Peter the Great

Born in 1672, Peter the Great is one of Russia’s most famous tsars. With the help of his half-sister Sophia he ruled for 12 years from 1682 until 1694 when he finally got rid of the pesky whisper in his ear that was his power hungry half-sister, by forcing her into a convent. Free to rule the Russian empire alone Peter the Great went on to lead Russia into battle in the Crimea and Swedish Finland, as well as creating Russia’s mighty fleet and founding this great city of St. Petersburg. In between all this hard work, Peter also got up to a lot of travelling, shipbuilding, torture and of course drinking. Here are just some of the wilder stories that surround Russia’s hard-partying tsar.