Sir, Roger Boyes has confused his Greats (“Nato needs to flex its muscles against Putin”, Opinion, Sept 3). It was Catherine the Great who corresponded with Voltaire, not Peter the Great. While Peter did indeed open up Russia and was a most remarkable tsar, he was definitely not an intellectual. By contrast, Catherine the Second (or the Great) most certainly was an intellectual.
One thing Mr Boyes is absolutely right about is that Mr Putin is not in the same league as either.
David Terry
Droitwich, Worcs