Sophia Alekseevna, the half-sister of Peter the Great, was the first woman to tule Russia. In 1682, ten-year-old Peter and his mentally retarded brother Ivan were declared joint tsars with 25 year old Sophia as their regent. The regency lasted for seven years until Sophia was ousted by Peter and dispatched to a convent for the last 15 years of her life.

Sophia, Regent of Russia: 1657-1704

Biographies & Memoirs

Hughes, Dr. Lindsey

Historical

Yale University Press

Relying on newly available sources, a professor of Russian history at the University of London recounts the history of the Russia of Peter the Great and reconsiders the tsar's legacy as a modernizer and reformer in an illustrated, thematic account. UP.

Russia in the Age of Peter the Great

History

Russia

Peter the Great, often known as the Tsar Reformer, initiated a program of modernization and Westernization that affected the lives of all his subjects. He founded a new capital, St. Petersburg, which became a symbol of cultural change, and a navy, which signaled Russia’s emergence as a maritime power. He also reinforced the old institutions of serfdom and autocracy. This magisterial book—a history of Peter and the Russia he governed—examines the impact of a man who was both acclaimed as the architect of the New Russia and condemned as a crude despot who sacrificed cherished traditions for the sake of international success. Drawing on previously unavailable sources, Lindsey Hughes provides an engrossing account of one of the most significant periods in Russian history. She proceeds thematically, discussing Russia’s foreign policy, the army and navy, economy, governing institutions, society, arts, education, and religion. She explores the experience of women and investigates the life of the court (including Peter’s “All-Drunken Assembly”), feasts, entertainments, and popular culture. Although the book is not a biography, Peter is a vivid presence throughout—a six-foot-seven-inch giant who enjoyed the company of dwarfs and ordinary people, adopted disguises and pseudonyms, married a peasant, and had a passion for cultural reform. Hughes recounts the events that shaped Peter’s youth, provides an intimate character sketch, and explores his complex family relations (including the tragic conflict with his eldest son Alexis, whom he condemned to death). Her account closes with a reconsideration of the Petrine legacy from Peter’s time to our own, as his name and image become harnessed to sell beer and cigarettes and the erection of his statue provokes recent controversy.

Hughes, Lindsey

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Books by Hughes, Dr. Lindsey

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Hughes, Dr. Lindsey. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Sophia, Regent of Russia: 1657-1704

Russia in the Age of Peter the Great

Russia in the Age of Peter the Great