Many monarchs throughout history have killed family members. England’s Henry VIII, for example, beheaded two wives and several cousins. Cleopatra engineered the murder of two siblings (one of whom was also her husband). And Atahualpa, the last Inca emperor, ordered the execution of his half-brother from a Spanish prison. But even those royals might have been aghast at the actions of Russian czar Peter the Great, who in 1718 had his eldest son tortured to death for allegedly conspiring against him.
Peter I, better known as Peter the Great, is generally credited with bringing Russia into the modern age. During his time as czar, from 1682 until his death in 1725, he implemented a variety of reforms that included revamping the Russian calendar and alphabet and reducing the Orthodox Church’s autonomy. Peter even instituted a tax on beards as part of his efforts to make Russians look and act more like Western Europeans.
William M. Tweed,(known as the 'Boss' within the organization) ran Tammany Hall with a efficiently corrupt political machine, this was mostly based on Graft and Patronage.
