I'm going to go. He's

a-a-ra-s-s-s-s-a-s-s-a-s-a-s- Welcome to the Russian rulers podcast, episode 38. But there is still so much to do.

Last episode, Peter saw his son Alexis,

aired to the throne of Russia, buckle under the pressure of being the child of a living legend.

The Tsarevich, accused of treason, supposedly plotting the overthrow of his father, is executed for his actions. In addition, Charles the

12th of Sweden, a sworn enemy of Russia, died suddenly from a stray bullet that

struck him dead while riding a horse during a battle.

He died a warrior's death, which even brought tears to Tsar Peter's eyes.

By 1718, Peter had been

for 36 years, with the last 22 years being the sole ruler

after the death of his brother Ivan the fifth.

He had been taking his country screaming and fighting out of the old ways of Muscovite Russia

and forced them to Western eyes, whether they liked it or not.

But years of hard living were taking their toll on Peter.

His non-stop lifestyle, along with hard drinking, was wearing down his body, but not his mind.

But there was still so much to do.

Russia still wasn't fully prepared for the international stage. They still needed to

defeat Sweden and to forge diplomatic alliances and to train their people to be

able to handle this large role in Europe. But no one out there really wanted to butt heads

with Peter the Great, even if his country wasn't ready for the big time. While many in Europe still

viewed him as a barbarian, he was a dangerous and powerful one.

The other maritime powers would be beginning to put up barriers in front of the ever-expanding Russians, spearheaded by the British and Hanoverian

...