Peter the Great's momentous reforms are reflected in the numerous laws and decrees passed during his reign, often based on foreign models such as Sweden. The Law Library at the Library of Congress has a remarkable collection of 18th-century Russian legal materials, both original documents from the period and later reproductions and compilations. Noteworthy examples include an early printing of the Reglament Dukhovnyi, the law that abolished the office of the church patriarch and established the Holy Synod, a late 18th-century printing of the Table of Ranks which instituted the country's bureaucratic hierarchy and a 1718 account of the trial of Peter the Great's son, Alexis. Many of these documents are available on microfilm in the following collection:

A more detailed list of items is provided in the table below, grouped by language. As not every document has been translated, each section might contain unique materials not available in another language (when an item is available in another language, it will be noted in its description. If an item has been reproduced in the microfilm collection described above, a note is included in its description.

To search for more items related to Peter the Great available in the Law Library, use these author headings as search terms in the Library of Congress Online Catalog:

• Russia. Sovereign (1682-1725 : Peter 1)
• 18th-Century Russian Law Collection (Library of Congress)

The following titles link to fuller bibliographic information in the Library of Congress Online Catalog. Links to additional online content are included when available.