Peter the Great
Peter was a grandson of Tzar Michael Romanov (who was chosen to be a Tzar in 1613). In 1682, at the age of 10, Peter was proclaimed Tzar, but due to a power struggle between different political forces he had to rule together with his brother Ivan under the patronage of his sister Sofia. In 1689, after the failure of a coup d'etat, Sofia was overthrown and exiled to a convent. When tzar Ivan died in 1696, Peter remained monarch and engineered a series of reforms that were to put Russia among the major European powers. Peter opened Russia to the West. He invited the best European engineers, shipbuilders, architects, craftsmen and merchants to come to Russia. Hundreds of Russians were sent to Europe to get the best education and learn different arts and crafts.
http://www.cityvision2000.com/history/peterthe.htm
http://www.pinkmonkey.com/studyguides/subjects/euro_his/chap2/e0202801.htm
http://www.historyhouse.com/in_history/peter/
Peter the Great
http://www.historyhouse.com/in_history/peter_alexis/
Peter the Great's Family Values
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/petergreat.html
Peter the Great and the Rise of Russia, 1682-1725
http://www2.sptimes.com/Treasures/TC.2.3.6.html
PETER THE GREAT (PETER ALEXEEVICH)
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~russ15/russia_PI/peter_great.html
The advent of Peter the Great and Petersburg
http://www.carpenoctem.tv/military/peter.html
http://www.petersburg-russia.org/peter-the-great/
http://www.didyouknow.cd/peter.htm
Peter the Great taxed people for growing beards
http://www.nmm.ac.uk/site/request/setTemplate:singlecontent/contentTypeA/conWebDoc/contentId/158/navId/00500300f005
Peter the Great, reigned 1682-1725
http://history.binghamton.edu/hist130/maps/russia-1.htm
