1. Relations between the Soviet Union and the United States were driven by a complex interplay of ideological, political, and economic factors, which led to shifts between cautious cooperation and often bitter superpower rivalry over the years. The distinct differences in the political systems of the two countries often prevented them from reaching a mutual understanding on key policy issues and even, as in the case of the Cuban missile crisis, brought them to the brink of war.
2. In 1703, during the Great Northern War, Peter the Great established the Peter and Paul fortress on small Hare Island, by the north bank of the Neva River. The fortress was the first brick and stone building of the new projected capital city of Russia and the original citadel of what would eventually be Saint Petersburg.
3. Peter the Great uses nobles for his busy seaport whereas Louis XIV weakened the nobles and made them feel inferior because even the luckiest noble would only tuck him into sleep. Louis XIV and Peter the Great served as great absolute monarchies that left a heavy impact on their states.
