The greatest of the Romanovs was a barbarian, but a barbarian who believed in civilisation even if he himself rarely practised it. Though only 52 when he died (of kidney disease), he showed the messianic energy of Stalin joined to a more humane and rational mentality, and the Russia he left behind him was scarcely recognisable as the backward, brutish kingdom he inherited. Peter was an autocrat, but an autocrat who expected much from his subordinates - many of whom had neither the ability nor the vision to carry out what he demanded. Lawgiver, moderniser, statesman, shipbuilder, military leader, domestic tyrant, drunkard (part of the time), builder of the city named after him, Peter was a force of nature and one of the rare individuals who really changed history. And as this admirable book points out, none of his successors, whether Czarist or Communist, has been able to live up to his daunting example and legacy.