Peter the Great

Controlling the Boyars

The boyars were the old nobility who supported traditional Russian culture. Peter the Great did more than order the boyars to shave off their long beards and wear Western clothing. He also compelled them to construct costly town houses in St. Petersburg and required every noble to serve in the army or in the civil administration.

Modernizing Russia

1. Peter the Great recognized that Russia had fallen behind western Europe. Determined to learn from his rivals, Peter visited Holland and England, where he toured shipyards, examined new military equipment, and observed western customs. 2. Peter returned to Moscow vowing to transform Russia into a great power. He began by expanding Russia's army and constructing a new navy. 3. Peter did not limit his changes to military organization and technology. He improved Russian agriculture by introducing the potato, strengthened the Russian economy by importing skilled workers, and liberated Russian women by allowing them to appear in public without veils. In a famous and much resented act, Peter forced nobles to shave off their traditional long beards.

Building St. Petersburg

Peter the Great began building St. Petersburg in 1703. Named after his patron saint, St. Petersburg would be a "a great window for Russia to look out at Europe." St. Petersburg quickly became a symbol of Peter the Great's new and more powerful Russia.

Evaluating Peter the Great

Peter the Great provided a model of how an energetic adn ruthless autocrat would change a nation. He successfully transformed Russia into a great power that would play an increasingly important role in European history. Peter the Great's policies increased the disparities between the nobles and the peasants. Millions of exploited serfs formed an estranged class that did not share in Russian society.

Exploiting the Serfs

Russia's peasants did not enjoy the benefits of Peter the Great's reforms. Instead, they were conscripted into Russia's army and forced to build St. Petersburg. In central Europe, serfs were bound to the land. In contrast, Russian serfs could eb sold apart from the land. This enabled nobles to force serfs to work in mines and factories.

Defeating Sweden

The Thirty Years' War left Sweden in control of the Baltic's entire eastern shore. In 1700, Peter ordered his army to end Sweden's dominance of the Baltic. The Great Northern War between Sweden and Russia lasted from 1700 to 1721. After suffering initial defeats at the hands of Sweden's king Charles XII, Peter ultimately won the war, thus gaining control over warm-water outlets on the Baltic shore. The defeat contributed to Sweden's decline as a major European power. At the same time, Russia now became the dominant power on the Baltic Sea.