Moscow as the Center of the Russian World NYPL, Map Division

In 1689, after serving as regent over the two young co-tsars Ivan V (r. 1682–96) and Peter I (r. 1682–1725), Ivan’s sister (Peter’s half sister) Sofiia attempted to seize power for herself. However, the musketeers (strel’tsy) switched sides, and Peter’s side of the family proved victorious. Peter’s mother, Natalia Kirillovna Naryshkina (1651–1694), became the regent and instituted a regime of religiosity, favoritism, and enophobia—all of which her son detested. Peter possessed a ribald sense of humor, and with a group of friends he founded the Most Drunken Council of Fools and Jesters to ridicule formal Kremlin ceremonies, and the ornate Orthodox church rituals of Muscovy. Tired of his carousing, Peter’s mother arranged his marriage at age seventeen to the conservative and malicious Evdokia Lopukhina (1669–1731); he abandoned her after three months.

	A Mature Peter NYPL, Slavic and Baltic Division

Peter achieved sole power in 1696 and ruled until 1725. In those three decades, his dynamism transformed Russia from an isolated Orthodox realm into a secular empire with great power—an unprecedented achievement that earned him the title “the Great.”

Standing 6'7" tall, the tsar gave an impression of enormous strength and energy; he took long strides, his arms swung like a windmill, his conversation demonstrated his insatiable intellectual curiosity, and his will projected a determination to reform his state. Peter’s efforts were motivated by two elements: his desire for Russia’s westernization and his love of the military.