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Military History Matters 145

• The making of Russia: Peter the Great & the Battle of Poltava

• American apocalypse: how the Civil War was finally won

• Endgame WWII: the fall of Berlin, 80 years on

• Master and commander: Admiral Anson

• Kamikaze: fire from the sky

Marten's Poltava

The making of Russia

In our special feature, Stephen Roberts examines first the life of Peter the Great, a pivotal figure in Russian history, then looks in detail at the Battle of Poltava that established Russia for the first time as a major power on the European stage.