Peter I. known as Tsar Peter the Great, is one of the most illustrious and powerful figures which owned the Russian throne. He was the younger son of Tsar Alexis Mikhailovich and his second marriage wife. In 1682 he was proclaimed Tsar after the death of his half-brother Fedor III., together with his other half-brother Ivan, who was a very incompetent and weak character. The patriarch of Moscow and the Boyars (Russian nobility) strongly promoted Peter on the throne, as Peter’s half-sister Sophia and the palace guard wished to see Ivan on the throne alone. Making both of the half-brothers Tsar was the compromise which resulted out of this vivid conflict. As many rulers of Russia before Peter and after him, a Coup d’état brought single power into the hand a one monarch alone. In the year 1689 on rumours of a plot, Peter could overthrow Sophia, the de facto ruler of Russia, and depose Ivan. The government was in his hand alone from that time onwards. Peter was studying European modern development from politics, army and technical advantages of most of European states. Soon his plan was to westernize and modernize his country. After hundreds of years of inner conflicts and wars against peoples of inner Asia, which threatened the empire from the east and from the south, Russia turned westwards. Peter saw, after travelling many parts of Europe incognito, how much his own country had fallen behind. Especially building a Russian navy, imitating western models (England and The Low Lands where Peter learnt to be an engineer of ship-building), became one of his most ambitious pursuits.
Inner conflict broke out again in 1697-1698 when the Streltsi (the palace guard) revolted against the Tsar. The result of this revolt was the modernization of the Russian army by recruiting one person of every 20th household and a massive restructurization. After successfully overpowering the revolt, Peter strongly supported building up an Russian iron and textile industry, as well as expanding industrialization into areas far away from Moscow (for example the region of Ural). Exports of Russia rose strongly and when Peter died in 1725, exports were twice the volume of its imports.
Foreign Politics lead to war for the dominion in the Black See with the big rival in the south - the Ottoman Empire (Turkey). Peter could expand his empire to the south, the city of Azov was conquered and a fleet was build up to secure Russian interests in the Black Sea. In 1700 war broke out with the kingdom of Sweden ruled by King Charles XII. The Russian defeated Charles in 1708, when he invaded Russia. In 1709 the Swedish were defeated at Poltava. In 1711 Sweden successfully stroke back, but Peter could prevent an alliance between Turkey and Sweden, when Azov war lost to the Turks again. Peter also started expeditions to expand his empire to the Caspian area to the costs of the empire of Persia.
The big symbol of the westernization of Russia was building the new Capital of St. Petersburg at the river Neva in 1703. It became Russia’s gate to the west and was always the most modern and western City of Russia up to our times. Between 1709 and 1719 Tsar Peter massively renewed the legal system and the administration of Russia. The country was overflowed by reform and resistance was very strong. One example became a tax on wearing beards. Beards, what most Russian men had worn at that time, were seen as old fashion and antiquated.
Peter was a very powerful and very often compromiseless man who demanded that the whole country had to follow him without debate. A savage criminal code, which was very similar to the military code, became feared in the whole empire. Anecdotes spread around Europe. Peter himself was a man of physically imposing stature. Very strong and tall, he was a domineering person and by character, his natural authority became visible to everybody. For example, when punishment for a revolt had to be performed, some few hundreds of the rebels had to be decapitated. After many executions the executioners were exhausted and couldn’t do their job any more. Peter was laughing at them took, the axe and decapitated a hundred men on his own. When he thought to have finished he asked: “Did everybody get was he deserved?” But one man to be executed was still lying on a block of wood and replied: “No my Tsar, you have forgotten me!” Peter was amused granted life to him and let the man free.
The reform and the administration and parting of the government into different departments of state, made Peter be known as the founder of modern Russia. But a lot of his reforms were ruined by incompetent and weak successors. Only one of his successors in the 18th century did reach partially his level of reform and gave another push of modernization to the Empire of Russia. It was Tsaress Catherine II. the great (1729-1796).
