Ovi magazine, on this day in history

The Great Northern War (1700-1721) was a war in which the so-called Northern Alliance composed of Russia, Denmark-Norway, Poland-Lithuania and Saxony engaged Sweden to challenge them for the supremacy in the Baltic Sea.

The war ended with a defeat for Sweden in 1721, leaving Russia as the new major power in the Baltic Sea and a new important player in European politics.

The war began as a coordinated attack on Sweden by the coalition in February 12th 1700 and ended in 1721 with the Treaty of Nystad and the Stockholm treaties.