Magnificent Musicians

Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky
Rachel
Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky was born in Votkinsk, Russia in 1840. When he was 19, he went to law school to become a lawyer. He did not want to be a lawyer, so he started studying music at the St. Petersburg Conservatory of Music with Anton Rubinstein. In 1866, he started teaching at the Moscow Conservatory of Music.
One of Tchaikovsky’s most famous works was the “Nutcracker Ballet”. He was not excited to compose this, so he wrote the first act and then went to the United States. Upon his return to Russia he completed the Nutcracker Ballet.
Tchaikovsky composed a lot of famous works. Some of them are “The Nutcracker Ballet”, “Swan Lake”, and “Beauty and the Beast”.

Terrible Tyrants

Peter the Great

By Rachel

Peter the Great was born in Moscow in 1672. When Peter’s father died, a man named Feodor succeeded him. Feodor died within a few years. Neither Peter nor his weak-minded brother, Ivan, was old enough to rule. His sister, Sophia, ruled Russia until Peter’s fans forced her off the throne and put him and Ivan on. Ivan’s weak-mindedness annoyed Peter, and after a short time, he became the sole ruler of Russia.

Russia was a very wealthy country with an abundance of minerals from the Ural Mountains. Despite all of Russia’s wealth, it did not satisfy Peter. He wanted a link to Europe and the easiest one to get was a trading route. Peter already had one of these, but no one had access to it during the cold months. He wanted a trading route on the black sea, which was owned by the Ottomans. Peter sent some of his units to capture one of the Ottomans trading ports. His mission was successful and he took over the town of Azov.

After this big event, Peter disguised himself as a normal citizen so he could see what Europe was doing. He spent a while learning all he could in Europe from museums and other sources. He also learned how they built war ships and how they made guns and weapons so that he could improve his own.

Peter the Great died in 1725. He was the first real “King” of Russia. He brought Russia wealth and happiness, so he was called “Peter the Great”. Peter accomplished many great things.

“Peter I, the Great.” World Book Encyclopedia. 1996
“Russian Expansion.” King Fisher History. 2nd Ed.