Inspired by what he saw during his travels in western Europe, Peter I became determined to modernize his backward country as quickly as possible—and as expediently as necessary. This program describes the sweeping military, fiscal, administrative, educational, ecclesiastical, and cultural reforms enacted by Peter the Great, as well as his campaigns against Sweden and other neighboring countries. By the end of Peter’s rule, first as tsar and then as emperor, Russia had become the major European power he had envisioned so clearly. A Discovery Channel Production. (51 minutes)