Boris Godonov	Michael Romanov	Alexis	Peter the Great

By the end of the 17th Century, Russia was emerging as a great European power. During the Time of Troubles (1598-1613) the succession to the throne was violently disputed by various claimants, each backed by a different faction of nobles. Poland and Sweden took advantage of the chaos to invade. Only in 1613 did the election of Michael Romanov begin a new stable rule. Russia remained vulnerable to attacks from the Turks and Tatars in the south. The Romanov dynasty continued the enserfment of the peasantry that had begun in the sixteenth century. Domestic unrest erupted in the Copper rebellion (1662), Razin's uprising (1670) and was also expressed in the religious schism of the "Old Believers" provoked by Patriarch Nikon's reforms of the 1650's.

Domestic peace allowed the Romanov dynasty to expand Russia's borders. Russia seized the rich agricultural lands of the Ukraine from Poland, constructed the port of Archangelsk to trade by sea with Europe, and began expansion east of the Urals. Pioneers reached the Pacific coast in 1637. Russia also wanted a port on the Baltic, but was it was not until the reign of the ruthless, energetic Peter the Great, that this aim was achieved. He took advantage of Charles XII of Sweden's over-ambitious expansionist schemes to forge alliances with Poland and Denmark. The construction of Saint Petersburg was started in 1703 on land seized from the defeated Swedes. By forcing westernization down the throats of his reluctant subjects, Peter drove Russia into the modern era.