Pyotr Shafirov. Discourse on the Causes of the War with Sweden, 1717

Published in St Petersburg in 1717, this book explained to readers the "lawful causes" that led Peter I to begin a war against the Swedish king Charles XII in 1700. Its author was Pyotr Pavlovich Shafirov, vice-chancellor from 1709 and one of the tsar's closest associates.

Shafirov wrote the "Discourse" on the instructions of Peter I. The work presented the war with Sweden as an unavoidable necessity dictated by the most vital needs of the state. The tsar himself added a conclusion urging that the war be fought to the end and that no peace be made until Russia's possession of the Baltic Sea was secured.

The book is printed on laid paper with filigrees, that is, watermarks. The binding is of pasteboard covered with leatherette.