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AR Kopek
Struck: <1702
Mint: Moscow
Size: 10x6mm
Weight: 0.25g
Die Axis: ~180°
Grade: aVF
Ref:
Obv: Horse and rider, spear from one side, date in Cyrillic numerals below.
Rev: Cyrillic inscriptions in 5 lines: TSAR PYOTR ALEXEYEVICH.
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Peter the Great ruled jointly with his brother Ivan V from 1682, when Ivan died in 1696, Peter was officially declared Sovereign of all Russia. He inherited a nation that was severely underdeveloped compared to the culturally prosperous European countries. While the Renaissance and the Reformation swept through Europe, Russia rejected westernization and remained isolated from modernization.
During his reign, Peter undertook extensive reforms in an attempt to reestablish Russia as a great nation. Peter overcame opposition from the country's medieval aristocracy and initiated a series of changes that affected all areas of Russian life. He created a strong navy, reorganized his army according to Western standards, secularized schools, administered greater control over the reactionary Orthodox Church, and introduced new administrative and territorial divisions of the country. The development of science, commerce and industry was greaty advanced under his reign.
Peter acquired territory in Estonia, Latvia and Finland; and through several wars with Turkey in the south, he secured access to the Black Sea. In 1712, Peter established the city of St. Petersburg on the Neva River and moved the capital there from its former location in Moscow.
Although he proved to be an effective leader, Peter was also known to be cruel and tyrannical. The high taxes that often accompanied his various reforms led to revolts among citizens, which were immediately suppressed by the imposing ruler. Peter married twice and had 11 children, many of whom died in infancy. The eldest son from his first marriage, Alexis, was convicted of high treason by his father and secretly executed in 1718. Peter the Great died on February 8, 1725, without nominating an heir. He is entombed in the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul, located in in St. Petersburg.
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