The birth of Peter the Great, the first emperor of Russia, turned 350 years old this Thursday (9). His personality and achievements are still the subject of much attention and heated debate among historians.
Peter’s childhood was overshadowed by the bloody strife and intrigue between the influential boyar families Narishkin and Miloslavski after the death of his father, Tsar Alexios of Russia (1629-1676), who was famous for both mild reforms and severe repression. rebellions and any manifestations of insubordination.
The young tsar’s educators, involved in turbulent political life, left Peter a wide field of independent action: the young man paid close attention to war games and the studies of navigation. He surrounded himself with loyal friends who came from different backgrounds and nationalities (among them, for example, the Dutch and Germans from the suburb of Nemetskaia Sloboda, near Moscow – today is the Lefortovo district in the south-east of the Russian capital).
This was the reason why Pedro’s first independent decisions shocked his political opponents, who did not expect decisive and strong actions from the young ruler so “dedicated to the games”.
The turning point in the young sovereign’s worldview was the so-called “Grand Embassy” (1697-1698), a diplomatic mission in which Peter traveled incognito through several European countries. This mission failed to achieve its main political objective – a series of alliance agreements to successfully complete the war against the Ottoman Empire – but Peter took the unique opportunity to study navigation, shipbuilding, fortification, artillery and the exact sciences for more than 10 years. one year.
On his return from his mission abroad, Peter realized that Russia could only develop by gaining a reliable outlet to the sea, building a modern navy, army and civil administration, and reforming the country’s commerce and industry. The Tsar decided to settle this matter with all his determination. Refusing to continue his military campaigns south, Peter turned his eyes to the Baltic coast and the development of the Urals and Siberian riches.
Taking advantage of the military alliance with the Elector of Saxony August II (1670-1733), at the same time King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, concluded during the “Grand Embassy”, the Tsar entered the war against Sweden, which had dominated the Baltic Sea since the mid-17th century.
However, over the course of 21 years of conflict, Russia acquired a new territorial and administrative division, the prikazes (the old governance bodies that had existed since Ivan III) were replaced by more efficient colleges (analogous to ministries), the judicial and were reformed, the Army was restructured to modern standards. The military navy was also created, which managed to achieve a decisive victory over the Swedes.
Peter the Great imposed the “Table of Patents” that regulated civil, military and court ranks, providing civil servants with the rare opportunity to be rewarded for their accomplishments and abilities rather than their upper-class origins.
In 1721, the Great Northern War ended. Sweden signed the Treaty of Nistad, which granted Russia land and access to the Baltic Sea. The peace treaty granted amnesty to all “criminals and deserters”, except for supporters of the traitor Ivan Mazepa, hetman of the Zaporozhie Cossacks, who during the war defected to the Swedish king.
Shortly after the victory, Czar Peter took the title of Emperor of All Russia, and the Czarate of Russia, with a firm geostrategic position in northern and eastern Europe, was proclaimed the Russian Empire. The city of Saint Petersburg, founded by Peter the Great on the banks of the Neva River in 1703, became the capital of the Empire.
Russia has steadily entered the family of great European powers. In less than a hundred years, the country would lead the “Concert of Europe” after the historic victory over Napoleon and the Congress of Vienna.
The Emperor and Tsar himself was a worker and creator. He introduced a new way of life, insisting on Western suits, shaved beards and including foreign terms in the Russian court, but along with forced modernization he sought to support and develop domestic talent and preserve a unique identity. Pedro’s descendants followed his example: adopting the best foreign practices, they preserved the unique national character and dedicated themselves to the service of the country.
In conclusion, I would like to note that in the works of Russian and foreign historians the reign of Peter is often criticized because, from their point of view, the tsar’s reforms were mainly aimed at meeting military needs, rather than promoting a true modernization of the system of governance.
Even if these observations are accepted as valid, it is impossible to deny the success of Peter’s reforms, which were implemented during a difficult time of war. On the contrary, Russia’s critics and enemies must not forget this historic example, especially today, when trying once again to “close the window on Europe on Russia”, which Peter the Great so skillfully opened.
