Peter the Great ruled Russia from 1682 to 1725 and is remembered for his reforms that modernized the Russian state. Born in 1672, he became tsar at a young age, though he initially ruled jointly with his half-brother Ivan V under the regency of his sister Sophia. During his reign, he transformed Russia from a medieval tsardom into a modern European power through sweeping changes and bold military campaigns. He dismantled the old Boyar Duma and replaced it with a Western-style senate to oversee state affairs, divided Russia into provinces for more efficient administration, tied noble status to merit and state service rather than birth, and built Russia’s army and navy. Aggressively promoting industry, he founded ironworks, textile mills, and arms factories. He transformed the Russian Orthodox Church, mandated Western dress, banned traditional beards, promoted secular education, and introduced the Julian calendar.

Even as a youth, he was particularly fascinated by science and technology. During his famous Grand Embassy of 1697–1698, he traveled through the Netherlands, England, and other European countries. In Amsterdam and Leiden, he attended the anatomy lectures of the celebrated physician Frederik Ruysch, watched dissections, and may have even participated himself, handling instruments alongside trained surgeons. He purchased Ruysch’s entire collection of anatomical specimens for twelve thousand guilders, shipped it back to Saint Petersburg, and founded Russia’s first free public museum in 1727. He acquired a set of surgical instruments, which he carried with him on his campaigns. He reportedly performed tooth extractions, bloodlettings, and minor surgical procedures on members of his court and household. A leather pouch containing teeth he had extracted was preserved among his possessions after his death. Courtiers allegedly dreaded the tsar’s medical attention, though none dared refuse.

In 1703, Peter founded Saint Petersburg, which became Russia’s new capital, embodying his vision of a modern, outward-looking Russia. However, its construction came at a high human cost, as thousands of laborers died in the harsh working conditions. He also ended Charles XII of Sweden’s northern hegemony by defeating him at the famous battle of Poltava in 1709, waged wars against the Ottoman Empire, and captured the fortress of Azov in 1696. In 1722, he launched a campaign against Persia, thereby expanding Russia’s influence in the Caspian and Caucasus regions.

During his reign, he founded the Russian Academy of Sciences, established schools for mathematics and navigation, and launched Russia’s first newspaper. He sent young nobles abroad to study, and imported scholars, engineers, and officers from Europe. He was particularly fascinated by medicine, which at his time was largely based on folk remedies and religious rituals. He energetically pursued anatomy, surgery, and public health, shaping lasting institutions and importing foreign expertise. In 1707, he established the first Russian medical school in Moscow, where native physicians and surgeons were trained using European methods. He brought the Dutch physician Nikolaas Bidloo to direct it, establishing a model in which foreign experts taught, ensuring that students were exposed to the latest scientific knowledge.

Military medicine received particular attention, especially during the Great Northern War against Sweden. He regulated the duties of military physicians and regimental surgeons. He also issued decrees mandating that apothecaries stock standardized medicines. A network of pharmacies was expanded under state supervision, ending the previous monopoly of a single royal apothecary.

Peter also issued orders regarding the quarantine of plague-affected regions, mandating the reporting of epidemic outbreaks to central authorities, and attempting to regulate the burial of the dead to reduce disease transmission. These measures were inconsistently enforced, but they established bureaucratic precedents that later rulers would build upon. His founding of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences in 1724 created an institution that would promote medical research and education for centuries.

Despite his achievements, Peter’s reign was not without controversy. His methods were often brutal, and he ruled with absolute authority. He suppressed uprisings, punished dissent severely, and even ordered the execution of his own son, Alexei, whom he suspected of treason. These actions highlight the darker side of his determination to transform Russia at any cost.

Peter suffered throughout his later years from urinary tract problems, almost certainly a bladder or kidney condition complicated by repeated infections. In his final years, he underwent painful surgical procedures, and contemporaries noted his declining health with concern. He died in February 1725 at the age of fifty-two, following an acute urological crisis. He did not create modern Russian medicine as such, but he imported knowledge, established institutions, and ensured that healing, like shipbuilding and artillery, would be part of Russia’s long march toward the modern world.