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 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

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

Ten years after the period of disorder in Russia at ten years old czar Peter the Great took the throne. Seven years later he took over the government . To prove he was an autocratic leader during his reign Peter the Great established the Table of Ranks which imposed state service on all nobility for their entire life, but it required all nobility to start at the lowest rank of the military , naval , or civil service and work their way up

The first of these tsars, Ivan III, also known as “Ivan the Great”, defied Mongol control and declared the autonomy of Moscow. Ivan III was soon followed by Ivan IV, also known as “Ivan the Terrible”, who declared his power by pushing aside his advisors, crowning himself tsar and crushing boyars, who were Russian nobles. At first, Ivan’s reign was successful as he added vast new territories to the Russian empire. Later, after his wife’s death, Ivan’s power and prosperity declined because he started persecuting those whom he believed opposed him. This resulted in the execution of many nobles and their families, friends, servants and peasants, in which he replaced with a new service nobility, whose loyalty was “guaranteed by their dependent on the state for land and titles.” [1] Ivan the Terrible nor Ivan III were never absolute rulers- their ways of ruling just helped lay the foundation for Russian absolutism. After Ivan IV and his successor died, Russia entered a “Time of Troubles”, which lasted from 1598-1613, in which the peasant warrior bands known as Cossacks, rebelled against their nobles who fought back and defeated the Cossacks. Ivan’s grand-nephew, Michael Romanov, was soon elected by the Zensky Sober- a body of nobles, and placed efforts toward state-building. He was succeeded by “Peter the Great”, the Russian king that truly consolidated Russian

Though it may sound heartless and selfish, the needs and aims of countries usually are the primary factor controlling their foreign relations. During the period of the czars, from 1547 to 1917, Russia’s need for land and modernization shaped its relationships with Western Europe and the Ottoman Empire, causing Russia’s leaders to respect and imitate Western Europe while competing with the European powers to fill the power vacuum of the failing Ottoman Empire.

Peter the Great of Russia was a strong and absolute ruler. Czar Peter I used a form of absolute rule called autocratic rule. Meaning that he ruled with unlimited authority over his subjects and land. Many people tile Peter the Great as a modernizer of Russia (Mendrala, 41). Peter the Great is responsible for Russia’s westernization, he enforced Western ideas, technology, and culture. By attempting to cultivate the western European way of life Peter made Russia diplomatic, military, political, commercial, scholastic, literary, and industrial (Source #2). During his reign Peter the Great develops a number of policies, and he dramatically reforms his country. Like any ruler, Peter encounters a few problematic incidents, but is able to overcome

Philip II of Spain (1527-1598) and Peter the Great of Russia (1672-1725) are both historic leaders that had a tremendous influence over the fate of each of their nations. Although from two different time periods, the impact of their decision making, and temperaments directly dictated and impacted the historical events of their individual countries. Being that both led during a time where the desire for power and absolutism in one’s country and throughout Europe was at a high, each ruler used his own methods to increase their strength. Due to the exorbitant amount of power put upon all leaders, it is clear that a nation’s fate is determined by its ruler, and how that ruler chooses to utilize

While he was not as horrid as Ivan The Terrible, many revolts occurred against Peter the Great as a result of his high taxes and cruelness towards his people. Despite his ruthless tendencies, he still managed to maintain a confident and stable reign in office. He transformed Russia into a great European nation and was very effective leader. While both Peter and Louis XIV were both similar in rule, Louis XIV was more absorbed with outward appearances, while Peter focused on reforming his

Peter the Great’s reforms had a profound impact on Russia, it introduced an era of change that he became known for. From Peter’s childhood he became known for his infatuation with ideas about the military and navy, enjoying pastimes like shipbuilding and sailing, as well as mock battles with toy armies. This strong influence left a lasting impression throughout Peter’s life, exemplified through his reforms and relations with Europe. This impacted Russia as Peter’s keen interest in Europe was a key inspiration for his reforms as his desire for knowledge and advancement was reflected in his personality and his rule. Peter’s interest in Europe also impacted Russia as it corresponded with a growing westernisation of typical Russian values and

However, Nicholas’s personality was not the sole reason why the Old Regime collapsed. Chubarov argues that “another Peter the Great could have saved the Romanovs and Imperial Russia. It is obvious though that the last tsar could not” . Nicholas’s lack of

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.

Peter claimed himself the emperor of Russia. He established a Senate as the highest government institution. He later then introduced a new poll tax, which gave him funding for a foreign policy and for increasing manufacturing trade. Peter was the great absolute ruler which helped him expand Russia. He allowed others to work with him but everything had to go his way.

This obviously made Russian citizens very happy. They had tremendous respect for Peter. This is one of the reasons why Peter was one of the most respected Czars in Russia's time. He developed progress in the development of the national economy, trade, education, science, culture, and foreign policy. This led Russia to be one of the greatest countries in Europe.

Peter waged wars against the Ottoman Empire, turning out to be mainly unsuccessful. There was also a Great War with Sweden. With these wars came Peter’s prospect of expanding his empire through the acquisition of new territory and access to the Baltic Sea. Boyars - nobles with the highest rank besides a prince- played a part in Russian government, but soon Peter weakened them by using tactics such as taking away their traditions.