Russian Empire · 1682-1725

Peter the Great and St Petersburg

A very tall young tsar travels to Holland and England to learn shipbuilding, then builds a new capital on the marshes of the Baltic. Students follow Peter's journey and wars, and weigh the cost of his reforms for the people who built his city.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
50 minutes
Ages
11–14
On the map
3 steps, AD 1700 to AD 1709
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

A very tall young tsar travels to Holland and England to learn shipbuilding, then builds a new capital on the marshes of the Baltic. Students follow Peter's journey and wars, and weigh the cost of his reforms for the people who built his city.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Explain why Peter the Great travelled to western Europe in 1697-1698.
  • Explain why Peter built a new capital on the Baltic coast.
  • Weigh the benefits and costs of Peter's reforms for different groups in Russia.
2

Explore the map

15 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 1700

Russia without a sea

Open the map in 1700 and zoom out over Russia. Find its coasts. Which seas can Russian ships reach, and are those waters open all year?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 1700

A window on the Baltic

Zoom in on the eastern end of the Gulf of Finland in 1700. Who holds the mouth of the river Neva? Now jump to 1783: who holds it then?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 1709

Poltava

Go to 1709 and zoom in on Poltava, far to the south in Ukraine. Here Peter destroyed the Swedish army. Why might a Swedish army have marched so far from the Baltic?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

15 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. Peter worked as a carpenter in a Dutch shipyard under a false name. Why would a tsar do that?
  2. He made nobles shave their beards and wear western European clothes. Why did such outward things matter to him?
  3. St Petersburg was built on marshland by forced labour, and many thousands died. Can a city built this way be celebrated?
  4. Why was a port on the Baltic so important to Russia?
  5. Was Peter a great reformer, a cruel tyrant, or both? Use evidence.
4

Game round

10 min

Play a round of Rule History as Peter the Great himself. Make his decisions about the army, the Church and the capital. Afterwards, discuss: who paid the price for each of your reforms?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

€19 per month unlocks every worksheet, every live lesson and the class workspace. The free lesson prints without a subscription.