Tsar+Peter+the+Great

Emi Wong

//**Analyze the ways in which Tsar Peter the Great (1689-1725) sought to reform his society and its institutions in order to strengthen Russia and its position in Europe.**//

Thesis: His demanding conscription, dividing of Russia into provinces, and adopting Western mercantilism were Tsar Peter the Great's efforts to reform and strengthen Russia and its position in Europe.

Military


 * 1) He tried to transplant Western culture and European technology and gadgets to Russia, believing that was the way to make Russia a great power
 * 2) He conscripted peasants for 25 years of service
 * 3) Built a standing army of 210,000 men
 * 4) Created Russia's first navy
 * 5) Goal was to "open a window to the west," meaning an ice-free port eas ily accessible to Europe
 * 6) The ice-port required the Baltic, so he attacked the Swedish (who occupied the Baltic at the time). This was known as the Great Northern War
 * 7) Peter had won the war (ended with the Peace of Nystadt in 1721)

Reorganizing of central government


 * 1) Reorganized along Western lines
 * 2) Never summoned the Duma of boyars or the Zemsky Sobor
 * 3) In 1777, he created a Senate to supervise the administrative machinery of the state while he was away on military campaigns
 * 4) Divided Russia into 8 different provinces, then in 1719, 50 province

Reforms using the people


 * 1) Demanded that all people of the landholding class serve in military or civil offices
 * 2) Instituted a Table of Ranks, which made the people start off at the very beginning and work their way up. Once they hit level 8, they achieved the status of nobility.
 * 3) Adopted Western mercantilism policies to stimulate economic growth
 * 4) Increase exports and develop new industries while exploiting domestic resources like the iron mines in the Urals
 * 5) Couldn't keep up with military expenses, eventually just raised taxes
 * 6) After a trip to the West, he ordered Russian books to teach the etiquette of Western manners
 * 7) Forced Russians to shave their beards and shorten their coats. Women were to remove the veils that covered their faces
 * 8) Constructed a new city, St. Petersburg (along the Baltic). Its constructing cost the lives of thousands of peasants

Religious


 * 1) Abolished the position of patriarch and created the Holy Synod, which made decisions for the church
 * 2) At the top stood a procurator, a layman who represented the interests of the tsar, which gave Peter domination over the church