Similarities Between Peter The Great And Catherine

     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.”

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 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.

Peter the Great wanted to westernize Russia. He was eager to borrow European technology, the kind that could give him the army and navy he needed to make Russia a great power. Peter wanted to reorganize the army. He employed both Russians and Europeans as officers, built a standing army of 210,000 men, and formed the first Russian navy. Peter divided Russia into provinces in order to impose the rule of the government more effectively. He wanted to create a "police state," by which he meant a well-ordered community governed by law. After his trip to the West, he introduced Western customs, practices, and manners into Russia; he even ordered the preparation of the first Russian book of etiquette to teach Russians. He changed traditional Russian

Peter’s reforms Westernized Russia quite significantly. There are many examples of these reforms and how they helped to Westernize Russia. For example, he caused the people of Russia to change their fashion, not only of how they dressed but of how their bodies looked. For example, he made the Russians have shorter or no beards by having a beard tax. Document 2 supports this when it says that “…The Russians had always worn long beards, which they cherished and preserved with much care, allowing them to hang down on their bosoms, without even cutting the moustache…The tsar, in order to reform that custom, ordered that gentlemen, merchants, and other subjects, except priests and peasants, should each pay a tax of 100 ruples each year if they

Peter the Great and Ivan the Terrible are both well know Russian Tsars. Both Russian rulers killed many of their own people but Peter the Great was a much better ruler because the second half of Ivan’s reign was characterized by political instability and atrocities committed by Ivan’s personal guard the Oprichnina while Peter continued to better the Russian state.

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

Peter westernized Russia and embarked on the ideas , technology and culture from the west. He forced the landowning nobles to shave their traditional beards and wear western style clothes. Peter also passed laws ensuring that nobles retained control over their lands and the serfs that were tied to it. Peter expanded Russian territory on the Baltic Sea ( document 4) . Peter created a strong army out of nothing that was feared by all. When he died he left behind a fleet of 48 ships and a army with over 200,000 men. Even though Peter helped his country expand its territory his lack of initiative and enterprise remained one of Russia’s greatest social weaknesses (document

Peter recognized that his country was falling behind the European countries in knowledge, technology, trade, and governing ability. Using his absolute power as a czar, he brought in foreign advisers to help him modernize, westernize and educate his people. Peter had a great respect for Europe, and his reforms had a lasting influence in Russia, though there was of course opposition from the more conservative nobles.

As an enlightened despot, it was common for rulers to change every law and policy possible in order to make life better for their people as according to enlightenment ideals. The ruler was seen as being in charge only to serve the people (Document 3). The ruler was to put the needs of his people before the needs of himself, and could not do anything that would harm them (Document 4). In Russia, this was prominent amongst rulers. Peter the Great believed and acted on these ideas. He offered rights to the serfs in order to help them and made it so that anyone, no matter of their social standing, would suffer the same consequences for breaking the laws (Document 10, 6). According to Document 3, “the ruler and the ruled can be happy only if they are firmly united.” This shows how the people expected their rulers in this time to meet their needs to make them happy and to help them flourish as a

He was simultaneously worshiped and able to gain the nobles cooperation through this. Similarly, in Russia, Ivan III, the first real king of Russia, ended Mongol power and created a new service of nobles which were also dependent on the state. Peter the Great then proceeded to westernize Russia through his absolutist power. He built the city of St. Petersburg, where like Versailles, nobles were required to say. Peter also established a bureaucracy which was military and civilian. Overall, both absolutist rulers in France and Russia had similar political practices, like creating a grandiose environment where nobles had to stay, and developing a governmental system which gave all power to the

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

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

in which men would have to pay a tax in order to keep their beards.

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.