Peter the Great

Pyoter Alekseyevich, or Peter the Great, was the king of Russia in the Late 1600s and Early 1700s. Under his rule, Russia went under great change when he “westernized” society. He also achieved in government and politics. Peter the Great was a very powerful and influential absolute monarch.

Peter the great had much strength. A notable area of strength was his military power. He reformed the Russian military. He westernized the military through officers brought to Russia. The quality of Russian artillery was improved. He also established military schools to train government officials and military officers.

Peter the Great succeeded in many areas. He succeeded in social reformation, reforming government and politics and capturing more Russian territories. His work consisted of claiming territories on the Black Seas and on the Baltic, in order to establish direct links with central and Western Europe to end Russia’s isolation. His government and social structure remained intact until the Revolution of 1917. His remarkable military victories and the nature and impact on his reforms raised a lot of controversy in his time.

Peter the Great had a huge impact on the Russian society during and after his reign. Before, Russia was controlled by Mongolians. Overthrown by Ivan the Terrible, Russia was no longer under their oppression. When Peter the Great took the thrown, he wanted to break the isolation of Russia. He reformed society and westernized the culture after taking a trip to the West. Peter decided to take on “selective westernization” of his country. He changed financial and political ways, he controlled foreign and domestic trade, and he strengthened the military and changed society in general. He also transferred the capital of Russia to the new city of St. Petersburg, where he later died. This also symbolized the Western orientation of Peter’s reign. The reforms of Russia were not only designed to strengthen Russia as a nation, but strengthen his rule. Peter’s methods withstood till modern times, and his reforms definitely had an impact on Russia’s history, causing Russia to emerge from its Byzantine-Asiatic medieval past.

Peter the Great made a lot of changes to Russia, for the better. His reign was known as “The Great Reformation”. His rule was absolute monarchy. Although Russia’s reformations were good, all the changes were in his eyes. Peter demanded total loyalty. He punished those whole feel into disfavor or suspected of disloyalty. Peter the Great actually had his own son tortured and killed because he suspected he was involved with a plot to repeal his reformations and cooperate with Russia’s foreign enemies. Not only did he have unjust accusations, but he forced upper-class to wear western styles. He brought down the power of the richer upper-class and gave opportunities to the lower-class; the upper-class was not pleased with this movement. Peter the Great had a prominent impact on Russian society and history, and was a great ruler in his time.