A Look Into The Window Of The West

The last Tsar Nicholas II ascended the throne in 1894 and was faced with a country that was trying to free itself from its autocratic regime. The serfs had recently been emancipated, the industry and economy was just starting to develop and opposition to the Tsar was building up. Russia was still behind Europe in terms of the political regime, the social conditions and the economy. Nicholas II who was a weak and very influenced by his mother and his wife had to deal with Russia’s troubles during his reign. In order to ascertain how successfully Russia dealt with its problems by 1914, this essay will examine the October Manifesto and the split of the opposition, how the Tsar became more reactionary after the 1905 revolution, Stolypin’s

Peter the Great was born to Tsar Alexis and grew up differently than many people of his time. “Peter proved a healthy child, lively and inquisitive. It is probably significant to his development that his mother’s former guardian, Artamon Sergeyevich Matveyev, had raised her in an atmosphere open to progressive influences from the West” (Britannica Academica). The fact that he grew up with a significant figure in his life who favored the west shaped his views in a major. Later in his reign, he focused on western civilization and how they thrived. Peter tried to implicate the same influences in Russia to further try and modernize and advance the culture, society, and government. Peter was a very lively and energetic child. “When Alexis died in 1676 Peter was only four years old. His elder half-brother, a sickly youth, then succeeded to the throne as Fyodor III” (Britannica

During the late seventeenth century under the leadership of Peter the Great, Russia underwent a period of modernization and westernization due to Peter’s reforms. However, without the reforms he instituted, Russia would have remained the most culturally unevolved country in Europe for quite a long time.

Peter the Great was born to Tsar Alexis and grew up differently than many people of his time. “Peter proved a healthy child, lively and inquisitive. It is probably significant to his development that his mother’s former guardian, Artamon Sergeyevich Matveyev, had raised her in an atmosphere open to progressive influences from the West” (Britannica Academica). The fact that he grew up with a significant figure in his life who favored the west,shaped his views in a major way. Later in his reign, he focused on western civilizations and how they thrived. Peter tried to implicate the same influences in Russia to further try and modernize and advance the culture, society, and government. Peter was a very lively and energetic child. “When Alexis died in 1676 Peter was only four years old. His elder half-brother, a sickly youth, then succeeded to the throne as Fyodor

Finally, Peter the Great reformed Russia by reorganizing the country’s economic structure and altering the social scene to mirror Western culture. Historically, Russia was an agricultural country whose tiny middle class took on the tax burdens of the exempt nobility. After traveling abroad, Peter the Great saw the need for internal reform, wanting to apply ideas of western mercantilism to stimulate economic growth by developing industry and commerce. For “When Russian

In Russia, Westernization was nothing new as the late nineteenth century had rolled around, for they had already been immersed in political conflicts of Western Europe by the earlier parts of the century. Russia’s Westernization had even been started by Peter the Great. Being so well adapted to the politics of the West, the conservative Russian nobility had feared revolutions by the liberal West. Russia then had attempted to

This new system had a profound impact, it was “considered to embody the administrative precepts and notions of modern politics and thus guiding Russian bureaucratic practice.” Additionally, the Great Embassy and Peter’s desire for reform brought about closer Anglo-Russian ties as Britain’s recognition for Russia’s imperial ambitions with “King William's de facto recognition of Peter's desire of 'Enlarging' his 'Dominions'” brought about an important validation for Russia’s reforms and international actions. Furthermore, this closer relationship brought about economic benefits as the establishment of Anglo-Russian trade allowing duty-free imports of tobacco and the exchange of mainly raw materials from Russia in return for manufactured and luxury goods. This resulted in Russia trebling the volume of trade between 1698 and 1708 and a continued increase throughout the eighteenth century with some figures stating a fifteen-fold increase in foreign trade from Peter’s time until the end of the eighteenth

Peter took Russia into the European world, “westernizing” it, and leading him to create what is known as the “the window to the west” for Russia. He did this by adopting European customs, administrative systems, architecture, and many other ideas from Europe. He mainly focused on the navy and new technology advances Russia could use (Whisenhunt 329). Usually overlooked, Peter the Great was also able to create St. Petersburg, contributing to his positive effect on Russia. St. Petersburg made Russia a major European power politically and socially, through culture and economics.

“Chasing the Lamb,” by Russell Rowland is an essay about the time he spent during his teen years working on a ranch. It was on the ranch that he learned about hard work, perseverance, and what it means to be a community. Jim Harrison tells of his experience in “Geopiety.” Harrison, like Rowland, writes from Montana, and though he believes Westerners are still around he believes they have a violent past. In “No Direction Home,” Charles Bowden writes about his experience of the west. Living close to the Mexican boarder his perception is much different from both Rowland and Harrison. Bowden explains his belief that the West is “not in our minds but under our feet” (Bowden 265). Each author has had his own experience and each

The West drastically evolved after the Civil War. The gold mining boom brought businessmen and crooks to the West. While mining for gold, the discovery of silver, copper, and ore caused more destruction of the land. The railroads were needed to transport mining materials and equipment. In the meantime, the demand for grains in the North caused corporations to buy up land and plant crops purely for profit.

As a result, Peter toured Europe seeking to use Western ideas in order to help Westernize Russia. Peter was able to work with Germans who lived in Russia and studied the German army. In addition, Peter also studied Europe’s philosophy and science. He was so involved in refining Russia’s structure, that he visited various European countries under an alias in order to be one with the crowd and study European customs and methods. Peter’s goal was “to make his country a great power commensurate with its size and potential so that it might forever be safe from foreign invasion or domination.”

In the early 19th century, while the rapidly-growing United States expanded into the lower South, white settlers faced what they considered an obstacle. This area was home to the Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chicasaw and Seminole nations. These Indian nations, in the view of the settlers and many other white Americans, were standing in the way of progress. Eager for land to raise cotton, the settlers pressured the federal government to acquire Indian territory.

The Navajo Indians emulated the pueblo. The shed their animal skin clothing for cotton and learned quickly how to farm. These people settled in between the Rio Grande and the Grand Canyon. They herded sheep and grew corn in the valleys. They were a peaceful group of people, and were one with their surroundings.

A. J. Polyzoides, an honorary senior lecturer at Birmingham University, states: “The western world has adopted and developed their discoveries throughout the centuries.” (Polyzoides 1). As the Hellenistic society shifted away from the Classical ideals of perfectionism and idolization of the elites and gods in sculpture, artists began to be fixated on illustrating imperfection of a variety of individuals faced with the ruthless authenticity of their emotional struggles. Whereas, Classical architecture focused on dedicating massive structures to the gods to emphasize their divinity, but Hellenistic architecture used advanced technology to exemplify Alexander the Great’s magnificence. Thus, differences in the architecture can be seen in the sophisticated town of Alexandria with structures such as the lighthouse that show how Alexander the Great influenced town planning that was centralized on the creation of a superior city, likewise, The Altar at Pergamon expresses the loss of focus on the divine through unique sculptural techniques. Change can also be seen in the sculptures of The Boxer and The Old Market Woman as they are depicted to be imperfectly individualistic and in emotional distress.

I have often wondered about the early days of Jesus, what he did before he met John the Baptist, got baptized, and started his new life. Many people believe he went for a long walk, a journey to the East, like the one described by Hermann Hesse in the novel with that title, A Journey To The East, which goes to the same place as the Chinese story called Journey To The West. Some says Jesus went to India and some say he went to Tibet.