"The throne was now vacant, and in 1613 Michael Romanoff, the first sovereign of the present royal family, was chosen emperor. He made peace with the Swedes, and restored the commercial ties which had been broken by the wars. In 1645 he was succeeded by his son Alexis, who won the allegiance of the Cossacks of the Don, and regained the western part of Russia, which had been held by the Poles. In this reign a third false Dimitri appeared; but he obtained few adherents, and was executed by Alexis. This Czar was followed by his son Fedor, in 1676, who lived but six years after his accession, leaving no children; but he had a brother and several sisters, children of his own mother, and a half brother and half sister, children of his father's second wife. The heir apparent was his own brother Ivan, who was weak in body and in mind, while the half brother, Peter, was a brilliant youth of ten. An attempt was made to set Ivan aside; but his sister, the Princess Sophia, frustrated the plan so far as to cause both to be declared sovereigns of Russia, and she was proclaimed the regent, who was practically to rule the country. It is alleged that Sophia and Prince Galitzin, her minister, organized a conspiracy to take the life of Peter, when he was about seventeen, in order that she might continue in the regency during the reign of his imbecile brother. Peter fled to a monastery, followed by a portion of his party, and there organized a counter movement. He managed his case so well that it was entirely successful. "The conspirators were severely punished; some of them were cruelly tortured. Prince Galitzin escaped with his life, but forfeited his immense property, and was banished to the northern regions of Russia, while Sophia was shut up in a convent during the rest of her life. Ivan declined to take any share in the government, and Peter was the sole ruler in fact, if not in name. He is the Peter the Great of history, and the founder of Russian greatness. In a brief period he made his country one of the most powerful in Europe. In 1703 he founded St. Petersburg, in a very unfortunate location, it must be confessed, for at times the city has hard work to keep itself above water. His ruling passion was to extend his empire, as well as to build it up, by developing its resources. Though he suffered great defeats, he finally carried all his plans. He made war on Sweden, and crushed Charles XII. in the battle of Pultowa. He conquered the Ukraine, and carried his conquests to the Caspian. He was a wonderful man; but he was a drunkard and a brute in his manners. He was a genius in mechanics, and possessed remarkable energy in the execution of his purposes; but he was passionate, cold-blooded, and cruel. It is no wonder that his country venerates his name, for no single man ever did so much for a nation as he for Russia.