Others lament the loss of the unique cultural and spiritual traditions that had existed in Russia in the pre-Petrine period. Peter the Great introduced the Julian calendar in Russia with its celebration of the New Year on 1 January, and the tradition of decorating Christmas trees.
He also forced the upper classes to dress in a European style and to shave their mustaches and beards. In order to create his own pool of broadly educated experts, Peter sent young noblemen to study abroad at the state's expense and personally kept track of their progress.
Peter the Great founded the Russian navy and formed a regular army based on compulsory military service for all nobles and on recruitments from the peasantry and regular citizens communities delegated a specific number of young men to army service. Foreigners familiar with the newest developments in military science were actively sought for positions as senior officers and generals, and the Tsar diligently recruited Russian experts in all fields, including shipbuilding, military affairs, the sciences, and the arts.
Starting with Peter, for the next two centuries, one of the duties of Russian ambassadors serving abroad was to recruit foreign specialists to work in Russia. Peter the Great created a system of civil service in Russia by introducing the Table of Ranks: a document defining the classification of all military, naval, court and civilian officials into fourteen classes, from fourteen as the lowest up to the first.
The Table of Ranks was designed to create a "social elevator" for hardworking military and government officials and to reduce the abuse of appointments and promotions in service. The Northern War with Sweden finally brought Peter access to the Baltic Sea and the trading possibilities in the region, and in , the city of St.
Petersburg was founded. In , Petersburg was made the capital of Russia, and in Russia was declared an Empire, with Peter assuming the title of the Emperor of All Russia.
Peter the Great died in St. Petersburg in early in his small Winter Palace on the banks of the Winter Canal. The Bronze Horseman. Monument to Peter the Great on Senatskaya Ploshchad. Sophia acted as regent during the minority of the sovereigns and exercised all power. For seven years, she ruled as an autocrat.
Peter the Great as a child, artist unknown. Although he was named a co-tsar in , at the age of ten, he did not become an independent and sole ruler until While Peter was not particularly concerned that others ruled in his name, his mother sought to force him to adopt a more conventional approach. She arranged his marriage to Eudoxia Lopukhina in , but the marriage was a failure.
Ten years later Peter forced his wife to become a nun and thus freed himself from the union. By the summer of , Peter planned to take power from his half-sister Sophia, whose position had been weakened by two unsuccessful Crimean campaigns. After a power struggle, in which the Streltsy was forced to shift its loyalty, Sophia was eventually overthrown, with Peter I and Ivan V continuing to act as co-tsars. Yet Peter could not acquire actual control over Russian affairs. Power was instead exercised by his mother, Natalya Naryshkina.
Peter implemented sweeping reforms aimed at modernizing Russia. Heavily influenced by his advisers from Western Europe, he reorganized the Russian army along modern lines and dreamed of making Russia a maritime power. He also implemented social modernization in an absolute manner by introducing French and western dress to his court and requiring courtiers, state officials, and the military to shave their beards and adopt modern clothing styles. One means of achieving this end was the introduction of taxes for long beards and robes in September The move provoked opposition from the boyars.
To do so, he would have to expel the Tatars from the surrounding areas, but the initial attempts ended in failure. The high taxes that often accompanied his various reforms led to revolts among citizens, which were immediately suppressed by the imposing ruler. Peter married twice and had 11 children, many of whom died in infancy.
The eldest son from his first marriage, Alexis, was convicted of high treason by his father and secretly executed in Peter the Great died on February 8, , without nominating an heir.
We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us! Subscribe to the Biography newsletter to receive stories about the people who shaped our world and the stories that shaped their lives. Peter III was emperor of Russia for a mere six months in before he was overthrown by his wife, Catherine the Great, and assassinated in Akbar the Great, Muslim emperor of India, established a sprawling kingdom through military conquests but is known for his policy of religious tolerance.
Ivan the Terrible was the first tsar of all Russia. During his reign, he acquired vast amounts of land through ruthless means, creating a centrally controlled government. Rasputin is best known for his role as a mystical adviser in the court of Czar Nicholas II of Russia.
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