Peter the Great written by Robert K Massie.
Peter The Great lived from 1672 to 1725. During his reign, Peter the Great was the force to westernize Russia and move it from its medieval culture. Through wars with Sweden and its Baltic Sea empire, Peter won wars to allow Russian access to the Baltic Sea. By removing Swedish control of the Baltic Sea, Russia become a major European force.
In addition to access to the Baltic Sea, Peter also fought wars to get access to the Black Sea through the Ukraine and Crimea. Considering the headline news of the 21st century, it appears not much has changed in 400 years. Only the names have changed.
Note: Peter the Great was read as an eBook. The original hard back edition was 900 pages long. It took me almost the full three week library loan period to finish reading the ebook.
Thursday, May 1, 2014
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You're so right about the relevance of sea access. If Sweden and Denmark had a more enlightened foreign policy they would have seen the wisdom of giving Russia access to the Baltic sea without resistance. Trade would be facilitated and wars avoided. Likewise access to a warm water port in the Black sea. I support Russia taking Crimea. You may know that in our hemisphere a landlocked Bolivia fought a war trying to get sea access. Regretably,They lost. I think Chile should give them access---it would be better for all.
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