Access to the Sea and the Imperial Ambitions of Peter the Great

Access to the Baltic Sea was the main initial goal of Russia’s participation in the Great Northern War (1700–1721). This military involvement was primarily due to the personal motives of Peter the Great, however, numerous different factors also played an important role. The foundation of St Petersburg, making it the capital city, and fortifying it with a defensive system was aimed at securing the Russian control over the mouth of the Neva. The military operations and diplomatic efforts undertaken by Russia in 1702–1709 were aimed exclusively to maintain access to the sea. At this time, Russia was ready to agree to the peace terms which were to grant it only the old Russian provinces of Ingria and Karelia. However, after the victorious Battle of Poltava of 1709, Peter the Great developed imperial ambitions. Under the pretext of ensuring the security of St Petersburg and ensuring Russia’s access to the sea, the Russians captured Swedish lands in the Eastern Baltic and Finland, and then annexed most of these territories. At the same time, Russian diplomacy constantly ensured of its readiness to conclude peace, but these attempts were rejected by the Swedes. Ten years of warfare and destructive raids on the coastal regions of the Kingdom of Sweden forced the Swedes to negotiate. The Treaty of Nystad of 1721 not only ended the war between Russia and Sweden, but it also became the starting point of the extraordinary development of Peter the Great’s imperial ambitions. Russia entered the world of great European and global politics as an empire, as an aggressive state of despotic character.