
Read all the sections, including the linked primary material, on the following site:
Listen to some of these suggested multi-media lectures from the series A History of Russia by Professor Michael Petrovich (recorded in 1987 before the Soviet Union dissolved), published on the web site of the Center for Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (N.B.: You will need Realplayer 5.0 to listen and view the lectures):
Russia and St. Petersburg on the Map.
Russian Geography (8:11 min.). Recorded multi-media lecture by Professor Michael Petrovich.
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Primary Sources, Scholarly and General Articles on Peter the Great
(in Russian)
Back to the SOAR course page: "St. Petersburg, Russia"
To the page: "St. Petersburg: Miracle, Mystery, Authority"
To "Dr. R. Kreuzer's Russian Web Page"
Last update: 3/14/05
Before Peter the Great Took Power. Moscow. The Kremlin. The Romanov Dynasty. The Church.
People Associated with Peter the Great
Places Associated with Peter the Great
Peter Creates a Military and Naval Power
Peter Builds a Civil Society
Founding and Growth of St. Petersburg
Life in Peter's Petersburg
Peter's Death and Legacy
Primary Sources, Scholarly and General Articles on Peter the Great
Domostroi. Excerpts (in English) from this mid-16th century text that preaches on how to raise the kids, cure ailments, and how wives are supposed to be obedient to their husbands. From John Slatter's "Russian History Home Page."
Decree on Single Inheritance, March 23, 1714 . Translated by
Daniel Field. From theDocuments in Russian History site.
How Russians Celebrated the Year 1700: Proclamation on the
Introduction of a New Calendar, December 20, 1699.
Translated by Nathaniel Knight. From the Documents in Russian
History site.
*Peter the Great and the Rise of Russia, 1682-1725. From the Modern History Source Book. Contains these articles: Bishop Burnet, "Peter the Great 1698"; Von Korb, "Diary 1698-99 "; General Alexander Gordon, "History of Peter the Great, 1718"; Jean Rousset de Missy, "Life of Peter the Great, c. 1730".
*Will of Peter the Great. "In which he prescribes to his successors
the course which they ought to follow in order to acquire universal
dominion."
Pavel Miliukov on the reforms of Peter the Great.
Translated by Nathaniel Knight. From the Documents in Russian
History site.
*Peter's Russia. Lecture by Professor Gerhard Rempel, Western New England College.
Peter and Russian History. Lecture by Professor Gerhard Rempel, Western New England College.
*Peter the Great Part 1 (10:15 min.)
*Peter the Great Part 2 (12:56 min.)
*Peter the Great Part 3 (9:09 min.)
Early Imperial Russia. From countrystudies.us/russia. Read the section on "Peter the Great and the Russian Empire."
*Peter the Great (Peter Alexeevich). A page from the "Treasures of
the Tsars" from the St. Petersburg Times [Florida].
*The Romanovs. See the short section on Peter.
(From Interknowledge Corp.)
*History. A brief summary of Peter's reign and the building of St.
Petersburg, and those rulers who followed. (From Zulphiya.)
*Russia's Reforming Tsar: Peter the Great. From "Ursula's History
Web. Includes some words on "Peter's Visit to Western Europe."
Peter the Great: Peter as Frat-boy:drunken orgies, boat building, and dinner parties. From "History House: an irreverant history magazine."
Portrait of Peter the Great. Painted by Aleksey Antropov. On "Olga's Gallery" site.
Frontispiece for the "Book of Mars". With a portrait of Peter I,
1712 by A. Zubov. On the National Library of Russia site.
The Dust of Centuries. Here is a nice site on Peter...if you can
read Russian! (The pictures are interesting for anyone.)
Before Peter the Great Took Power
Moscow. The Kremlin. The Romanov Dynasty. The Church.
. Family tree (from Bucknell University site).
*Timeline. From "Face of Russia." WETA-TV. With RealPlayer you
can also get audio clips of some of the highlights along the timeline. Lots
of additional information if you click on the highlighted topics.
*History. From countrystudies.us/russia. Sections on: "The Early History," "The Inhabitants of the East European Plain," "The East Slavs and the Varangians," "The Golden Age of Kiev," "The Rise of Regional Centers," "The Mongol Invasion"
*History of Moscow. A page from The Moscow Guide.
*Muscovy. From countrystudies.us/russia. Sections on: "The Rise of Muscovy," "The evolution of the russian Aristocracy," "Ivan IV," "The Time of Troubles," "The Romanovs," "Expansion and Westernization."
State Historical Museum. Home page. Descriptions of collections.
Moscow the Third Rome. [Primary Source] Excerpts from the monk Filofei.
(On the University of Durham site.)
*The Kremlin. Copyright © 2001-2002 Moscow Hotels, JSC.
*Kremlin Tour. From The Moscow Guide.
*Moscow Kremlin. Home page. Includes: map, history, exhibitions, museum collections, etc. [in Russian]
17th Century Russia (7:55 min.). Recorded multi-media lecture by Professor Michael Petrovich.
*The Romanov Dynasty. An easily readable chart with all the appropriate personages--the actual rulers in red.
*The Russian Monarchy. A picture and brief text on each from Peter the Great through Nicholas II. From the State Museum at Tsarskoe selo. [Scroll down to pictures and texts]
*House of Romanov
*Russian Czars, 1613-1917; The Romanov Dynasty. How to "address" a
tsar. A brief family tree. From St. Petersburg Times "Treasures
of the Czars" site.
*Face to Face with the Czars. Takes you to information on all the
Romanov tsars and tsarinas (by century). Includes information about each
and a portrait of each: rulers
before Peter's time and rulers after Peter's time
Part I and
Part II. From St. Petersburg Times
"Treasures of the Czars" site.
Coins and Medals of Imperial Russia. Collection of coins and medals from Yale University. Includes brief descriptions of the tsars/tsarinas, along with their pictures (enlarged versions available). Closeups of the coins and medals also.
Cap of Monomakh of the Second Order. Picture (of the actual crown
Peter wore at his coronation). From the St. Petersburg Times
"Treasures of the Czars."
*The Treasures. Gallery tour or tsarist treasures
(crown, tapestry, icon cover, etc.). From
St. Petersburg Times [St. Petersburg, Florida!]
"Teasures of the Czars" site.
Did you know.... Some trivia from the St. Petersburg Times
site: "Treasures of the Czars."
Presidents and Czars. Answers the question: which Presidents of the US
where in office during the reign of which tsars and what were the major
events? From St. Petersburg Times "Treasures of the Czars" site.
The Christianization of Russia. From the Durham University's
Russian Department's home page. Story taken from The Primary
Chronicle.
The Russian Orthodox Church to 1453. From the Durham
University site. An overview = dates, events, etc.
*Russian Orthodox Church: Features and Practices. (Page from
the "Treasures of the Czars" site.)
*The Russian Church: An Overview. (Another page from the
"Treasures of the Czars" site.)
*Icons. Pictures and text © Alexander Boguslawski.
Icons of Old Russia:13th-17th centuries. A page from the Hermitage
Museum site (with a full description and picture of 4 different icons).
*What is an Icon?. Answer to this question from St. Petersburg
Times "Treasures of the Czars" site.
*Ikons: Windows into Heaven. Description of the history, the craft
of icons, along with some contemporary models. Site from Bob Atchison.
European History: Understanding Russian Icons. From the Milwaukee public
museum. (Reprint of an article by Lazar Brkich giving advice on puchasing icons.)
Novgorodian Icon Painting. From the Novgorod home page.
*The Use of Icons in the Russian Orthodox Church. A beautiful
little site with links and relevant bibliography. (By Denise
Denton.)
Color Icons. Brought together on the Orthodox Home page.
*Russian Icons: Index. 81 icons on this page to link to.
(From George Mitrevski.)
*The Trinity. Andrei Rublev's most famous icon.
Vologda Bells. Sound clip from "Face of Russia" from WETA-TV.
[You need RealAudio to hear this clip]
People Associated with Peter the Great
*Morning of the Streltsy. Painting by Vasily Surikov.
The Making of a Russian Nobleman. Article by Professor Gerhard Rempel, Western New England College.
The Education of a Russian Nobleman. Another article by Professor Gerhard Rempel, Western New England College.
Alexei Mikhailovich. A very brief introduction from the site "Treasures of the Czars."
*Samuel Collins on the Court of Aleksei Mikhailovich (1670).
(Eye witness account)
From the "Documents of Russian History" site.
Sofia Alexeevna. Ruler of Russia 1682-1689. From the
St. Petersburg Times site.
*Princess Sofia. Portrait by Ilya Repin.
Peter the Great's Family Values. From "History House: an irreverent history magazine."
Portrait of Alexei. (Peter the Great's son by Evdokia). Portrait by Johann Tannauer, 1710. From "A Colorful and Pictorial History."
*Peter Interogating his Son Alexis. Portrait by Nikolai Ge.
Catherine I, Empress of Russia. Robert Nisbet Bain,
Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th ed. 1910
Vol. 5 pgs. 525-526
Catherine I of Russia. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Great Russian Women: Catherine I. Brief notes from Microsoft Encarta.
Catherine I. Brief article from the site "Treasures of the Czars."
After Peter the Great: Struggles for the Throne
Portrait of Catherine I. by Ivan Nikitin. Posted on the Olga's Gallery site.
Russian Rulers. Wax image of Peter the Great and Catherine. Display in the museum in Simbirsk, Russia.
*Menshikov in Beriozovo. Portrait by Vasily Surikov.
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Places Associated with Peter the Great
*Kolomenskoe. A picture and a little bit of history about this place
from Katherine Lawson.
*Museum-Reserve Kolomenskoye. The home page of the museum complex.
Learn about the museum, the architectual monuments (16th, 17th cents.),
and treasures
there.
*Cabin of Peter The Great. Page from the Virtual Tour by Saint-Petersburg.com.
Peter's House. Built in three days for Peter in 1703. (From The
Fresh Guide to St. Petersburg. )
Cabin of Peter I. From the site "Saint-Petersburg_Hotels.com.
*Peter and Paul Fortress. From the Saint_Petersburg_Hotels.com.
*The Peter and Paul Fortress. A page from the Virtual Tour by
Saint-Petersburg.com.
*Peter and Paul Fortress. Lots of pictures from the site "Tickets
of Russia." Thumbnail pictures lead you to a larger view, plus text.
© The State Museum of History of St.Petersburg.
Peter and Paul Fortress. From the site "All about St. Petersburg for Tourists." [Has a nice map.]
Peter and Paul Fortress. From the Fresh Guide to St. Petersburg.
St. Peter and Paul Fortress. From the "Saint Petersbourg" site.
Peter and Paul Fortress. Pictures and a brief introduction from
Zulphiya.
*Peter Paul Fort. Beautiful photos by Petr Sobolev.
[Text in Russian]
*St. Peter and Paul Cathedral. Includes more text and pictures on
Cathedral Decorations for Burial Ceremonies, Burial for the last
Czar Nicholas II and his family, and Peter and Paul Fourtress. [From the
site
"Saint Petersbourg". This site is rich in pictures and text (on palaces,
churches and cathedrals, other buildings, monuments and squares.)] Hosted
by fortunecity.com. [site currently marred by pop-up ads]
*The Cathedral of the Apostles of Sts. Peter and Paul.
Photos by Boris Kuznetsov.
*Interior of Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg.
More photos by Boris Kuznetsov.
*Admiralty. From "Saint_Petersburg_Hotels.Com"
*Admiralty. A page from the Virtual Tour by Saint-Petersburg.com.
Admiralty. Brief introduction and a picture. (From Zulphiya)
Admiralty. Picture and text from "All about Saint Petersburg for tourists."
Admiralty. Photo taken from St. Isaac's Cathedral. Photo
from "Expo '96."
Admiralty. A night shot. Photo from "Expo '96."
The Admiralty Tower. A photo from St. Petersburg State
Technical University.
St. Petersburg, the Capital of the Russian Fleet. A history of
Peter's building the Russian Navy...centered at the Admiralty.
*Kronstadt. 300 years of its founding. Nice collection of views, old maps, old postcards, etc. and a good introduction to the history of the place from the time of Peter the Great.
Wandering Camera. Notes about St. Petersburg and its suburbs.
Album 118. Photos and text from Petr Sobolev.
Kronshtadt. A page from "All about Saint Petersburg for tourists."
*Vasilevsky Island Panorama. Wonderful pan of the area from Aleksei Korsakov.
*Welcome to Vasilevsky Island. Student page by Terence Too.
Gives some history, pictures and links.
*Vasilevsky Island. Another student page featuring the island. This one by R. Ryan.
*Stock Exchange. Information on the monuments on Vasilevsky
Island. A page from the Virtual Tour by Saint-Petersburg.com.
Strelka. A note on the spit from "The Fresh Guide to St. Petersburg."
Neva Near the Vasilevsky Island's Spit. From EXPO96 site.
*Russia's First Museum: The Kunstkamera. Student website by E. Seyse.
*Kunstkammer. Home page for the museum.
*Kunstkamera. Peter the Great's museum of oddities.
From the Fresh Guide to St. Petersburg.
Peter the Great's Oddities. From Jakob Staehlin. Original Anecdotes of Peter the Great. (New York: Arno Press, 1970), 92-93, 94-95, 234-235. Quoted from the Online source Mosaic Unit 11: Changing World Views / European Societies.
The Kunstkammer. Copyright © 2000 Optima Ltd. All rights reserved.
The Kunstkammer. From Tickets of Russia. [Nice picture]
Kunstkamera. Peter's "cabinet of curiosities." Dartmouth site.
Kunstkammer. St. Petersburg Architecture. University of Michigan. Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning.
Twelve Colleges. The Building of the Twelve Ministries in Saint Påtersburg. Third quarter of the XVIII century. Artist unknown. Posted on the Russian Museum site.
The Twelve Colleges. St. Petersburg in Architecture. University of Michigan. Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning.
St. Petersburg State University: The "Twelve Colleges" building. From Saint_Petersburg.com.
*Menshikov Palace. Home Page (from off the Hermitage Museum
Home Page). [Photos and text]
*Menshikov Palace. A page from the Virtual Tour by Saint-Petersburg.com.
The Menshikov Palace. Copyright © 2000 Optima Ltd. All rights
reserved.
Menshikov Palace. St. Petersburg in Architecture. University of Michigan. Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning.
The Palace of Peter I. Information about this unique 18th century
palace recently uncovered. From the Hermitage Museum home page.
*The Summer Garden and Summer Palace of Peter the Great.
A page from the Virtual Tour from Saint-Petersburg.com.
*The Summer Palace. St. Petersburg Architecture. University of Michigan. The Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning.
*Summer Palace. Pictures from Album #50 from "Wandering Camera."
*Summer Gardens and Summer Palace. Text from Fresh
Guide to St. Petersburg.
*Summer Gardens. Album 49 from "Wandering Camera."
Autumn in the Summer Gardens. A photo from St. Petersburg State
Technical University.
*The Treasures of Russia. Narrated visual tours of Peterhof: Palaces of the Tsars. Real Networks plug-in will allow you hear the narration for each exhibit; to experience the interactive panoramas, you need QuickTime. Tour the Romanov Gallery, Monplaisir, Assembly Hall, Drawing Room, Fountains, Grand Staircase, Dining with the Tsars, etc.
*The Fountains of Peterhof. About ~80 pictures! From "Tickets
of Russia."
*Peterhof. Home page for the museum. Contains good information and a wonderful assortment of pictures and
panoramic views and some short
movies of the place.
*Peterhof. Museum site [in Russian but full of great pictures, including what it looked like after WWII].
*Peterhof Fountains. Check out the next sections as well, also
of the fountains at Peterhof.] Especially beautiful, the
Petergof (Petrodvorets). A page from "All about Saint Petersburg for tourists." Includes a map.
Peterhof. From Saint_Petersburg_Hotels.com.
Wandering Camera: Notes about St. Petersburg and its Suburbs. Hundreds of great photographs by Peter Sobolev. See particularly:
*Peterhof. A page from the Virtual Tour by Saint-Petersburg.com.
*Peter I in "Mon Plaisir". Portrait of Peter by Valentin Serov.
Peterhof. From Saint_Petersburg_Hotels.com.
*Oranienbaum. Text, pictures and a map, plus links to some of the specific sites at the place. Fortune City. [Scroll to the pictures]
Lomonosov/Oranienbaum. Some pictures from the sight "Lindsay goes to Russia."
Lomonosov (Oranienbaum). From "All About Saint Petersburg for Tourists."
Oranienbaum. Copyright © 2003. Tour Classic.
Oranienbaum. Picture of the palace by H. Lehmann.
Oranienbaum. Pictures from "Wandering Camera."
Oranienbaum. Prince Menshikov's country residence.
Photo by William P. Tishler, 1999.
Lomonosov. Copyright © 1998-2001 Sergey Fedorov.
St. Petersburg: Suburbs: Lomonosov/Oranienbaum. Brief description
and a picture from travel.sp.ru
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Peter Creates a Military and Naval Power
Under the Romanovs. A page from the History of the Russian
Navy. Towards the end of this page you will encounter Peter I.
Peter I and the Azov Fleet. Learn about "The Great Northern
War" by reading these chapters:
*From Narva to Poltava,
Vyborg and Gangut,
In the Baltic, and
*The Legacy of Peter I. From
The History of the Russian Navy. From the publishing house "Alexander PRINT"
*St. Petersburg the Capital of Russian Fleet. Information
from EXPO96 (Neva.ru) on Petersburg as a marine city.
Central Naval Museum. Home page. History, collections, etc. (includes
Peter's boat that he built).
*From Narva to Poltava Definitely read this chapter (also listed just
above). A page from the History of the Russian Navy.
*The Battle at Narva. A brief description of the battle from Lina Hult.
The Battle of Narva". Site created by Magnus Källgren.
Narva. Painting of the attack on Narva (Nov.19, 1700). From
the site [in Russian] "The Dust of Centuries." [see above]
*Russia Under Peter the Great. Map (from SUNY Binghampton)
shows Poltava site and Peter's Russia.
*The Decline of a Great Power: The Battle of Poltava. From a history
of the Swedish encounter with Peter's troops by Lina Hult.
Battle of Poltava. Painting of the battle of Poltava (27 June,
1709) posted on the "The Dust of History" site [text in Russian]
Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. Icon carried into the Battle of Poltava.
From a page from Pallasweb.com.
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Peter Builds a Civil Society
Great Embassy. Peter's diplomatic mission to Western Europe
(from Alexey Shelomentsev and Arseny Tsaplev for "Ship History").
Table of Ranks. From the Bucknell University site.
Ways of Russian Orthodoxy. Chapter IV. The St. Petersubrg Revolution:
The Character of the Petrine Reforms. Scholarly work by George Florovsky. Published online by Myriobiblos (Church of Greece).
Founding and Growth of St. Petersburg
*Pre-history of St. Petersburg. Excellent site from saint-petersburg.com.
[Follow the path through this site to find information on:
*When and How was St. Petersburg Founded and
*St. Petersburg of Peter The Great.
*Tsarskoe Selo. See the first three chapters ("From the Earliest Times,"
"Swedish Domination," "Reconquest of Peter the Great") for the history of
this famous St. Petersburg area town and how it changed over Peter's reign.
Amazing St. Petersburg. The story of the building of Petersburg begins here [Click the "Forward" button at the bottom of the page to advance the story.]
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Life in Peter's Petersburg
*Modern History Sourcebook: Peter the Great and the Rise of Russia, 1682-1725.
Commentary from 1) Bishop Burnet, Peter the Great 1698, 2) Von Korb, Diary 1698-99, 3) General Alexander Gordon, History of Peter the Great, 1718, 4) Jean Rousset de Missy, Life of Peter the Great, c. 1730.
Peter the Great: Peter as Frat-boy: drunken orgies, boat building, and dinner parties. From History House, an irreverant history magazine.
Russia's Dark Enlightenment. An article from "History House: an irreverent history magazine." An interpretive history of the Russian Court before, during and after Peter's time.
Peter's Death and Legacy
*Will of Peter the Great. "In which he prescribes to his successors
the course which they ought to follow in order to acquire universal
dominion."
Tomb of Peter the Great. Photo.
*Peter the Great: 18th Century. From the Hermitage Museum site.
*Prehistoric Art: The Siberian Collection of Peter I. From the
Hermitage Museum site, showing Russia's first archeological collection which
Peter the Great assembled.
Coins and Medals of Imperial Russia - Peter I. Coins dedicated to Peter I. Collection of Coins and Medals Yale University Art Gallery.
(New statue to Peter the Great in Moscow). From "Wandering
Camera."
(Closeup of statue).
Tsar Carpenter. Statue erected in St.Petersburg a few years ago.
Full name: "Peter the I learns shipbuilding craft in the city of Saardam, in Holland in 1697." From the site "Wandering Camera."
Shemiakin statue. Controversial statue unveiled in 1990.
(closeup of Peter's hand). Dartmouth site.