During the Northern War 1700-1721 Russia had been struggling for access to the Baltic Sea. Seizure of Noteborg and Nyenschantz fortresses enabled the Russian troops to control the entire extent of Neva from Ladoga Lake to the Gulf of Finland and opened for it the way to Baltic. However the Swedish fleet continued to threaten Russia.
6 (18) May 1868 in Tsarskoe Selo, was born the eldest son of Emperor Alexander III and Empress Maria Feodorovna, the last Emperor of Russia - Nicholas II (Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov).