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He was the 14th child of Tsar Alexis and was forced to shoulder the responsibilities of Tsardom from an early age.
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Peter father died when he was 4. After that, his half brother Feodor III became ruler.
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Peter's half brother Feodor III died after a few years, leading to Ivan V ( another half brother) being leader.
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Ivan V was chronically ill and was viewed as unsuitable to be ruler. So Peter joined him at age 10.
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Peter had an arranged marriage with Eudoxia Lopukhina, the daughter of a minor noble and they had three children together.
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Ivan V passed away making Peter the sole ruler of Russia.
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To help modernize Russia, Peter invited people who were skilled in shipbuilding, engineering, architecture, and business from all over Europe. He also encourage the Russians to move out to different parts of Europe to improve their Education.
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Peter wanted to make trading with other nations easier so he created more maritime outlets and after many wars with Turkey, he secured access to the black sea and found the first Russian Navy base.
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He was unhappy and divorced his wife in 1698.
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To expand his territories he embarked on extensive military campaign.
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He married a mistress named Martha Skavronskaya. She converted to the Russian Orthodox Chruch and changed her name to Catherine. They were happy and they had 11 children together.
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He introduced the Julian calendar and established the first Russian newspaper.
