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Early 1600s- Russia was still in a medieval state
Russia still remained untouched by the Renaissance Era, or Reformation, which caused them to be behind with the modernazations of the world. -
Peter the Great takes throne
(date is unknown) At age 10 Peter takes the throne but does not rule until later on -
Peter seeks to learn
(exact date unknown) Sets out to learn Western ways himself. Spent hours just walking around watching and observing people's manners and home. Learned anatomy from a doctor and even learned how to extract teeth from a dentist. -
Peter and the Northern War
War began with Peter and Sweden dominated the Baltic region at the time. -
Vitus Bering hired
(exact date unknown) Peter hired Danish investigator Vitus Bering in the early 1700s to explore the Bering Strait between Siberia and Alaska -
Peter's victory
Finally Peter defeated the Swedish and gained the territory along the Baltic Sea -
Peter the Great dies
Peter the Great dies in Saint Petersburg, Russia -
A Royal Daughter is Born
Sophie Friederike Auguste or Catherine II was born in Szczecin, Poland. -
Catherine travels to Russia with her mother
Catherine goes to Russia at the age of 15 and meets the Grand Duke. -
Unhappy Marriage with the Grand Duke
Catherine marries the Grand Duke and she becomes a grand duchess, and they become a very unhappy couple. Their relationship consisted of distance, cheating, and fighting. Peter always preferred to play with toy soldiers and act immature instead of spending time with Catherine. While they were distant, Catherine spent her time reading severely. -
Catherine's son, Paul, is born
Finally Catherine produces a heir, Paul. There were many different possibilities on who Paul's father could have been, either great scholars or Pter himself, but a Russian noble by the name Sergei Saltykov was believed to be Paul's father. Many people claimed that Paul looked so much like Peter, which had led them to believe that Peter was Paul's father. Catherine barely spent time with her son, because Elizabeth had taken over raising the child and looking after him. -
Catherine the great ; Becomes Russian Empress
Reign: became the Russian empress in 1762.
Under her reign: Russia modernized and expanded its territories
Catherine immediately gets to work to reconstruct her country. Catherine worked on developing arts, education, and music.