All the events in Russia that took place in 1721 are somehow connected with the name of Peter I, who at that time was the head of state. The main event undoubtedly was the end of the protracted Northern War.
The end of the Northern War
In 1721, the Great Northern War ended, lasting 21 years. This war began for Russia extremely unsuccessfully. Peter I declared war on Sweden in August 1700 and immediately led his troops to Narva. Despite the fact that the number of the Russian army exceeded the army of the Swedes under the leadership of Charles XII by 4 times, the soldiers of Peter suffered a crushing defeat in their very first battle near Narva.
Considering that Russia is no longer a rival, Charles XII deployed his troops and went to Poland. Peter made his conclusions and began a hasty reorganization of the army: the officers were retrained according to the European model, all state funds were directed to the production of weapons, in particular, bells were removed from several churches to melt them into cannons.
These efforts have borne fruit: already in 1704, the Russian army captured Noteburg, Narva and Tartu, as a result of which Russia gained access to the Baltic Sea. Peter I got what he wanted and offered Sweden to conclude a peace treaty. But the Swedish king rejected this proposal and moved his troops towards Russia. The Swedes were even able to capture several cities in Ukraine, with the support of the hetman Mazepa. But it was already impossible to stop the Russian army, a decisive offensive ended in a devastating defeat of the Swedes near Poltava in June 1709. The victories of the Baltic Fleet, hastily created by Peter the Great, began on the sea, the Swedes were driven out of Finland, and in 1719 the Russian troops landed on the territory of Sweden. The peace treaty was signed in 1721 in Nishtadt.
The victory in the Northern War turned Russia into the most powerful power in Europe, access to the Baltic Sea was obtained, a strong army and navy were formed, the war accelerated the implementation of reforms conceived by Peter the Great and gave impetus to the development of industry.
