Peter the Great - Absolute Power

Peter the Great ruled Russia with absolute power.  So did all the succeeding Romanov-dynasty Tsars, until Nicholas II. 

The sheer force of Peter's will, exerted on many levels, had changed Russia forever.  By the 19th century, when a writer called Fyodor Dostoevsky was creating some of Russia's greatest literature, St. Petersburg - the city a Tsar had envisioned - was taking on a new role as a sort of "character" in Dostoevsky's novels.

See, also:

Peter the Great - Tsar of All the Russians

Peter the Great Envisions St. Petersburg

Peter the Great and the West

Peter the Great and St. Petersburg

Credits

Clip from "Russia:  Land of the Tsars," online courtesy A&E.  Copyright, A&E Television Networks, all rights reserved.  Clip provided here as fair use for educational purposes.