700.
=== Great Northern War ===
Peter made a temporary peace with the Ottoman
Empire that allowed him to keep the captured
fort of Azov, and turned his attention to
Russian maritime supremacy. He sought to acquire
control of the Baltic Sea, which had been
taken by the Swedish Empire a half-century
earlier. Peter declared war on Sweden, which
was at the time led by the young King Charles
XII. Sweden was also opposed by Denmark–Norway,
Saxony, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Russia was ill-prepared to fight the Swedes,
and their first attempt at seizing the Baltic
coast ended in disaster at the Battle of Narva
in 1700. In the conflict, the forces of Charles
XII, rather than employ a slow methodical
siege, attacked immediately using a blinding
snowstorm to their advantage. After the battle,
Charles XII decided to concentrate his forces
against the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth,
which gave Peter time to reorganize the Russian
army.
While the Poles fought the Swedes, Peter founded
the city of Saint Petersburg in 1703, in Ingermanland
(a province of the Swedish Empire that he
had captured). It was named after his patron
saint Saint Peter. He forbade the building
of stone edifices outside Saint Petersburg,
which he intended to become Russia's capital,
so that all stonemasons could participate
in the construction of the new city. Between
1713 and 1728 and in 1732–1918, Saint Petersburg
was the capital of imperial Russia.
Following several defeats, Polish King Augustus
II the Strong abdicated in 1706. Swedish king
Charles XII turned his attention to Russia,
invading it in 1708. After crossing into Russia,
Charles defeated Peter at Golovchin in July.
In the Battle of Lesnaya, Charles suffered
his first loss after Peter crushed a group
of Swedish reinforcements marching from Riga.
Deprived of this aid, Charles was forced to
abandon his proposed march on Moscow.Charles
XII refused to retreat to Poland or back to
Sweden and instead invaded Ukraine. Peter
withdrew his army southward, employing scorched
earth, destroying along the way anything that
could assist the Swedes. Deprived of local
supplies, the Swedish army was forced to halt
its advance in the winter of 1708–1709.
In the summer of 1709, they resumed their
efforts to capture Russian-ruled Ukraine,
culminating in the Battle of Poltava on 27
June. The battle was a decisive defeat for
the Swedish forces, ending Charles' campaign
in Ukraine and forcing him south to seek refuge
in the Ottoman Empire. Russia had defeated
what was considered to be one of the world's
best militaries, and the victory overturned
the view that Russia was militarily incompetent.
In Poland, Augustus II was restored as King.
Peter, overestimating the support he would
receive from his Balkan allies, attacked the
Ottoman Empire, initiating the Russo-Turkish
War of 1710. Peter's campaign in the Ottoman
Empire was disastrous, and in the ensuing
Treaty of the Pruth, Peter was forced to return
the Black Sea ports he had seized in 1697.
In return, the Sultan expelled Charles XII.
Normally, the Boyar Duma would have exercised
power during his absence. Peter, however,
mistrusted the boyars; he instead abolished
the Duma and created a Senate of ten members.
The Senate was founded as the highest state
institution to supervise all judicial, financial
and administrative affairs. Originally established
only for the time of the monarch's absence,
the Senate became a permanent body after his
return. A special high official, the Ober-Procurator,
served as the link between the ruler and the
senate and acted, in Peter own words, as "the
sovereign's eye". Without his signature no
Senate decision could go into effect; the
Senate became one of the most important institutions
of Imperial Russia.
Peter's northern armies took the Swedish province
of Livonia (the northern half of modern Latvia,
and the southern half of modern Estonia),
driving the Swedes into Finland. In 1714 the
Russian fleet won the Battle of Gangut. Most
of Finland was occupied by the Russians.
In 1716 and 1717, the Tsar revisited the Netherlands
and went to see Herman Boerhaave. He continued
his travel to the Austrian Netherlands and
France. Peter obtained the assistance of the
Electorate of Hanover and the Kingdom of Prussia.
The Tsar's navy was powerful enough that the
Russians could penetrate Sweden. Still, Charles
XII refused to yield, and not until his death
in battle in 1718 did peace become feasible.
After the battle near Åland, Sweden made
peace with all powers but Russia by 1720.
In 1721 the Treaty of Nystad ended the Great
Northern War. Russia acquired Ingria, Estonia,
Livonia, and a substantial portion of Karelia.
In turn, Russia paid two million Riksdaler
and surrendered most of Finland. The Tsar
retained some Finnish lands close to Saint
Petersburg, which he had made his capital
in 1712.
=== Later years ===
Peter's last years were marked by further
reform in Russia. On 22 October 1721, soon
after peace was made with Sweden, he was officially
proclaimed Emperor of All Russia. Some proposed
that he take the title Emperor of the East,
but he refused. Gavrila Golovkin, the State
Chancellor, was the first to add "the Great,
Father of His Country, Emperor of All the
Russias" to Peter's traditional title Tsar
following a speech by the archbishop of Pskov
in 1721. Peter's imperial title was recognized
by Augustus II of Poland, Frederick William
I of Prussia, and Frederick I of Sweden, but
not by the other European monarchs. In the
minds of many, the word emperor connoted superiority
or pre-eminence over kings. Several rulers
feared that Peter would claim authority over
them, just as the Holy Roman Emperor had claimed
suzerainty over all Christian nations.
In 1717 Alexander Bekovich-Cherkassky led
the first Russian military expedition into
Central Asia against the Khanate of Khiva.
The expedition ended in complete disaster
when the entire expeditionary force was slaughtered.
In 1718 Peter investigated why the formerly
Swedish province of Livonia was so orderly.
He discovered that the Swedes spent as much
administering Livonia (300 times smaller than
his empire) as he spent on the entire Russian
bureaucracy. He was forced to dismantle the
province's government.After 1718, Peter established
colleges in place of the old central agencies
of government, including foreign affairs,
war, navy, expense, income, justice, and inspection.
Later others were added. Each college consisted
of a president, a vice-president, a number
of councilors and assessors, and a procurator.
Some foreigners were included in various colleges
but not as president. Peter believed he did
not have enough loyal and talented persons
to put in full charge of the various departments.
Peter preferred to rely on groups of individuals
who would keep check on one another. Decisions
depended on the majority vote.
In 1722 Peter created a new order of precedence
known as the Table of Ranks. Formerly, precedence
had been determined by birth. To deprive the
Boyars of their high positions, Peter directed
that precedence should be determined by merit
and service to the Emperor. The Table of Ranks
continued to remain in effect until the Russian
monarchy was overthrown in 1917.
Peter decided that all of the children of
the nobility should have some early education,
especially in the areas of sciences. Therefore,
on 28 February 1714, he issued a decree calling
for compulsory education, which dictated that
all Russian 10- to 15-year-old children of
the nobility, government clerks, and lesser-ranked
officials must learn basic mathematics and
geometry, and should be tested on the subjects
at the end of their studies.The once powerful
Persian Safavid Empire to the south was heavily
declining. Taking advantage of the profitable
situation, Peter launched the Russo-Persian
War of 1722-1723, otherwise known as "The
Persian Expedition of Peter the Great", which
drastically increased Russian influence for
the first time in the Caucasus and Caspian
Sea region, and prevented the Ottoman Empire
from making territorial gains in the region.
After considerable success and the capture
of many provinces and cities in the Caucasus
and northern mainland Persia, the Safavids
were forced to hand over territory to Russia,
comprising Derbent, Shirvan, Gilan, Mazandaran,
Baku, and Astrabad. However, within twelve
years all the territories would be ceded back
to Persia, now led by the charismatic military
genius Nader Shah, as part of the Treaties
of Resht and Ganja respectively, and the Russo-Persian
alliance against the Ottoman Empire, which
was the common enemy of both.Peter introduced
new taxes to fund improvements in Saint Petersburg.
He abolished the land tax and household tax
and replaced them with a poll tax. The taxes
on land and on households were payable only
by individuals who owned property or maintained
families; the new head taxes, however, were
payable by serfs and paupers. In 1725 the
construction of Peterhof, a palace near Saint
Petersburg, was completed. Peterhof (Dutch
for "Peter's Court") was a grand residence,
becoming known as the "Russian Versailles".
=== Religion ===
Peter was deeply religious, being brought
up in the Russian Orthodox faith, but he had
low regard for the Church hierarchy, which
he kept under tight governmental control.
The traditional leader of the Church was the
Patriarch of Moscow. In 1700, when the office
fell vacant, Peter refused to name a replacement,
allowing the Patriarch's Coadjutor (or deputy)
to discharge the duties of the office. Peter
could not tolerate the patriarch exercising
power superior to the Tsar, as indeed had
happened in the case of Philaret (1619–33)
and Nikon (1652-66). Peter therefore abolished
the Patriarchy, replacing it with a Holy Synod
that was under the control of a senior bureaucrat,
and the Tsar appointed all bishops.
In 1721 Peter followed the advice of Theophan
Prokopovich in designing the Holy Synod as
a council of ten clergymen. For leadership
in the church, Peter turned increasingly to
Ukrainians, who were more open to reform,
but were not well loved by the Russian clergy.
Peter implemented a law that stipulated that
no Russian man could join a monastery before
the age of 50. He felt that too many able
Russian men were being wasted on clerical
work when they could be joining his new and
improved army.A clerical career was not a
route chosen by upper-class society. Most
parish priests were sons of priests, were
very poorly educated, and very poorly paid.
The monks in the monasteries had a slightly
higher status; they were not allowed to marry.
Politically, the church was impotent.
== Marriages and family ==
Peter the Great had two wives, with whom he
had fourteen children, three of whom survived
to adulthood. Peter's mother selected his
first wife, Eudoxia Lopukhina, with the advice
of other nobles in 1689. This was consistent
with previous Romanov tradition by choosing
a daughter of a minor noble. This was done
to prevent fighting between the stronger noble
houses and to bring fresh blood into the family.
He also had a mistress from Germany, Anna
Mons.Upon his return from his European tour
in 1698, Peter sought to end his unhappy marriage.
He divorced the Tsaritsa and forced her to
join a convent. The Tsaritsa had borne Peter
three children, although only one, Alexei
Petrovich, Tsarevich of Russia, had survived
past his childhood.
He took Martha Skavronskaya, a Polish-Lithuanian
peasant, as a mistress some time between 1702
and 1704. Martha converted to the Russian
Orthodox Church and took the name Catherine.
Though no record exists, Catherine and Peter
are described as having married secretly between
23 Oct and 1 Dec 1707 in St. Petersburg. Peter
valued Catherine and married her again (this
time officially) at Saint Isaac's Cathedral
in Saint Petersburg on 19 February 1712.
His eldest child and heir, Alexei, was suspected
of being involved in a plot to overthrow the
Emperor. Alexei was tried and confessed under
torture during questioning conducted by a
secular court. He was convicted and sentenced
to be executed. The sentence could be carried
out only with Peter's signed authorization,
and Alexei died in prison, as Peter hesitated
before making the decision. Alexei's death
most likely resulted from injuries suffered
during his torture. Alexei's mother Eudoxia
had also been punished; she was dragged from
her home and tried on false charges of adultery.
A similar fate befell Peter's earlier mistress,
Anna Mons, in 1704.
In 1724 Peter had his second wife, Catherine,
crowned as Empress, although he remained Russia's
actual ruler. All of Peter's male children
had died.
=== Issue ===
By his two wives, he had fourteen children.
These included three sons named Pavel and
three sons named Peter, all of whom died in
infancy.
=== Death ===
In the winter of 1723, Peter, whose overall
health was never robust, began having problems
with his urinary tract and bladder. In the
summer of 1724 a team of doctors performed
surgery releasing upwards of four pounds of
blocked urine. Peter remained bedridden until
late autumn. In the first week of October,
restless and certain he was cured, Peter began
a lengthy inspection tour of various projects.
According to legend, in November, at Lakhta
along the Finnish Gulf to inspect some ironworks,
Peter saw a group of soldiers drowning near
shore and, wading out into near-waist deep
water, came to their rescue.This icy water
rescue is said to have exacerbated Peter's
bladder problems and caused his death. The
story, however, has been viewed with skepticism
by some historians, pointing out that the
German chronicler Jacob von Stählin is the
only source for the story, and it seems unlikely
that no one else would have documented such
an act of heroism. This, plus the interval
of time between these actions and Peter's
death seems to preclude any direct link.
In early January 1725, Peter was struck once
again with uremia. Legend has it that before
lapsing into unconsciousness Peter asked for
a paper and pen and scrawled an unfinished
note that read: "Leave all to ..." and then,
exhausted by the effort, asked for his daughter
Anna to be summoned.Peter died between four
and five in the morning 8 February 1725. An
autopsy revealed his bladder to be infected
with gangrene. He was fifty-two years, seven
months old when he died, having reigned forty-two
years. He is interred in Saints Peter and
Paul Cathedral, Saint Petersburg, Russia.
=== Ancestors ===
== 
Popular culture ==
Peter has been featured in many books, plays,
films, and games, including the poems The
Bronze Horseman, Poltava and the unfinished
novel The Moor of Peter the Great, all by
Alexander Pushkin. The former dealt with The
Bronze Horseman, an equestrian statue raised
in Peter's honour. Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy
wrote a biographical historical novel about
him, named Pëtr I, in the 1930s.
The 1922 German silent film Peter the Great
directed by Dimitri Buchowetzki and starring
Emil Jannings as Peter
The 1937-1938 Soviet Union (Russia) film Peter
the First
The 1976 film Skaz pro to, kak tsar Pyotr
arapa zhenil (How Tsar Peter the Great Married
Off His Moor), starring Aleksey Petrenko as
Peter, and Vladimir Vysotsky as Abram Petrovich
Gannibal, shows Peter's attempt to build the
Baltic Fleet.
The 2007 film The Sovereign's Servant depicts
the unsavoury brutal side of Peter during
the campaign.
Peter was played by Jan Niklas and Maximilian
Schell in the 1986 NBC miniseries Peter the
Great.
A character based on Peter plays a major role
in The Age of Unreason, a series of four alternate
history novels written by American science
fiction and fantasy author Gregory Keyes.
Peter is one of many supporting characters
in Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle – mainly
featuring in the third novel, The System of
the World.
Peter was portrayed on BBC Radio 4 by Isaac
Rouse as a boy, Will Howard as a young adult
and Elliot Cowan as an adult in the radio
plays Peter the Great: The Gamblers and Peter
the Great: The Queen of Spades, written by
Mike Walker and which were the last two plays
in the first series of Tsar. The plays were
broadcast on 25 September and 2 October 2016.
== See also ==
Government reform of Peter the Great
History of the administrative division of
Russia
Russian battlecruiser Pyotr Velikiy, a Russian
Navy battle cruiser named after Peter the
Great
History of Russia (1721–96)
Rulers of Russia family tree
Peter the Great Statue
Military history of the Russian Empire § Peter
the Great, on the modernization of the Russian
military under Peter the Great
List of people known as "the Great"
== Notes ==
=== 
Footnotes ===
=== Citations
