Peter the Great

The son of Tsar Alexis and his wife, Natalya Naryshkina, Peter inherited the throne of Russia at the mere age of ten. As Peter was not the first in line of succession, his half sister Sophia started a coup with the support of disloyal streltsy against the young Tsar. Some of Peter's relatives and friends had been murdered during this incursion. At the age of seventeen, Peter overthrew the regency and co-ruled over Russia with his half-brother Ivan V. Only with the death of his mother, Peter truly started to exercise power as the sovereign of Russia.\nHis reign was characterized by his many reforms which affected all parts of the Russian society. During his first years, the Tsar implemented several sweeping reforms aimed at modernizing Russia and bringing it closer to the Western European powers. As such, the court had a Western European inspired dress code while the military saw overhauling changes. As an enthusiast for ships ever since his young years, Peter founded the first official navy.\n\nPeter gained the nickname 'the Great' for his several government reforms and for the Tsardom's transformation into one of the leading Empires of Europe.