Russian philology
not banned. Of the rare exceptions, Bulgakov in Master and Margarita (not published in
author's lifetime) and Strugatskies in Monday Begins on Saturday introduced magic and
mystical creatures into contemporary Soviet reality to satirize it. Another exception was early
Soviet writer Alexander Grin, who wrote romantic tales, both realistic and fantastic.
Part 3. Russian history
Peter the Great
Peter the Great or Peter Alexeyevich ruled the Tsardom of Russia and later the Russian
Empire from 7 May (O.S. 27 April) 1682 until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his
elder half-brother, Ivan V. Through a number of successful wars he expanded the Tsardom
into a much larger empire that became a major European power. He led a cultural revolution
that replaced some of the traditionalist and medieval social and political systems with ones
that were modern, scientific, westernized, and based on The Enlightenment. Peter's reforms