This program details the nature of the Swedish Empire in the 17th and beginning of the 18th centuries and draws a fascinating portrait of Charles XII. But the major part of the program is devoted to a portrait of the extraordinary and contradictory Tsar Peter the Great, the Oriental Russia into which he was born and the ways in which he turned Russia toward Europe, the problems he faced and the sometimes inventive and sometimes incredibly brutal ways in which he imposed solutions, the city he built, and the spirit he aroused—which is why he is considered the father of his country. It also tells of his conflict with Sweden and the Battle of Poltava. (33 minutes)