KOMET’s Reviews > Peter the Great: His Life and World > Status Update

In Russia, before Peter's time, there was little that could be called industry. Scattered through the towns were small factories and workshops for household implements, handicrafts and tools which met the needs of tsar, boyars and merchants. In the villages, peasants made everything for themselves. - p. 790 (Chapter 59 - 'COMMERCE BY DECREE')

"Along the road to Mogilev, the Swedish army advanced among smoldering houses and barns. On July 9 [1708], the army reached the town on the River Dnieper, then the frontier of Russia itself. ... The campaign was now practically over. All the great river barriers had been crossed. Smolensk was 100 miles to the northeast, and 200 miles beyond Smolensk lay Moscow." - p. 462.

"Peter had not gone many miles from Narva when news of the battle overtook him. Stunned by the...magnitude of the disaster, he also understood that a far greater danger lay ahead: If Charles decided to follow up his victory and march all the way to Moscow, nothing could prevent him.
"One of Peter's qualities was that when confronted with disaster he did not despair. Failure only spurred him forward..." - p.351