Peter the Great - A History of the Russian Empire

After ousting his regent of an older half sister in 16 89, 17 year old peter romanof started wielding power as czar. The reason this would have struck contemporaries as so surprising and unpredictable is that young peter showed almost no interest in court life. Peter was supremely dissatisfied with what he considered to be the backwardness of russian science, culture and society. His personal obsession with all things maritime would dominate his foreign policy outlook. He saw landlocked russia as being held back from true greatness until it stopped being landlocked. In 16 96, the russians successfully captured the port city of azov,. And while this was a great victory for peter