This is the first book to discuss a full range of contacts between two of the most famous dynasties in history, the Stuarts and the Romanovs. A full account is given of the evolving diplomatic interchanges between them and the connections between hostilities in Western and Eastern Europe during the period. The book throws some fresh light on both dynasties and encourages comparisons, especially concerning their attempts to establish variants of absolutist government, within the frameworks of commerce, diplomacy and war.