D. Read the article and complete the notes in the table. Speak about Peter the Great.

Ever I first heard about Peter the Great at school, he has been my favourite Russian Tsar. He was the first tsar to travel outside Russia and during his reign the country changed a great deal.

He was an enormously tall man, very strong with brown sparkling eyes and dark wavy hair. In his early twenties when he became sole Tsar of Russia he was quite handsome and wore European clothes because he visited many countries of Europe and wanted to make Russian people looked like European ones.

Some historians consider that he was very cruel with a violent temper. His friends respected him for his great energy and his skill with his hands. But they were often frightened by his roughness and violent behaviour, which did not seem to them much like a king.

Peter had great dreams of making Russia as strong and prosperous as the European countries. So he travelled a lot working in the docks and learning about shipbuilding and other crafts. When he came back he started modernizing Russia and making Russia like the other European countries. Peter was very impatient and wanted to do everything all at once. So Peter had a lot of problems with old-fashioned Russians who hated any changes. He took away the control of the church from the Patriarch and put the church under state control. Then he set up Russia’s first civil service and improved the tax collecting in all parts of the country. Peter ordered everyone to wear European clothes and to shave beards. But the most important thing that made him great was that he organized his men into efficient, disciplined army, defeated the Swedish king and made enemies feared and respected the Russian army. Peter also built up the first strong Russian navy and won a great victory on the Baltic Sea. So Russian ships sailed freely through the Baltic to the outside world. All in all he contributed greatly to the overcoming economic, military and cultural backwardness of Russia.

Although I’ve never met him, he seems to be very determined, hardworking and demanding. Peter was a great reformer and what is more – a great man. He is a person I greatly admire!

Introduction (who he was/where I heard about him)	Appearance/Clothes	Character	Activities/Interests	Conclusion(comments and feeling about the person)
Peter the Great at school ……….. ………………………………	enormously tall ………………… …………………….……………… …………………	very cruel …………. ………….…………...………….	travelled a lot ………………… …………………………………… …………………	a great reformer …… ……………………………… ………………

E. Write a description of your favourite person in the field of history. Use the plan and the text above as a model.

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