Peter the Great

9 June 1672 – 8 February 1725

Peter I (1672-1725), known as Peter the Great, was Tsar and later the first Emperor of Russia, ruling from 1682 until his death. He modernized Russia along Western European lines, built a navy, won the Great Northern War against Sweden, and founded the new capital of Saint Petersburg, transforming Russia into a major European power.

Comparing
Compare

Lived at the same time

Well-documented people whose lives overlapped with Peter the Great.

Life events

Born in Moscow
9 June 1672

Peter was born on 9 June 1672 (New Style), the son of Tsar Alexis of Russia and Natalya Naryshkina.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Birth ✓
Proclaimed joint tsar with his half-brother Ivan V
June 1682

After the Moscow uprising of 1682, the ten-year-old Peter became co-tsar with Ivan V under the regency of his half-sister Sophia.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Career ✓
Became sole ruler of Russia
February 1696

Following the death of Ivan V in 1696, Peter became the sole tsar of Russia.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Career ✓
Led the Grand Embassy to Western Europe
March 1697 – August 1698

Peter traveled incognito through the Netherlands, England, and other countries to study shipbuilding, science, and Western institutions.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Relocation ✓
Founded Saint Petersburg
27 May 1703

Peter founded the city of Saint Petersburg on the Neva delta on 27 May 1703; it became the Russian capital.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Achievement ✓
Won the Battle of Poltava
8 July 1709

Peter's decisive victory over Charles XII of Sweden at Poltava on 8 July 1709 turned the tide of the Great Northern War.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Achievement ✓
Married Catherine (later Empress Catherine I)
February 1712

Peter officially married his second wife Catherine, a former servant of Livonian origin, in Saint Petersburg in 1712.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Relationship ✓
Concluded the Treaty of Nystad ending the Great Northern War
10 September 1721

The 1721 treaty with Sweden confirmed Russia's conquest of Estonia, Livonia, and Ingria, securing access to the Baltic Sea.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Achievement ✓
Proclaimed Emperor of All Russia
2 November 1721

In November 1721 Peter accepted the title of Emperor, formally establishing the Russian Empire.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Career ✓
Died in Saint Petersburg
8 February 1725

Peter the Great died on 8 February 1725 (New Style) without naming a successor; his wife succeeded him as Catherine I.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Death ✓