Editing Peter the Great (section)

===Great Northern War===
{{Main|Great Northern War}}
[[File:ZauerveydNA Petr1UsmirDA19.jpg|thumb|''Peter I of Russia pacifies his marauding troops after [[Siege of Narva (1704)|retaking Narva]] in 1704'', by [[Nikolay Sauerweid]], 1859|left]]
[[File:Museum IMG 1148 (603618024).jpg|thumb|Interior of Peter's log cabin]]
[[File:Peter benois.jpg|thumb|''Peter the Great Meditating the Idea of Building St Petersburg at the Shore of the Baltic Sea'', by [[Alexandre Benois]], 1916]]
[[File:Lomonosov Poltava 1762 1764.jpg|thumb|''Peter I in the [[Battle of Poltava]]'', a mosaic by [[Mikhail Lomonosov]]]]
[[File:1st Winter Palace.jpg|thumb|First Winter Palace by [[Alexey Zubov]] ]]

Peter made a [[Treaty of Constantinople (1700)|temporary peace]] with the Ottoman Empire that allowed him to keep the captured fort of Azov, and turned his attention to Russian maritime supremacy. He sought to acquire control of the Baltic Sea, which had been taken by the [[Swedish Empire]] a half-century earlier. Peter declared war on Sweden, which was at the time led by the young King [[Charles XII of Sweden|Charles XII]]. Sweden was also opposed by [[Denmark–Norway]], [[Electorate of Saxony|Saxony]], and the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]]. The [[Preobrazhensky regiment]] took part in all major battles of the Great Northern War.

Russia was ill-prepared to fight the Swedes, and their first attempt at seizing the Baltic coast ended in disaster at the [[Battle of Narva (1700)|Battle of Narva]] in 1700. In the conflict, the forces of Charles XII, rather than employ a slow methodical siege, attacked immediately using a blinding snowstorm to their advantage. After the battle, Charles XII decided to concentrate his forces against the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, which gave Peter time to reorganize the Russian army and conquered [[Nyenschantz]] in the [[Ingria|Ingrian campaign]]. Bidloo had to organize a military hospital. [[Robert Bruce (1668–1720)|Robert Bruce]] was appointed [[commander-in-chief]] of St. Petersburg. After the defeat at Narva, Peter I gave the order to melt the [[church bell]]s into cannons and mortars. In 1701, Peter ordered the construction of Novodvinsk Fortress north of Archangelsk. Everybody was convinced they knew: his Majesty will wage war.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Peter I (Peter the Great) & Solovki |url=http://www.solovki.ca/english/pet.php |website=www.solovki.ca}}</ref> In the [[siege of Nöteborg (1702)|siege of Nöteborg]] Russian forces captured the Swedish fortress, renamed [[Shlisselburg Fortress|Shlisselburg]]. In 1702 Peter the Great established the Olonets Shipyard at [[Lodeynoye Pole]], where [[Russian frigate Shtandart]] was built.

While the Poles fought the Swedes, Peter founded the city of [[Saint Petersburg]] on [[29 June]] 1703 on [[Hare Island (Saint Petersburg)|Hare Island]]. He forbade the building of stone edifices outside Saint Petersburg, which he intended to become Russia's capital, so that all stonemasons could participate in the construction of the new city. While the city was being built along the [[Neva]] he lived in a modest three-room log cabin (with a study but without a fire-place) which had to make room for the first version of the [[Winter Palace]]. The first buildings which appeared were a shipyard at the [[Admiralty, Saint Petersburg|Admiralty]], [[Kronstadt]] (1704-1706) and the [[Peter and Paul Fortress]] (1706). Peter took his whole family on a boat trip to Kronstadt.<ref>E.V. Anisimov, 2002, p. 56.</ref>

Following several defeats, Polish King [[Augustus II the Strong]] abdicated in 1706. Swedish king Charles XII turned his attention to Russia, invading it in 1708. After crossing into Russia, Charles defeated Peter at [[Battle of Holowczyn|Golovchin]] in July. In the [[Battle of Lesnaya]], Charles suffered his first loss after Peter crushed a group of Swedish reinforcements marching from [[Riga]]. Deprived of this aid, Charles was forced to abandon his proposed march on Moscow.{{Sfn|Massie|1980|p=453}}

Charles XII refused to retreat to Poland or back to Sweden and instead invaded [[Ukraine]]. Peter withdrew his army southward, employing [[scorched earth]], destroying along the way anything that could assist the Swedes. Deprived of local supplies, the Swedish army was forced to halt its advance in the winter of 1708–1709. In the summer of 1709, they resumed their efforts to capture [[Left-bank Ukraine|Russian-ruled Ukraine]], culminating in the [[Battle of Poltava]] on 27 June. The battle was a decisive defeat for the Swedish forces, ending Charles' campaign in Ukraine and forcing him south to seek refuge in the Ottoman Empire. Russia had defeated what was considered to be one of the world's best militaries, and the victory overturned the view that Russia was militarily incompetent. In Poland, Augustus II was restored as King.

Peter, overestimating the support he would receive from his Balkan allies, attacked the Ottoman Empire, initiating the [[Russo-Turkish War (1710–1711)|Russo-Turkish War of 1710]].{{Sfn|Riasanovsky|2000|p=224}} Peter's campaign in the Ottoman Empire was disastrous, and in the ensuing [[Treaty of the Pruth]], Peter was forced to return the Black Sea ports he had seized in 1697.{{Sfn|Riasanovsky|2000|p=224}} In return, the Sultan expelled Charles XII. The Ottomans called him ''Mad Peter'' ({{Langx|tr|deli Petro}}), for his willingness to sacrifice large numbers of his troops in wartime.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rory |first=Finnin |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1314897094 |title=Blood of Others: Stalin's Crimean Atrocity and the Poetics of Solidarity |publisher=University of Toronto Press |date=2022 |isbn=978-1-4875-3700-5 |location=Toronto |oclc=1314897094}}</ref>

Peter's northern armies took the Swedish province of [[Duchy of Livonia (1629–1721)|Livonia]] (the northern half of modern [[Latvia]], and the southern half of modern [[Estonia]]), driving the Swedes out of [[Swedish Finland|Finland]]. In 1714, the Russian fleet won the [[Battle of Gangut]]. During the [[Great Wrath]] most of Finland was occupied by Russian forces.