Peter the Great's siege of Riga

Swedish since Gustavus Adolphus took it in 1621, Riga was one of the largest cities of the Swedish empire. In the Great Northern War Peter the Great's army besieged it for eight months, while plague spread through the city and the besieging camp. Its surrender in July 1710 gave Russia the eastern Baltic coast, confirmed at Nystad in 1721, and Riga stayed under Russian rule until 1918.