17th Century. Peter the Great. The Great Embassy. The Streltsy Riot in Moscow.
17th Century. The Grand Embassy of Peter I. The Streltsy Revolt in Moscow
Late 17th century. The young Tsar Peter I dreams of transforming Russia into a modern power with an invincible army and navy. To this end, he begins building ships and conquers Azov. But this isn't enough; Peter needs access to the open sea. One problem: he will have to recapture the Black Sea coast from the Turks. But the Ottoman Empire is a powerful adversary, difficult to defeat alone. Peter I hopes to find allies in Europe and dispatches the
Grand Embassy there. However, this trip will be unexpectedly interrupted by news of the Streltsy revolt.
After watching this episode, you will learn: what secret goal did the Grand Embassy pursue? Why, after its return, did rumors spread throughout Moscow that the Tsar had been replaced? And how did the Russian autocrat punish the rebellious Streltsy?
This and much more is covered in this series of the “Russian History” project.