Peter the Great

Book Categories: Peter I, Fiction, DVDs

Peter the Great

Peter the Great by Lindsey Hughes. Drawing on his letters and papers, and other contemporary accounts, this biography provides new insights into Peter's character and his relationships with his second wife, Catherine, and his favorite, Alexander Menshikov.

Peter the Great by Robert K. Massie. Tells the magnificent story of Peter the Great, who brought Russia from the darkness of its own Middle Ages into the Enlightenment.

Peter the Great by Derek Wilson. Russian tsar Peter the Great (1672-1725) grew up amid violent court rivalries. He gained power at the age of 17 by ousting his half-sister Sophia. Peter was, of necessity, ruthless and tyrannical, but he modernized Russia and created a new Europe.

Peter the Great by Paul Bushkovitch. A fresh view of Peter the Great's reign based on the history of his relationship with the boyar aristocracy.

The Revolution of Peter the Great by James Cracraft. Analyzes how the tsar's famous reforms took root and spread in Russia as nothing less than a cultural revolution.

Sophia, Regent of Russia, 1657-1704 by Lindsey Hughes. Biography of Peter the Great's half sister.

The Transfigured Kingdom: Sacred Parody and Charismatic Authority at the Court of Peter the Great by Ernest A. Zitser. Argues that the carnivalesque (and often obscene) activities of the tsar's Most Comical All-Drunken Council helped guarantee his authority over church affairs.

Peter the Great by Diane Stanley. Biography for children ages 4 to 8.

Fiction

The Tsar's Dwarf by Peter H. Fogtdal, translated by Tiina Nunnally. Soerine, a dwarf from Denmark, becomes a jester at the court of Peter the Great.

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Documentaries and Movies

These DVDs are formatted for North American audiences.

Peter the Great: The Tyrant Reformer. This documentary from A&E's Biography series draws on archival material and the research of scholars to explore the life of the czar who modernized his vast country.

More Videos & DVDs About Russian Royal History