Essay On Peter The Great

As a conclusion Peter the Great of Russia should receive the title of “Most Absolute Monarch” because he was wise, yet cruel. He created Russia's navy, but required an education before the men could join. He was fond of physical labor and didn't mind putting his men through it. Peter also westernized the entire country of Russia. Since beards were not a fashion in westernization, Peter made it mandatory for all of his nobleman to shave their beards off. He wanted Russia to be westernized completely. Peter was very strong and was not afraid of anyone's criticism. When his people tried to overthrow him (which was multiple times), it usually ended with mass executions. Peter had to let everyone know who was boss. He even interrogated his own son because of faulty reasoning. He also was a very strong Protestant Christian and made everyone follow him as a Christian. To get down to it, if things didn't go Peter's way, it all ended

     Peter the Great had many strengths, but his best was he modernized Russia. By seeing Europe, he changed many things. He changed the calendar so the New Year would be January 1. He increased agriculture by growing new crops and increased the number of factories in Russia. He also started the first Russian newspaper and enlarged their army to 200,000 men. He also got a warm water port for his “window on the sea.”

Prior to Peter taking reign, the Russian society was in a rough condition. The economy was failing and the country's standing army was extremely weak. Russia was also in the midst of a war against the Ottoman Turkish Empire, with a goal to secure a Russian port on the northern coast of the Black Sea. Peter the Great ruled over Russia from 1682-1752.He tried to form warm water ports so they had the ability to trade in the in the winter. He also tried to improve Russia and modernize the culture. As an effect of these things, Peter the Great had an overall positive impact on Russia during his rule.

Both Peter the Great and Catherine the Great were the former Emperors of Russia. They were the Russians ruler before the 17th century and also they were followers of Ivan IV. They used mysteries, dishonesty, etc for the foundation of their time, and they never thought that the Russia will have modernization. Mostly, the change came when Peter the Great and Catherine the Great came to power. Also, She expanded the territory of the Russian Empire and had improved as time pass by, and policy was following from the Westernization.

     During this same time Peter the Great sought to ¡°westernize¡± Russia. An autocratic tsar who had absoluter power, he did not wish to share it with his royal court. He moved the capital to St. Petersburg, and absorbed western intellectual and cultural trends. He forced all his nobles to cut of their beards, and instructed them to learn modern Western dances. Russia historically had an autocratic tsar like Peter, + the nobles have no political clout in the government. However, the nobles in Russia are huge landowners and had enormous powers over the serfs on their estates. This economic power, b/c serfs were almost like slaves, made them wealthy + prosperous. Thus, although Peter the Great rules without the input of anyone else, the nobles were westernized under his rule + enjoyed power over their serfs and economic gains.

Tsar Peter traveled to Europe in 1697 to learn more about the western culture and techniques. As Peter the Great returned to Russia he brought back with him a goal of westernizing Russia. He forced his subjects to wear modernized clothing and for all men to shave off their beards, which was already present in France. In addition, King Louis XIV’s finance minister, Jean Baptiste Colbert, used the concept of mercantilism to make France self-sufficient by producing goods in France rather than importing and trading with foreign countries. Likewise, Tsar Peter established a seaport, which he named St. Petersburg for the sole purpose of making sailing to the west more efficient for Russia. After the death of Jean Baptiste Colbert in 1685, King Louis XIV cancelled The Edict of Nantes, forbidding the Huguenots religious freedom in France. Which caused thousands of artisans and skilled workers to flee. Similarly, Tsar Peter reformed the Russian Orthodox Church by getting rid of the patriarch and enforcing a group called the Holy Synod, which he directed how to run the Church. Lastly, both King Louis XIV and Tsar Peter weakened the power of the nobility. King Louis XIV excluded the nobles from the council and increased the power of the intendants who collected taxes from the nobles. Comparatively, Tsar Peter in establishing St. Petersburg, forced nobles to leave

Document 2 describes how he demanded all nobles to learn mathematics, or else they would not be allowed to marry. Perhaps influenced by his trips to Europe, Peter placed high emphasis on learning and making sure the people of his country were educated. The document illustrates that he made specific laws to educate the nobility, therefore educating and improving the country as a whole. Since it is from a decree by Peter I himself toward the people, this document is a reliable source of information for how he governed the country during his rule and can be used to demonstrate how he educated Russia. Creating the Table of Ranks, a system of government that chose officials based on merit instead of social status, would also help him ensure that Russia improved intellectually. Document 3 is another decree from Peter that starts off by explaining how he wants what is best for the people of Russia and wants them to be educated and skilled. In order to do that, he continues, foreign artisans are invited to visit Russia to spread their knowledge and craft. Peter I is a major proponent of learning things from other countries to apply to his own country, and that is made obvious by how he encourages all foreigners to come to Russia. He wants to help his country become as advanced as other countries and does that by inviting skilled foreigners to come work for him. The purpose of this piece was the influence outsiders to move to Russia, so it may be written more persuasive. Peter describes how he is helping the citizens and doing what is best to improve the country, but since he needs to appease the people, it might not be completely accurate to his real motives. Since the piece was written by one person, it’s hard to know if this decree was influential or not, but it still shows the steps that Peter the Great took to improve

Peter the Great made it his ambition to pursue military growth in Russia. What started out as a defenseless country, ended as an army of 210,000 men. “At his (assumption of the throne) Russia had no armed forces except for the inefficient and untrustworthy Streltsy (hereditary military units).”- Document F. Peter the Great had many accomplishments. His greatest was the army, he formed in Russia. With all the power concentrated in his hands, Peter the Great was able to get things done efficiently and effectively. It took less time because, under the rule of absolutism, no one could question Peter’s work or capabilities. He built a professional army of 210,0000 men, created a navy and fleet of forty-eight ships and smaller vessels. Rather than being an insignificant vulnerable country, Russia was made into a dominant country. The amount of power that Russia had acquired was feared by other countries. Absolutism prevented many rebellions because of a new found fear. Many countries and people were afraid of Russia’s potential to become a dominate country. However, this was beneficial for absolutist leaders because no one would question or rebel against their actions. Many historians argue that Peter the Great’s method of absolutism was an excuse for tyranny. However, his achievements for the country of Russia outweigh the costs of inequality and unshared wealth. If Peter the

Peter’s respect did not translate into friendship with Western Europe. These countries were his competitors, his rivals, and one could say that by modernizing Peter was really trying to beat them at their own game. He fought a long war against Sweden and with victory finally gained possession of ports on the Baltic that opened the way for greater trade with Western Europe.
Meanwhile, Peter continued Russia’s attempts to expand at the Ottoman Empire’s expense. His short war in 1710-11 was a failure, though, and nearly resulted in his own capture. In spite of this loss, it was obvious to Peter and the rest of Europe that the Ottoman Empire was in an irreversible decline. The Ottomans were quite a contrast to Europe: outdated in technology and military methods, politically unstable, and scarcely able to control their far-flung empire.

Before the reign of Peter the Great, the ruler of Russia had no control over the religion of its people, but after Peter the Great created the Holy Synod, the Russian tsar could control the Russian Orthodox Church. The Holy Synod served as a secular, non-religious body which controls the rules and regulations of the Russian Orthodox Church. Moreover, Peter’s creation of the the Holy Synod allowed the Russian ruler to create a religiously uniformed society and to completely control religious matters as well as political issues. In addition, Peter the Great expanded Russia’s territory to the Baltic Sea due to the necessity of a warm water port. During Peter’s reign as tsar during the 1720’s, Russia needed a warm water port in order to successfully trade with other European nations. Peter the Great wanted to make Russia a European power, and in order to do that he needed to conquer a warm water port to increase Russian wealth. For this reason, Peter the Great declared war on Sweden in order to control a port in the Baltic Sea and expand Russia east in the Great Northern War. Also, in order to increase his power over the Russian nobility, Peter the Great created the Table of Ranks to control which aristocrats become nobles. The Table of Ranks system involved aristocrats working in military service and civil service to rise up in the “ranks”

Peter the Great was a descendant of the Romanov family who started his co-rule with his brother since he was ten years old. When his brother died in 1896, only then did Peter become the sole tsar of Russia. However, at the time, Russia did not have a developed military, government, or technology as that of the other countries in Europe. At the start of the Peter’s reign as tsar, he had taken part in the conquest against the Ottoman Empire in an effort to gain land in order to secure a Russian port in the coast of the Black Sea. In Compared to Europe, Russia was much less advanced.

Nicholas Riasanovsky’s “The Image of Peter the Great,” sets forth a thesis that, since Peter’s reign, Russians have identified and utilized two factors concerning Peter’s reign to inform their opinions of him. The first factor is their view of Peter’s reforms. Russians have seen Peter as both a modernizing hero and a westernizing traitor to Russian heritage. The second is how Peter’s power is understood, whether he was a great statesman, or an overzealous tyrant. Riasanovsky claims these different factors have been bolstered or criticized of Peter’s leadership have fallen in and out of favor depending on the political climate of the time. Riasanovsky’s outline of Russian views towards Peter contains some oversimplifications. It also fails

Peter the Great was a leader that was ahead of his people in the terms of progression. He wanted to improve Russia, but improvement requires change. Change was something that was extremely frowned upon by the people of Russia because of the Church, which is one of the reasons I believe Russia has not been modernized. They were completely stunned when Peter suggested beards should be shaved off, let alone when he would suggest something even far more radical. The people held too closely to tradition for modernization to ever happen. Also, I believe modernization is impeded because Russia's economy just could not handle it. Sure, Peter the Great did all that he did without borrowing money, but he was also royalty; he did not need financial assistance.

The reforms and westernization of Peter the Great made Russia a more modern and stronger power in Europe under his rule and until his death in 1725. Peter was a powerful and forceful leader with a vision. He wanted to westernize Russia and bring the state to a more modern era in order to compete with Europe for goods and services.

Peter the Great attempted to Europeanize Russia between 1682-1725 (Marks 2009, 42). Restricting the wealthier class, he demanded the rich to wear westernized clothes, noblemen to shave their beards and send their children to school. However, Peter the Great remained selective in what aspects of the western society he wanted to bring to Russia. Rather than introducing the parliamentary system to Russia, Peter held on tightly to his role as an emperor. The oppression and forced rules and regulations imposed on the wealthier class created a resentment among the traditionalist to which Peter controlled by enforcing police surveillance (Marks 2009, 43). Peter’s first attempt to modernize state administration by creating various political institutions led to an infestation of corruption within the political system. Enraged by the corruption,