In 1600 Russia was on the margins of European civilisation. The Russian state was limited to a small area around Moscow (the Kingdom of Muscovy). Beyond this were vast and empty plains, marshes and forests. Russia's development as a major European power would only begin in the early 18th. century with the reign of Tsar Peter I (Peter the Great).

© Shirley Burchill, Nigel Hughes, Richard Gale and Keith Woodall 2009